Maintains that, to improvise successfully in music, students must have an understanding of the creative process. Presents teaching suggestions for encouraging creativity in music classes. Maintains that improvisation is an excellent method for students to explore and practice creativity. (CFR)

Maintains that nothing requires more meticulous preparation than guiding and supervising lessons in discovery and improvisation. Discusses the discovery learning techniques of the Orff-Schulwerk method of music instruction. Includes a teaching example based on the National Standards for Arts Education. (CFR)

Teacher's abilities to remain sufficiently faithful to predefined learning scenarios are examined via case studies. The behavior of 2 teachers during problem-solving sessions in geometry with 13-14 year olds exhibited 2 types of factors that tend to hamper scenario reproducibility: constraints on the teacher resulting from the teaching situation;…

Thirteen females with Turner syndrome, 13 females with nonverbal learning disabilities, and 14 males with nonverbal learning disabilities, ages 7-14, were taught via a cognitive behavioral modification approach to verbally mediate a spatial matching task. All three groups showed significant task improvement after the training, with no significant…

Reports case studies using personal construct psychology and the logic of fuzzy sets to elucidate the content and organization of two elementary school teachers' knowledge of fractions and mathematical pedagogy. Results identified four personal constructions that affected classroom events; knowledge of fractions, general pedagogical knowledge,…

Argues that unique behavioral styles can be identified among African-American populations and that behavioral style may help explain differences in test performance for white and African-American students. Implications for all students of providing stylistic diversity in the schools and student ability to use multiple learning styles are…

Examines the life and work of a teacher of Japanese traditional dance ("Nihon Buyo") in the United States, K. Fujima. Describes the following: (1) Fujima's educational approach; (2) her students' learning experience; and (3) her contributions to the maintenance of Japanese ideal behavior in the communities in which she teaches. (SLD)

Reports on a three-year study of the operational and formal curricula in the visual arts, music, drama, and dance. Discusses three operational types of art education: (1) the "little intervention" model; (2) the production-oriented curriculum; and (3) the guided-exploration orientation. (CFR)

Contends that a challenge of teaching humanistic geography is to encourage students' responses to landscapes in ways that may be different from their previous experience. Argues that conventional practices may not be appropriate instructional procedure in humanistic geography and describes an alternative approach. (CFR)

Asserts that the rapid growth of the limited-English-proficient (LEP) student population has been a great challenge to social studies teachers. Proposes five reading and writing activities that actively involve LEP students in meaningful instructional tasks and encourage higher level thinking skills. (CFR)

Examines influence of classroom environments, measured by the Classroom Environment Scale, Form R (CESR), on vocal and instrumental ensembles' musical achievement at festival contests. Using random sample, reveals subjects with higher scores on CESR scales of involvement, affiliation, teacher support, and organization received better contest…

Reports on a study of 124 secondary social studies teachers about the treatment of the 1991 Gulf War in their classrooms. Finds that, with few exceptions, knowledge about the war was provided by television news and other media and that students were not asked to conduct in-depth research or other critical thinking activities. (CFR)

The study of starlings in the urban environment integrates nervous regulation, the senses, and animal behavior, while also providing an excellent example of how the biology of an animal is related to the demands of the physical environment. (PR)

Argues that student creative writing is stimulated by painting and other visual art. Describes a seven-step process in which students view painting and other visual arts and then write poetry. Includes suggested artworks and excerpts of poetry written by students. (CFR)

Argues that effective history instruction requires students to think about content rather than merely reproduce it. Contends that this can be achieved best through peer interaction based on student research papers that require students to state opinions or positions. Provides an assignment example and a evaluation handout. (CFR)