Programs that educate students about their local community's history and ecology, and enable student interaction with the community through service and experiential learning are helpful to high-risk students, promote socially responsible citizenship, instill a sense of place, and can develop local funding and resources. Gives examples of local…

Recounts the development of a CyberPals project between Redlands Unified School District (California) and Plymouth Village Retirement Community (California) to connect students with seniors via electronic mail. Discusses how the project was incorporated into the elementary social studies curriculum and its impact on the students. (DSK)

Touts the advantages of experiential learning through educational games, or simulations, as provided by outdoor-learning centers. The organization of outdoor learning is discussed along with ways for integrating community groups into the activities. Included are five examples, a bibliography, and contact information for two centers that support…

Contends that the game of "musical chairs" demonstrates how students learn about competition versus cooperation as well as a variety of sociological concepts and theories. Outlines material requirements and rules for playing the game, and suggests methods for post-game debriefings. Notes sociological applications and implications that can be…

A Seattle (Washington) third-grade class's curiosity about the school's neighborhood spiraled into a student-centered, experiential community research project that integrated several curriculum requirements, especially math and writing. Learning through the questioning process, such as by developing hypotheses and interview questions, develops…

The realization that students' and teachers' collaborative efforts are more creative, innovative, and academically challenging than traditional teacher-controlled instruction is the underlying premise behind these awards given by the Foxfire Fund. Describes the learner-centered experiences of seven award-winning classrooms from around the United…

Describes strategies for teaching middle school students in a manner that promotes inclusion while allowing for individual differences, including the needs of special-needs students. Strategies discussed include the use of journals, student designed projects, hands-on experiences, and role play or simulation. (DB)

Experiential learning generally, and service learning specifically, can teach citizenship skills necessary to a democracy, unify the curriculum, better serve at-risk students, and accommodate different learning styles. Gives arguments and criteria for integrating service learning into mainstream education and examples of programs utilizing service…

Compared children in a home-based Head Start Family Child Care Program with those in regular Head Start classrooms over a three-year period. The home-based group received the same comprehensive Head Start services as the classroom group, with a curriculum built around the children, family life, and the culture and geography of Minnesota. Found no…

Describes three academic group activities used with children or adults in adventure-, challenge-, and experiential-education settings (including classrooms). Includes target group, group size, time and space requirements, activity level, props needed, instructions, ideas for post-activity group processing and reflection, and follow-up activities.…

Addresses the need for implementing computer technology in social studies programs. Offers five different constructs for teachers to consider when applying computer technology in social studies classrooms, and the topic of development in particular. Gives a list of Web sites, each with accompanying abstracts, on development issues, map resources,…

A private secondary school in Portland, Oregon, sees arts and academics as equally important to education. The school integrates art throughout the curriculum; offers specialized classes in performing, visual, and media arts, taught by professionals; and offers field experiences and internships. Students progress through the performance-based…

Describes the Tea House Project that was an authentic hands-on activity introducing students to an important facet of Japanese culture; students built the tea house as a temporary structure in the tradition of the huts of Japan's wandering monks. Provides addresses to get materials for building a Japanese tea house. (CMK)

Funded by Lockheed Martin, the University of New Mexico College of Education conducts three-week summer science academies for elementary school teachers of populations underrepresented in science and math. Native American teachers and Hispanic teachers whose families have lived in New Mexico for generations learn to use their own local knowledge…

A study examined how academic staff involved in workplace supervision of students conceive of the workplace experience in four professional areas: engineering, business administration, health sciences, and social science. Five concepts are identified, and a relationship is seen between the conceptions and the quality of student learning. Staff…