Rich educational environments encourage students to construct their own knowledge, to solve problems collaboratively, and to heighten their interest and motivation to continue to learn. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative study that investigated the formation of collaborative problem solving through social interaction during a…

This document includes the left-hand column ("What All Students Should Know") and the center column ("What All Students Should Be Able To Do") from "Missouri's Framework for Curriculum Development in Communication Arts K-12." Next to these two columns has been added a column which includes assessment notes for those…

A course in scientific English for science researchers and advanced civil engineering students in Belgium has a central problem--the heterogeneous nature of the group and lack of common research experience around which to build a curriculum. An attempt to overcome this difficulty by using two logical problems for discussion is presented. (MSE)

The authors discuss the role industrial arts and vocational education must play in developing the technological literacy of our youth. This literacy includes understanding technology (production, energy and power, and communication), consumer knowledge of technological products, ability to use microcomputers, and increased comfort with…

In seven articles discusses topics related to the practice of employment counseling in Canada including: (1) assessment in employment counseling; (2) problem- solving approaches to group employment issues; (3) competency-based training and certification for counselors; (4) taping client interviews; and (5) clients typology most likely to benefit…

The key faculty teaching skills needed at McMaster University are those of facilitating problem-based, self-directed learning in small groups. A series of interdisciplinary workshops, offered to the school's medical faculty and to faculty from other health sciences centers to help them improve their skills, allows for direct observation, practice,…

Addressing rural school leaders, this article suggests solutions to six common problems regarding curriculum development in small schools: past neglect of comprehensive curriculum studies and resultant teacher apathy; teacher turnover; limited number of teachers per grade or subject area; inadequate time for curriculum work; inadequate financing;…

Describes a partnership that linked ninth-grade earth science students with local government agencies and businesses. It facilitated accessing, manipulating, and analyzing digital imagery from satellites and ground-based data-receiving systems. Highlights three projects that involve middle-level students in real-world geological problem solving.…

Debates what the role of activism should be in environmental education. Argues that there is a proper place for citizen action in the environmental education curriculum and that instructional sequences should end with citizen action. (DDR)

Presents a problem-posing curriculum integrating a class-generated theme with pronunciation acquisition. The curriculum outlines six steps needed to generate, develop, and critically analyze a problem relevant to the group. Notes that student reaction to the curriculum suggests the effectiveness of this approach. (17 references) (Author/CK)

Maintains that the mechanisms and learning strategies through which students learn the arts can be adapted into models of instruction for other subjects. Notes the many instances where students, particularly high-risk students, do well in arts education classes only to suffer through the more traditional curriculum. (MJP)

Summarizes recent developments in student-centered open-ended learning environments, which provide electronic tools and resources for students to use in addressing authentic situated problems and to support students' thinking and problem-solving processes. Also analyzes issues in design and utilization and presents implications for teaching,…

Eight approaches to organizational change and problem solving that use large-scale events and involve a broad range of stakeholders are described, and their applications to college administration are discussed. They include future searches; open space technology; interactive design method; home-grown events such as retreats; great teaching…

Research developments in cognitive psychology, and their implications for teaching and learning at the level of professional education, are summarized. Areas discussed include organization of long-term memory, influences on storage and retrieval from memory, problem solving and transfer/use of analogy, concept formation/categorization/pattern…

Examines how the holiday of Thanksgiving is treated in primary books and offers comparisons of 28 popular titles in print. Innovative classroom and media center projects are described, including discussions, drawings, bulletin boards, problem-solving activities, and cooking. (LRW)