Directions for the building of a pocket microscope that will make visible the details of insect structure and living bacteria are described. Background information on the history of microscopes and lenses is provided. The procedures for producing various types of lenses are included. (KR)

Reports results of a research study of how student groups organize a collaborative writing task. Finds that students use two patterns like those of the workplace (dividing and allocating the tasks or drafting together), produce better documents using a variety of organizing patterns, and do not perceive equal performance on the basis of…

Class-produced newspapers are clear examples of product-driven learning, which requires a visible, though not always tangible, product; an audience other than the students themselves; whole-class involvement; and completion during normal school hours. Further examples are provided, including a first-grade circus, a fourth-grade rain forest tour,…

Benefits of a learner-based video production project in second-language learning are examined. Emphasis is on the communicative and interactive potential of such a project. The difference between process and product is discussed. (12 references) (LB)

An upper-class college seminar-style course in which students work on semester-long research papers on a variety of anomalous claims and subjects is described. A list of topics chosen in the course and a copy of an opinion survey on paranormal and anomalistic phenomena are included. (KR)

Describes an assignment in which ninth graders created a storybook or a textbook for children in grades 4-6 that would link 4 core subjects: math, English, science, and anthropology. (SR)

Describes the Legends Project in Indiana in which a class collaboratively researches, writes, and illustrates a local legend and sends it via computers and modems to other classes across the state. (SR)

Reports on a study of 110 students in advanced undergraduate psychology courses to assess their retrospective impressions about their introductory psychology course, current course selections and performance, and future academic plans. Finds that students who had participated in a science fair gave significantly higher ratings. (CFR)

Describes a nine-week unit that focuses on student development of science-based contraptions that work. Students are allowed to design, construct, and test a device of interest that performs a simple task, such as picking up a paper towel or turning a page in a book. (ZWH)

College-level student inquiry projects are not easy to evaluate within the parameters of the academic grading system. One form of rubric-guided assessment has specific advantages in addressing both performance and product by allowing weighting of criteria, flexibility of criteria and standards based on the project, defining the major aspects of…

Describes the outcomes of an intensive one-month mathematical modeling course and the use of posters in peer assessment of student work. (Author/ASK)

Explains how students developed Hypercard stacks to report the results of their study of vent science. Describes each step in the project process that included projects related to geography, technology, physics, chemistry, and biology. (DDR)

Discusses the implementation of a student portfolio project in two high school history classes. Presents background arguments for employing portfolios; outlines the creation and evolution of the assignment; explains the assessment and individual interview process; and assesses the success of the assignment. Includes the assignment requirements…

Describes a research assignment (called "photo-elicitation") in a graduate course on the role of photography in society in which students interview people similar to the subjects in the photographs to discover how the photographs affect them. Includes material from one research project interviewing three recovering drug addicts responding to Larry…

Describes school-based service learning at the middle school level and the rationale for implementing service-learning projects. Differentiates various types of projects, provides guidelines and ideas for implementing projects, and describes relevant organizations at the community, state, and national levels. (KB)