Discussion of literacy for the twenty-first century focuses on the Norristown (Pennsylvania) Area School District (NASD), where a restructured curriculum stresses thinking and communication skills. Sidebars introduce electronic books, recommend language learning software, describe six state literacy reform initiatives, and describe professional…

Argues the urgency associated with school reform must be tempered by the fact that much reform is being guided by the rhetoric of a conservative ideology. Urges science educators to resist conservative ideological rhetoric that seeks to sway the masses. Science education must move beyond the positivistic, ahistorical, and depoliticized orientation…

Describes a successful literacy project involving the teacher, parents, and children in one kindergarten class in a small rural community in New South Wales, Australia. Discusses the classroom setting, teacher's approaches and reading style, introduction of a "writing center," parent involvement, role of the school library and librarian,…

Discusses trends evolving in schools and library media centers as a result of electronic information technologies, including the shift from acquisition to access, the storage of information, the growth of image-based technologies, technology and management, information skills needed for electronic resources, information networks, impact on…

Describes the atmosphere and activities in a primary classroom in New Zealand that affect the literacy development of limited English-proficient children. Key factors are identified, including teacher expectations of success, whole language environment, and nurturing classroom climate. (two references) (Author/LB)

Describes a project where children follow the natural progression of becoming literate in their native language (Spanish) before developing literacy in the language of the school. Demonstrates the manner in which social interaction is part of literacy acquisition at the early stages. (MG)

Described are lay-ideas which may exist about ionizing radiation, the importance of these ideas for risk management, and the relationships between various lay-ideas. Lay-ideas were used to gain a better insight into the problems of learning about ionizing radiation and to construct appropriate teaching materials and strategies. (KR)

Investigated were students' beliefs about the tentativeness of scientific knowledge, various sources of students' beliefs as well as those factors that have altered students' beliefs about science, and the implications of students' beliefs for daily personal and societal decisions. The research methodology and instructional implications are…

Identified are potential dichotomies that must be confronted by the would-be popularizer of science--science and technology, the applications and misapplications of science, simplification and complication, certainty and speculation. The importance of writing scientifically is urged. (KR)

Worldwide, school is a pufferbelly locomotive chugging incongruously through a high-tech landscape. Changing schools significantly means smothering them with a critical mass of changes in rapid succession. Meanwhile, the education industry offers the public Band-Aids for whatever school wound is currently suppurating. In Future Schools, students…

Describes the development and testing of student remedial literacy portfolios for use in teacher education and discusses the use of case methods in teacher education. Highlights include a review of relevant literature; a sample portfolio case study that contrasted three presentation methods, including hypermedia; and a group reading of a…

Assesses the United States' experience with physics curriculum development and teacher education from 1955-90. Although there were substantial improvements in the development of hands-on elementary and secondary school curricula, their effectiveness was largely negated by logistical problems in implementation and deficiencies in teacher…

Examines concepts of culture and ethnicity commonly used to describe the adaptation faced by Puerto Rican migrant women as composite conceptualizations closely related to, and constructed by, language, class, and gender roles. The function of literacy is important in the adjustment of the newcomer. (SLD)

Contends that history teachers should help students develop critical viewing and thinking skills about visual images. Discusses the emerging practice of blurring the lines between entertainment and information in television, films, and other visual presentations. Provides two sets of questions to help students analyze documentaries, television…

Conceptual differences between two popular alternative assessment methods must be clearly differentiated. Portfolios reflect individual development, whereas performance-based assessments reflect curriculum mastery. In combination, these methods provide a complete picture of the student as a learner and constitute a rigorous alternative to…