Discusses the validity, reliability, and utility of portfolio assessment. Examines the differences between the application of portfolio assessment in the visual arts and traditional subjects. Although generally supportive of portfolio assessment, maintains that widespread acceptance of educational innovation is often difficult and compromised.…

Chicago's High School for Agricultural Sciences is a popular and successful urban school devoted to agriculture. This agriculturally focused high school features a tough academic curriculum and hands-on learning designed to prepare the predominantly Black and Hispanic student body for college and careers in agriculture. (SM)

A fourth-grade Nova Scotia class produced a weekly 1-hour radio show. Students decided the program format, show themes, topics, and group members. Each show was co-hosted by four students. All students got a chance to host, and all were successful. The project addressed most of the language arts standards and gave students experience in technology…

Presents a model of four levels of experience in training adventure education leaders: direct instruction, student interaction in class, technical skill development, and internships. Internships allow students to think for themselves and solve real-world problems while experiencing teaching on their own. Utilizing all levels increases student…

Factors keeping teachers "in the box" of traditional education are the physical and psychological environment, the moral setting, and staying true to the discipline. "Out of the box" teaching is experiential, student-centered, interdisciplinary, and cooperative. Each way of teaching leads to a particular way of knowing.…

Literacy is discussed in the broadest sense. From an Aboriginal perspective, literacy is about sustaining a world view and culture, resymbolizing and reinterpreting past experience while honoring traditional values, living these values, and visioning a future in which an Aboriginal way of being will continue to thrive. Meaningful Aboriginal…

Asserts that play is an important medium for young children's learning, one that contributes to the child's cognitive, physical, emotional, and social development. Discusses the qualities that distinguish play from other activities, the skills children develop from exposure to a variety of play experiences at home and in the classroom, and…

A college course in Queensland (Australia) brings Indigenous women into the class to teach their music and dance. Performative pedagogy involves students as audience and participants, providing opportunities to critically engage with the social, political, and ethical dimensions of power and knowledge in the university setting. Student comments…

Hoechst Celanese, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical and chemical companies, used an Innovation Model as a framework for integrating the technology, business, and human factors needed to solve problems and create business successes. The model involved three elements (expertise, skills, and motivation). An experiential course in principles…

Outlines the efforts of the Department of General Practice to develop a clear educational philosophy on which to build its curriculum. Also illustrates the application of this philosophy in developing a community-based early clinical contact course for first-year students. The philosophy was constructed from the basis of whole-person medicine and…

Describes experiential exercises used by the author to facilitate both self-awareness and an appreciation of the impact of race and culture in the United States in a group of students consisting mainly of undergraduate social work majors. These exercises generate deep reflection and personal insights on race and ethnicity. (SLD)

Reports a study that examined secondary physical education teacher and student behavior, comparing more- and less- effective teachers. Videotapes of teachers teaching a new gymnastic skill indicated that more-effective teachers had more active learning time and less instruction time, and they spent significantly more time observing students.…

Examined learning's role in the working lives of 51 teacher-leaders in the Pacific Northwest, focusing on in-depth case studies of nine individuals. Predictable hindrances to adult learning emerged from subject interviews: lack of time, collegial tolerance, and administrative support; family pressures; and inappropriate inservice. Despite decades…

A recreation professor and a writing teacher created a college program combining outdoor experiences with personal narrative writing. Students learn technical outdoor skills and a process of self-discovery, experience the complete writing process, and build cohesive discourse communities. Developing such a program involves making goals, designing…

A summer program at Ambleside (England) works with adolescents who are at risk of becoming disaffected with life. Challenging outdoor activities increase students' self-esteem and keep them in contact with education, training, or employment. Good facilities and a pleasant environment can contribute to meeting objectives, but facilitators'…