Describes a new biochemistry laboratory course offered at the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania) which is designed to promote scientific curiosity and creativity. Uses a problems-oriented approach which provides students with independent learning experiences. Provides a listing of some of the course's laboratory exercises. (TW)

Discusses the outcomes of an investigation into the motives and appreciation of autonomous language learners among students and staff of the Department of Individual Foreign Language Studies at the University of Amsterdam. The results showed so much variety that any conclusions or correlations were hard to make. (Author/SED)

Discusses an interactive video project designed to facilitate the teaching of culture and language in an integrated manner and describes the project's hardware, authoring system, the types of visual reference materials used, the organization of the phases which make up each of its units, and what it teaches. (Author/SED)

Recounts experiences of an environmental biology class, highlighting the eight-day field trip that is the culmination of the course. Describes activities during the bus trip, a two-day canoe trip, and field work at the Ozark Underground Laboratory and Blanchard Springs Caverns. Also discusses the field journal and final examination. (JM)

Contract learning is an invaluable tool in organizational learning and management development. A contract can incorporate teacher-directed learning (TDL) and self-directed learning (SDL), as appropriate. Substantial research has revealed the power of SDL; the trick is to harness this learning for the benefit of the organization. The literature on…

Ways to enhance learning by both at-risk and underachieving students in upper-level accounting courses were studied at Morehead State University (Kentucky), based on the concepts of metacognition, self-regulated learning, and self-efficacy. It was hypothesized that students experience self-regulated learning when they reproduce problem solutions…

A study investigated the experience of midcareer adults in self-directed graduate programs. It explored two questions in the researcher's personal experience: as a learner, what caused the researcher's change in learning-orientation from goal- to learning-oriented and, as a teacher, could the researcher justify using both self- and…

During the past 25 years, self-directed, informal, and independent learning by adults has been the subject of a significant amount of research in North America but comparatively little research in Great Britain. In the United States and Canada, "self-directed learning" has become an umbrella term that has been used by different…

This book offers teachers of all grades teaching/management strategies for providing gifted students in regular classes the enriched curriculum they need. Chapter 1 describes the learning and behavioral characteristics of gifted students, especially noting underserved groups such as gifted children from multicultural and low socioeconomic…

This compact disc (CD) offers 20 lessons based on selected Chinese language video clips. Filmed on location in Beijing, these naturalistic video clips consist mainly of unrehearsed interviews with ordinary people. The learner is lead through a series of activities aiding comprehension and learning that sharpen communication strategies and…

This compact disc offers several lessons in Chinese, including a photo feature from a Chinese newspaper, the service directory from a Chinese hotel room, a pamphlet for travelers from Taiwan, a family letter, an introduction to Chinese cuisine, an article about a hijacking, a letter of agreement between institutions, an odyssey of a teenaged boy,…

This compact disc includes video clips covering six topics for the learner of Chinese: personal information, commercial transactions, travel and leisure, health and sports, food and school. Filmed on location in Beijing, these naturalistic video clips consist mainly of unrehearsed interviews of ordinary people. The learner is lead through a series…

This compact disc offers 15 Korean lessons from a variety of authentic sources including notes found on the family refrigerator, traditional folk tales, modern poetry, and Web journal articles about politics, technology, and popular culture. The learner is lead through a series of activities aiding comprehension and learning that sharpen…

This compact disc offers 10 Korean lessons from a variety of authentic sources, including the following: television commercials and scenes from a soap opera, news reports on politics, sports, the environment, and a book fair; and scenes from a Korean film, "Our Twisted Hero." The learner is lead through a series of activities aiding…

Although self-directed learning (SDL) has been promoted by businesses as being needed by managers, traditional business schools have not promoted this type of learning. In addition, some adult learners are not ready for SDL, and some subjects (such as accounting) are not suitable for SDL. The concept of self-directed learning readiness (SDLR) can…