After briefly outlining the purpose of the National Diffusion Network (NDN), this article describes five reading programs judged by NDN to be exemplary. Each description includes target audience, content, evidence of effectiveness, implementation requirements, costs, and contact address. Three are primary programs, two elementary, and four…

A clinic is described wherein science anxious university students are treated, or counseled, once a week for a seven-week period. The clinic was found to be very effective in treating the fear of science, or science anxiety. (KC)

Cites five innovative projects in China studies operating in elementary and secondary schools. One of several articles on China studies in this journal issue. (SJL)

Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, long concerned with man's ecological heritage, has designed many programs of interest to teachers of environmental education. The philosophy of the environmental program described here is to "observe, explore, generalize" and provides a hands-on exhibit for elementary school students at the…

This article presents an interview with Paul Neff, a veteran teacher at Spokane, Washington's Lewis & Clark High. Paul Neff recently earned a $4,930 grant from the Toshiba America Foundation to purchase global-positioning systems and digital cameras for the Outdoor Living class he just took over two years ago. In an interview, Neff talks about…

Presents a brief description of Adams County District 12's program to promote higher-level thinking skills in its elementary and secondary level gifted students. (SJL)

Back in 2000, Charles Best was teaching at Wings Academy, an alternative high school in the Bronx, when he got the idea for a Web site where teachers could solicit donations for class projects. With help from his students, DonorsChoose.org soon was born. Last year, the site won Amazon.com's Nonprofit Innovation Award. So far, DonorsChoose has…

After spending three years as a kindergarten teacher and one as a reading specialist, Michelle Waters recently became the education outreach coordinator for the Georgia-based Clean Air Campaign. In that role, she has helped roll out a comprehensive Better Air Schools initiative to 20 Atlanta-area elementary schools. The program includes a…

This is account of a foreign language curriculum developed by the Norwalk Public School System in Connecticut. It emphasizes bilingual interchanges between students of various ethnic backgrounds and a classroom setting that uses tape equipment to personalize basic linguistic concepts. (Editor/RK)

The Chairman of the Business Education Department at Oak Park-River Forest High School in Illinois and head of the school's consumer education program speaks of the development of consumer awareness among his students over the past seven years and suggests some possible directions for consumer education in the future. (Editor/RK)

Suggests that the term "career development" is a more accurate term than "career education": "'Development' implies that people are continually changing over their lifetime. We are always in the process of becoming". Outlines a highly workable plan for continuous elementary career education beginning in the primary level. (Editor/RK)

The National Heart and Blood Vessel Research and Demonstration Center has developed a program called the Cardiovascular Curriculum Education Project, designed for secondary school students, which consists of self-instructional education units on cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors. Describes its three major components and method of…

Describes the Sustained Silent Reading program that sets aside specific class time for each student to select a book or other reading material and read silently with no interruption for a specified length of time. The goal is to motivate students to read and to understand that reading can be a desirable leisure activity. (Author/RK)

Discusses similarities and differences in the use of puppets and computers as teaching tools in the classroom. Teachers' resistance to puppets is discussed, and four new puppet programs are described. (LRW)

Discusses the motivating factors, organization, training process, problems, and keys to success of a peer counseling program at an inner city Chicago high school. Student counselors are seniors recruited from psychology classes, who receive training, supervision, and support from the school social worker and psychology teachers. (MBR)