This document addresses itself to designing and conducting the various aspects of planning a comprehensive environmental education program. The intent is to provide a methodology to be used as a guide for those responsible for developing statewide environmental education programs. Among the various components are background information on the…

To develop the methodology of designing local educational change, the R & D center staff first identified four critical weaknesses leading to the failures of changes attempted in schools. These weaknesses were categorized as (1) change made without prior analysis of its effects on the whole system, (2) change imposed externally without regard to…

English studies, especially at the graduate level, have depended on coverage of an agreed-upon group of literary works, but new scholarly approaches have led some scholars to change that group, calling into question some basic tenets of graduate education in English and suggesting a need for new directions. (MSE)

Discusses the District of Columbia's new career programs in its high schools, each in fields with projected job growth and each with corporate sponsors who participated in the program's design and curriculum development. Examines program costs, program development, design, and effectiveness. (CT)

The application of an educational planning model designed for involving a representative sample of school patrons in decision making is described with reference to the case of Gilbert, Arizona. The article focuses on the first of the model's three phases: prioritizing goals, curriculum development, and program design and evaluation. (MJL)

Middle schools embrace exploration as a guiding principle across the school curriculum. Noting that the research on exploratory courses is sparse, this digest discusses what is known about exploratory curriculum in middle schools. The digest first looks at the role of exploratory curriculum, pointing out that the purpose of exploratory courses is…

Discusses the development of a list entitled Desired Characteristics of the Science Program for the Middle School'' and based on findings from physiological, psychological, and cognitive research of the in-between-ager.'' Included are two reports on school visitations and an abridged section of Transescence and the Middle School.'' (CC)

A brief description is presented of a curriculum offered in one school system that applies much of the available research on how children learn. Materials used, goals for instruction, concepts emphasized, and intellectual processes engaged in each of grades kindergarten through third are noted. (MP)

Details about mathematics education in China, what changes are underway, and the direction these changes are taking at the middle school level. The curriculum at this level is viewed to be quite demanding. It is felt Americans may ponder the great strides of the Chinese in 25 years. (MP)

Some procedures for an inservice education program on computers are proposed. The program goal is to bring teachers to understand the microcomputer as a tool-making technology that asks people to learn how to teach it to do something. An inservice syllabus is presented in the form of a program. (MP)

The television screen under computer control is seen as a very compelling focus of attention that can be harnessed and used to good educational effect. It is stated that the most vital and difficult task in curriculum development is to make useful material accessible to teachers. (MP)

National Public Radio's educational staff is experimenting with radio in the classroom by dramatizing the issues of the Afghan crisis in an audiodisc presentation mailed to teachers around the country. The article includes samples of dialogue from the tape, student opinions, and why radio is the medium used. (CT)

The programs provided for mathematically gifted students are divided into two categories, labeled enrichment and acceleration. These two types of programs are discussed and the basic forms of instructional patterns are presented, along with the pros and cons associated with each. (MP)

Three models of distance education that reflect different institutional needs and resources are described: a traditional system (Manchester Community Technical College, Connecticut); a flexible system designed for the current transitional nature of educational technology (Appalachian State University, North Carolina); and a technologically…

Provides background on the general issues of performance assessment and suggests intervention strategies for department chairs. (KEH)