Addresses the use of the World Wide Web by international relations students and scholars. Considers an instructional web project for an international relations class outlining the project's contribution to active learning and the development of students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Provides advice for educators interested in…

Reviews various studies on childs play and its relation to young childrens development in music learning processes and explores the role that cognitive and social play categories have in studying childrens play with music. Provides strategies for initiating music-play opportunities in a preschool classroom. (CMK)

Describes how one geology teacher relies on written and oral assignments both as learning tools and as a means to motivate students and assess their work. Frequent written and oral assignments dramatically improve the levels of engagement and learning. Presents some advantages of written and oral assignments and includes examples. (PVD)

Describes an active participation exercise that demonstrates the propagation of action potentials (the ability to transmit information through the neural network, dependent upon chemical interactions in the brain). Students assume the structure and function of the network by lining up around the room and communicating through hand signals and…

Applied learning projects at George Middle School (Portland, Oregon) include landscaping the school courtyard, helping scientists study pollution in the Columbia Slough, inventorying wildlife around Portland lakes, studying urban ecosystems and sharing information in Spanish with Mexican schools, and planting trees. Describes other school…

Reviews current trends away from multiple-choice testing to alternative forms of student evaluation. Discusses elements contributing to these trends: emphases on critical-thinking skills and active learning, research supporting a constructivist view of learning, efforts to develop academic standards and companion performance-based assessments, and…

Discusses principles to use in evaluating online university courses, including student-faculty contact; cooperation among students; active learning, including course projects; prompt feedback; time on task, including the need for deadlines; high expectations; and respecting diverse talents and ways of learning. (LRW)

Teachers at a rural Appalachian elementary school made the curriculum more responsive to students by incorporating storytelling, theater, and music. Students interviewed community members, told their stories in school and community, created and performed plays based on them, and provided workshops for classmates. Teacher perspectives, supporting…

Discussion of staff development in schools focuses on the role of school librarians. Topics include job-embedded staff development that emphasizes collaboration, including case studies, networking, and using technology for professional development; models of staff development; and effective approaches to staff development, including active teacher…

Presents ten guidelines, discussing each in detail, for teaching about the Holocaust in middle or high school. Includes topics such as encouraging active learning and a "minds-on" approach, inviting Holocaust survivors as guest speakers, and providing a base of historical knowledge. Contains references. (CMK)

A rural British Columbia K-12 school facing closure due to declining population implemented intentional learning, student-directed learning, and learning groups as core units for developing communities of learners. A computer-managed learning system and online scheduling enables delivery of a full range of courses despite decreases in teaching…

Applications of project-based learning are illustrated by examples of projects involving music, art, history, a partnership with a hospital, Native American plant remedies, roller coaster design, and making a "talking book" (CD-ROM) in English and Lushootseed (language of the Tulalip Tribes). Project learning can meet standards while involving…

Considers the impact of the Internet and online courses on learning and teaching. Topics include cost-benefit issues; learning styles; teaching styles; satisfying student needs; continuous evaluation for quality assurance; technological issues; active learning and collaborative learning; interactivity; and online course content. (LRW)

Examines ongoing shifts in education/learning related to technological change and students' growing technological literacy. Discusses shifts toward hypermedia learning, constructivism and discovery, learner-centered education, navigation of information sources and information synthesis, lifelong learning, customized learning, learning as fun, and…

Addresses the issue of student engagement in education. Suggests that reasons behind high dropout rates for first-year students may include the college's adherence to the traditional learning paradigm that characterizes the student as a passive learner. Urges institutions to move toward learning through engagement. (NB)