Forms part of a themed issue describing "Parent-Kid-Teacher Investigators," a program in which parents, children, and teachers gather regularly to use language and literacy for action research projects. Discusses ways in which schools and families are alike in building a supportive environment for learning. Illustrates conditions contributing to…

Describes English-as-a-Second-Language programs for "green workers," or individuals who work in green industries such as golf course maintenance, landscaping, and horticulture. Discusses the benefits of supervisors learning to speak Spanish, and the necessity of workers learning English to avoid accidents, make fewer errors in following…

In the Discover Lab, a science education center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, students learn to investigate, critique, and test big scientific questions and devise their own answers. Students are guided through cyclical processes of inquiry, logic and reasoning, testing and experimentation, and communication. (MLH)

The Minnesota Zoo's School of Environmental Studies is an optional, interdisciplinary program open to juniors and seniors from four comprehensive high schools. The problems posed, like those in the world, require students to think across disciplines. Students measure, analyze, map, photograph, display, and present findings to the local community…

Compares preschool/kindergarten education in Malaysia and the United Kingdom, including curriculum and teacher training. Describes the Malaysian national preschool curriculum guidelines as using play as a vehicle for learning while incorporating a more formal reading and writing readiness program. Describes experiences in a teaching course for…

Describes a project that used photography to inspire and structure creative writing among students who were struggling writers. Outlines the writing process and the problems struggling writers encounter. Provides information for taking good photographs, making photographs interesting, and choosing subject ideas to get students started. (SD)

Science and engineering students' involvement in practical work contributes to the development of their understanding of the concepts and processes of science. The Practical Experimentation by Accessible Remote Learning (PEARL) project aimed to develop a system to enable students to conduct real-world experiments at a distance using a computer. We…

The problems many Indian children experience in schools-- low academic achievement, absenteeism, high drop-out rates-- cannot be solved by any one individual. Instead, it requires action by the entire school system and, especially, greater leadership by Indians themselves. Tribes must become partners in the process of school reform and become…

This paper describes the Adolescent Mood Project (Project AMP), a study transporting an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for adolescent depression from the university lab setting to a school-based setting. Extant research on the psychosocial treatment of adolescent depression is reviewed and rationale for transporting evidence…

The Fort Vermilion School Division (FVSD) covers an area twice the size of Vermont, yet the school system only has 3,600 students. This region of northwestern Alberta, Canada, is a mixture of agriculture and oil exploration, with most towns having fewer than 5,000 people. The mandate of the school district is to provide the best possible education…

The premise of this paper is that computer science has much to offer the endeavor of instructional improvement. Software design processes employed in computer science for developing software can be used for planning instruction and should improve instruction in much the same manner that design processes appear to have improved software. Techniques…

The purposes of large-scale assessment and classroom assessment are often seen as distinct: Large-scale assessments, including school district, state, and national assessments, are directed at the formative and summative assessments of educational programs, while classroom assessments are focused primarily on the educational status or progress of…

In winter of 2004, the Sociology Department at California State University-Bakersfield (CSUB) conducted a student assessment using an embedded assessment technique--a technique wherein a class assignment serves as an assessment tool. The authors conducted the embedded assessment for their Five-Year Program Review. Thus, similar to many…

Fostering undergraduate research has increasingly become a focus of four-year institutions. Thus, given the maturity and capabilities of a substantial number of community college students, Virginia Community College System (VCCS) faculty can help students prepare for the baccalaureate by providing them with opportunities for actual research. With…

Nearly 20 years ago, the powerful motion picture The Mission, starring Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons, was released, bringing worldwide exposure to the Guarani aboriginal people. Based on historical events from the 1700s and set in Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, the film was simultaneously moving and inspiring, yet also a disturbing…