This digest provides a framework for professional development of outdoor educators. Outdoor and environmental educators share similar principles of outdoor learning. Thus, the performance standards recently drafted by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) can serve as a useful guide for outdoor education generally.…

These two 1995 issues of the journal "Offspring," a publication of the Michigan Council of Cooperative Nursery Schools, cover a variety of topics familiar to nursery school and day care providers including the mission of the publication. Articles are short pieces useful to practitioners and are frequently accompanied by classroom activities.…

This document presents the working papers from a conference that explored ways for students to commemorate the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights. The conference provided an opportunity for leaders in law-related education and others interested in the Bicentennial to work together to begin exploring, identifying, sharing, and jointly suggesting…

Because many cultures celebrate a harvest time or festival with which many children can identify, this farm preschool curriculum unit is appropriate for a cross-cultural setting. The farm unit is introduced to children through a field trip to a local farm, with children having the opportunity for experiential learning. The farm may be integrated…

This packet contains seven research briefs in the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's (NWREL's) "School Improvement Research Series" for 1995-96. Topical Synthesis #8, "Community-Based Learning: A Foundation for Meaningful Educational Reform" (Thomas R. Owens and Changhua Wang) summarizes lessons that NREL has learned over the past 20…

Alternative teaching strategies such as cooperative group work should be followed by cooperative assessment strategies. Teachers of teachers use various teaching models but may fail to also model a similar variety of assessment strategies. When the emphasis is on cooperative learning, especially with an issues-oriented approach, then the…

This paper shows how visual media may be used in the high school and college classroom to foster analytical, communicative, and interpretive skills traditionally developed through reading. It suggests that L. Joplin's (1985) 5-stage experiential learning model and Anita Covert's (1980) EDIT system can be used to teach a range of media. It…

A study compared a number of features of apprenticeships in the 12 Member States of the European Union. The study showed that the apprentice contract or indenture has become an integral part of apprenticeship in all Member States. Admissions requirements for access to apprenticeshp, in general, are not high. Although it was an option open to those…

Active learning results in better comprehension and retention of course concepts than passive learning. Experiential exercises (EE's) are a valuable means of achieving the goals of active learning. Well conceived EE's require, among other things, that the student: (1) engage in the gathering of concept-related behavioral data; (2) write a report…

Visual learning has long been recognized as an integral process in educating biology undergraduates, who must develop specific visual skills and knowledge in order to communicate and work in the extensive visual culture shared by practicing biologists. Student experiences with field observations and the development and application of verbal/visual…

This book combines the excitement of the Internet with conventional learning resources to explore early civilizations and cultures. This approach encourages independent student research, problem solving, and decision making while bringing together the fascination of archaeology with the Internet and hands-on learning activities. Students learn the…

This report reviews the literature and research on the use of experiential learning in higher education, focusing on classroom-community linkages. It defines experiential learning and reviews the current employment of experiential learning in higher education. An introductory section explains the politics and policy issues of experiential learning…

Taking the position that Youth for Justice Youth Summits were highly successful in their inaugural year of 1995, this report explains the purpose and goals of the summits. The report also summarizes the activities undertaken in the 47 states (plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) where the summits were held on a state-by-state basis. The…

An innovative approach to teaching undergraduate psychology in a self-directed group discussion format was implemented at Raymond Walters College, in Ohio, based on premises from the active learning and employee involvement movements holding that adults achieve more when they are actively involved in their own learning and that students are…

A number of premises undergird the emerging relationships between education and work. The first nine suppositions suggest more powerful ways to conceptualize the substantive elements of schooling, emphasizing curriculum, instruction, and counseling and guidance. The final three focus on the organizational management aspects of education and work…