A fourth-grade science teacher turns a classroom incident of flatulence into a wide-ranging science discussion. He advocates spontaneous, almost random, free-flowing lessons; exploitation of charged subjects (including death, sex, disease); and nonlinear, yet organically organized, purposeful connections of various subjects leading to satisfying…

Children's natural enthusiasm for science is too often destroyed by the way the subject is taught. An elementary school teacher explains how to instill in young students an interest in science and a desire to understand why things happen as they do. (PP)

Explains how a teacher attempted to mediate between her own aesthetic and that of her students while teaching them to write poetry. (JL)

Tod Hodgdon, a former math teacher, has no background in computer science yet manages to teach a popular programing course to first-time computer users. This article describes his teaching style and presents his views on computers in the schools. (Author/SJL)

Five different perspectives on creativity in teaching are examined: (1) Creativity is developed by making teaching methods from almost nothing. (2) Creativity is fostered by idealizing without constraint. (3) Creativity can be developed through analogs. (4) Creativity can mean to reorganize or modify. (5) Creativity can be fostered using a forced…

The hypothesis that the more creative teachers would have a teaching style which favors creativity and would be more humanistic in their pupil control orientation in comparison to low creative teachers was tested with 60 secondary-level teacher educators from India. (Author)

Details the personal experiences, accumulated over a 25-year teaching career, of a physics teacher at a private boarding school in New England. (BT)

This special section describes one elementary school's Art and Artists theme, which allows students to study art across the curriculum. Various types of projects are described, including a classroom art museum, self-portrait painting, writing about art, scientific drawing, and a study of shapes. A pullout presents examples of student work. (SM)

Describes the work of Storytelling Arts Inc, a nonprofit group that sends storytellers into New Jersey schools to spin age-old yarns and encourage young children and their teachers to speak their mind. The nonprofit's main goal is to inspire low income children to master the language arts. Teachers note that storytelling helps students with their…

A fourth grade teacher commemorated Black History Month with a study of African culture and geography. Students were assigned to make a chosen African country come alive through an oral presentation. Finger puppets, which students outfitted in traditional tribal attire, were used to enhance the project. (SM)

The article describes ways to nurture gifted students without shortchanging the rest of the class. Curriculum compacting techniques allow teachers to plan for students with similar capabilities, determining which skills are already known, which need work, and what acceleration activities should be added. (SM)

The best opportunity for interjecting innovation into teaching occurs during the preservice experience. One new approach to teacher education involves creating programs for "design professionals" capable of self-reflection and creative imagination who can become educational change agents and models for the next generation of teachers. (JD)

Describes an American literature class project to save a covered bridge from collapse. Illustrates how student initiative in contacting government agencies and news media, learning the history of the bridge, and raising public awareness about the project led to a joint county agreement to preserve the historic span. (DHP)