The off-campus term program (OCT) of the University of South Florida is described. The OCT represents a model of centralized, comprehensive experiential education. The methods and systems used are described as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the OCT centralized model. (Author/SF)

Learning is greatly facilitated if its intended outcomes are clear to both learner and teacher, if they are appropriate to the purpose of the instruction, and if the path to them has been marked out clearly. Myths and obstacles to achieving better processes of teaching and learning are discussed. (Author/MLW)

How "experience" is defined and how it has been interpreted in the past shape world views and the learning derived from cross-cultural encounters. The experience also differs according to whether it has happened to a group or to an individual learner. (Author/MSE)

The agenda for promoting and expanding experiential learning in other cultures includes building commitment, examining organizational issues in program planning and implementation, assessment needs, and discussion of faculty and student rewards of cross-cultural study. Additional resources and literature references are given. (MSE)

Ideas are presented for using candy M & M's as materials to teach mathematics. Six different activities are reviewed. (MP)

Nineteen high school students in an experimental self-directed learning class were interviewed about their out-of-school learning projects: number completed per year; time spent; subject(s) studied; setting (individual or group); preferred project method; and motivation (desire for credit or other reason). (SJL)

Briefly describes a hiking activity developed by high school counselors to provide challenges to themselves in order to discover their own problem-solving abilities and skills. (CJ)

Under the skilled supervision of a master carpenter hired to direct this Comprehensive Employment and Training Act project, seven high school students and two beginning workers are learning the varied and complex skills of building maintenance, renewing their city's schools, and bringing home a badly needed paycheck. (LRA)

Advanced broadcast news students at San Diego State University receive valuable experience by producing and airing weekly newsmagazine programs on local radio and television stations. (RL)

Notes the need for media education and argues that the journalism course is the natural place for media study. Describes types of critical reading and thinking skills that a journalism course can promote and reports on projects that teach students about newspaper writing and make them into better newspaper readers. (GT)

Although undergraduates often earn academic credit for prior learning, graduate students are rarely afforded that opportunity, with Central Michigan University and the University of Northern Colorado as exceptions. Both the American Council on Education and the Council for the Advancement of Experiential Learning support experiential learning in…

Defining the nature and extent of risk associated with adventure education, this article notes the riskiest activities and delineates three main causes of accidents: unsafe conditions; unsafe acts; and judgmental errors. Careful program organization, staff selection, routine safety inspections, and emergency plans are also addressed. (SB)

Explaining how to design a teaching unit based on experiential learning, this article provides a framework for understanding experiential thought and describes an eight-week environmental unit used in New Hampshire, suggesting strategies for implementing a similar community-based curriculum within the public schools. (SB)

The value of involving children in experiencing environmental phenomena and observing living organisms is advocated. Suggestions are presented for offering a richer set of science experiences for children. (SA)

Describes the workshop program of the Department of City and Regional Planning at Harvard University. The workshop consists of a student team that helps a government or nonprofit agency solve a policy-related problem. (KC)