This handbook aims to: (1) introduce teachers and pupils to Charles Darwin, his life and work at Down House, his voyage on the Beagle, and his evolutionary theory; (2) set his ideas within the wider context of the 19th century; (3) link the subject areas to the British National Curriculum, particularly in history, science, and English at various…

Recognizing that active learning is suited not just to children but to adults as well, this study guide is designed to support adults engaged in learning the High/Scope approach to preschool education, in a college course, on their own, or in staff development programs. Each study guide chapter consists of a variety of interactive exercises to…

An increasing number of educators advocate the feeling dimension in learning. Quality emotions and feelings assist students in achieving optimally in the cognitive domain. Individuals who are hostile, negative, have short attention spans, and mistreat others in the classroom have more difficulty reaching their potential than other students in the…

Nearly 100 teachers worked with staff members at the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco, California, to create scaled-down versions of Exploratorium exhibits that teachers could make on their own using common, inexpensive, readily-available materials. The experiments--called "snacks"--are divided into easy-to-follow sections that…

This book offers an overview of the cooperative learning process, including its rationale, research base, value, and practical considerations, with an emphasis on two key characteristics: cooperative learning's ability to create communities within classrooms, and well-structured, sequenced assignments which allow students to internalize…

This investigation chronicled the experiences of an instructor and her students as they first experienced a distance course that utilized various technologies. Both the instructor and the students had limited or no experience with e-mail, use of the Internet, or the supporting software. The students were 33 elementary school teachers taking a…

This paper examines how helpful it is to treat, at the theoretical level, the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) separately from one another. It is commonly asserted that this is not the best approach, and that these four skills really have a great deal in common and it makes more sense to treat them holistically.…

This document is comprised of 10 High/Scope fact sheets for parents, detailing the history of the High/Scope educational approach and describing its educational practice and curriculum. The major topic for each four-page fact sheet follows: (1) educational approach, including goals for young children and features of the High/Scope approach to…

As part of an international comparative study of active learning in seven countries, a case study examined active learning practices of students and teachers in a small rural school in Finland. Small schools have traditionally existed in the sparsely populated Finnish countryside, and 60 percent of Finnish elementary schools have 1-3 teachers.…

Creating learning environments and learning experiences for students has always been at the heart of student affairs work. This document is intended to provide guidelines, titled "Principles of Good Practice," as to how student affairs can advance student learning, and it serves as a framework to aid student affairs in meeting challenges…

Describes the application of the Piaget-based learning cycle technique for teaching an introductory organic chemistry course. Explains the step-by-step process used to convert a lecture course into a discussion-based active learning course. A learning cycle provides students with concrete material and aids them in understanding abstract concepts…

Examines the required and elective geography courses, staffing, textbooks, and methodology used in Dutch secondary school geography instruction. Shows that geography enjoys a high status, that Dutch textbooks tend to apply major geographic themes to a specific regional setting, and that active learning plays a prominent role. (MJP)

To avert a collision between a strategy of educational equity and the push for excellence, impediments to inclusion must be closely examined. This examination will facilitate restructuring of schools' standard operating procedures to accommodate the Coalition of Essential Schools philosophy, which advocates flexible scheduling, heterogeneous…

Discusses ways in which parents can foster children's curiosity by engaging in activities with them and asking probing questions to help children find answers on their own. Activities described include mixing different substances with water to note changes, identifying trees by leaf shape and bark texture, observing squirrel behavior, and making…

Presents two examples of laboratory exercises using the World Wide Web for first-year medical students. The first example introduces the physical laws that apply to osmotic, chemical, and electrical gradients and a simulation of the ability of the sodium-potassium pump to establish chemical gradients and maintain cell volume. The second module…