Alberta's model junior high school environmental and outdoor education curriculum, a component in Canadian government's Active Living Environment Program, aims to help young adolescents appreciate the personal, interpersonal, and environmental consequences of their actions. Course elements include outdoor experiences and skills, personal and group…

A middle school social studies teacher developed a community service program to help his students learn by doing and relate to the real world and its problems. Students chose issues of concern to them and performed services in those realms to benefit the community (including studying about and eliminating graffiti). (SM)

Maintains that the study of complex organizations has long been central to sociology. Presents and describes a college assignment based on the sociological practice perspective, a new approach to social science instruction. Includes a six-step student process, information on grading, and a sample of student questions. (CFR)

Reports on the use of an interactive interface in school-based research to explore the learning of kinematics through body movement. Responses from, as well as the successes of, middle and secondary school students are indicated as significant for learning behaviors both in a school setting and at interactive science exhibits. (22 references)…

Contends that public monuments and memorials provide excellent opportunities to teach historical geography and community studies. Illustrates this view with examples of monuments and memorials in the United States and other nations. Provides teaching strategies and a four-step process to use memorials and monuments in the classroom. (CFR)

Reports on a three-year study of the operational and formal curricula in the visual arts, music, drama, and dance. Discusses three operational types of art education: (1) the "little intervention" model; (2) the production-oriented curriculum; and (3) the guided-exploration orientation. (CFR)

The use of naturalistic teaching procedures in developmentally appropriate early childhood settings was evaluated in two single subject studies. Acquisition and maintenance of skills within developmentally appropriate play contexts were demonstrated by a preschooler with Down's syndrome and one with mild developmental delay. (DB)

Contends that a challenge of teaching humanistic geography is to encourage students' responses to landscapes in ways that may be different from their previous experience. Argues that conventional practices may not be appropriate instructional procedure in humanistic geography and describes an alternative approach. (CFR)

Asserts that society is fragmented and there is a need for strong support networks. Describes a cooperative community building program in North Carolina involving East Carolina University's art education program, Greenville (NC) public schools, and the McDonalds corporation. (CFR)

An urban teacher highlighted cost of living to make mathematics instruction more meaningful and help students develop problem-solving strategies. Sixth graders created and operated their own businesses in class, learning how to depend upon themselves and budget their money as they faced realistic problems with budgets, bills, and sales. (Author/SM)

Contends that students traditionally have characterized social studies as difficult, uninteresting, and largely irrelevant to their present and future lives. Describes the development and use of social studies learning activity packets. Illustrates how the activity packets are consistent with current trends. (CFR)

A September 1991 National Council for Social Studies report urges that social studies instruction for middle school students should focus on developing young adolescents' self-esteem, personal ethics, democratic values, and concern for the larger world. These values are fostered by using experiential learning, interdisciplinary instruction,…

A theoretical perspective is presented for examining conceptual change in adolescence and the social context of learning. A case study of the Computer as Lab Partner project illustrates the following: (1) conceptual and cognitive changes in eighth graders' understanding of physical science concepts; (2) ways concepts are constructed; and (3)…

Presents an interview with Phil Nyden, a professor at Loyola University (Illinois). Describes his qualitative methods course. Includes his suggestion of a group project rather than individual research projects enabling students to focus on methodology rather than substantive issues. Lists course objectives: learning qualitative methods, applied…

By reviewing the training of medical professionals, one can identify similarities to the preparation of education professionals (teachers). On a basic level, the medicine and education fields are both practice-oriented; require individuals with problem-solving, decision-making, and interpersonal skills; depend on information bases that multiply…