This report summarizes activities in the AISD state-funded Optional Extended Year program for the 2003-2004 school year.

Describes several alternative education programs in Boston and New York City for inner-city youth which provide positive work experiences at various job sites as well as academic credit. Emphasizes the importance of private industry involvement and support in project and individual successes. (MF)

Pittsburgh Public Schools' student placement coordinator describes their program to help secondary students and school leavers with cooperative, part-time, and later full-time job placement, using behavior modification and cooperative education. Includes program organization, use of paraprofessionals, funding, and the importance of employer…

A framework for conducting discipline-related research through professor-student collaboration, developed at California State University, Dominguez Hills, is outlined and its application in one classroom project is described. Results of a survey of 225 undergraduate and graduate students in the clinical sciences, health sciences, and teacher…

Identifies five forces driving colleges and universities to incorporate computer technology into curricula: improved information access; realism of simulation; work-related need for technology-based communication skills; potential for asynchronous learning; and potential to stimulate and support faculty development and renewal. Discusses…

The College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin is collaborating with the Austin Independent School District to improve teacher education through restructuring of the preservice curriculum, infusion of technology into teacher preparation, a research-based internship program, new teacher mentoring, and administrator development. One…

The history of the relationship between Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and the Republic of Bulgaria is chronicled, and current programs and initiatives are described briefly. Educational projects are in political science, law, agriculture, aviation, foreign language teacher education, dentistry, economic development, public…

Budget reforms adopted at the University of Montana and by the Arkansas state higher education system illustrate a variety of strategies for long-range planning. These efforts include reform of faculty collective bargaining, funding based on productivity enhancement, and a multiyear fiscal plan encompassing both operating and capital budgets. (MSE)

Through a combination of prior coursework, contract learning, credit for experience, standardized tests, and other methods of evaluating prior learning, the Empire State College (New York) allows adults to complete undergraduate degree requirements. The nonresidential institution serves students throughout the state, with faculty in over 40…

A University of New Mexico medical school program to evaluate students having difficulty with noncognitive professional traits (responsibility, reliability, maturity, self-assessment, communication, honesty, integrity, respect for patients and peers) has identified 10 students with difficulties and provided interventions and remediation over a…

A Northern Arizona University program prepares preservice special education teachers to work with Native American children and families. University students live on the Navajo reservation and receive practical classroom experience at Kayenta Unified School District (Arizona). Anglo students are paired with Navajo students who act as "cultural…

Describes the evolution and implementation of a joint medical-dental problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum at the University of British Columbia's medical and dental schools, featuring development of an integrated care clinic. Issues in structuring the new curriculum are discussed, including management of the clinic's group practices, affective…

Notes that the capacity of schools to respond effectively to diverse learning needs of students often falls short, due to the lack of a systematic knowledge base on restructuring the current system to incorporate effective practices that achieve a high standard of schooling for all students. Describes and evaluates one successful inner-city…

Summarizes a study evaluating California's first digital magnet school, designed to emulate a Silicon-Valley high-tech start-up company. A survey of 159 junior and seniors revealed positive perceptions of the school's program and business atmosphere and very high expectations for achieving college and career success. (Contains 44 references.) (MLH)

This study examined whether the effects on cognitive and language outcomes of a recently developed home-based educational intervention program, Opstap Opnieuw, for 4-6-years-old disadvantaged children could be explained by improved mother-child interaction. The present sample (n = 30) was drawn from a larger sample of Turkish-Dutch families (n =…