The knowledge of foreign languages must be based on reasoning and logical insight, and second language instruction must move from the pragmatically based courses of recent years towards a new approach in which language is seen as a means to action, and where analysis, synthesis, and correct use will occupy a central position. (CB)

Topnotch scholars, academic couples, and emphasis on new theories are transforming the English department at Duke University. Professors lured to Duke say joint appointments and interdisciplinary responsibilities are a big part of the attraction. Several members describe their work as left-leaning or Marxist. (MLW)

A review of literature regarding the communicative approach to language teaching discusses achievements and problems with this approach, language learning and the social self, speech and cognition, and reactive and proactive initiative. The need to develop language learning environments which will enhance proactive initiative and self-reliance in…

Foreign language acquisition research (concerned with the theoretical and practical issues related to socialization into and literacy in another language and culture) can help integrate language, literature, and culture in foreign language departments because it draws on insights gained from such diverse fields as anthropology, sociology,…

Describes and analyzes a college level course taught on the Vietnam War. Evaluates the success of the course and notes some limitations. (RKM)

The article examines problems in the traditional assessment procedures used with the physically handicapped and discusses the use of adaptive behavior scales with emphasis on application of the results through a multidisciplinary approach. Selected adaptive behavior scales are described, and guidelines for test administration with the physically…

Discusses "invisible thinking" (responsive critical analysis inseparable from content) and "hypertext" (multilayered multimedia, computer-accessed compilation of data and visual images). Argues that a curriculum focusing on these concepts is more effective in teaching the basics of initial skill mastery and the "higher…

"Galileo," a team-taught interdisciplinary course required of all ninth grade students at Francis Parker, an urban school in Chicago, was based on the life of Galileo and its dramatization in a play by Brecht. The principal theme was the relationship between observation and inference, and the conflict between scientific knowledge and…

The Interagency Committee on Learning Disabilities, which submitted its report to Congress in August 1987, recommended a revision in the legislative definition of learning disabilities. It also recommended funding interdisciplinary research centers "to devise broad and longitudinal multidisciplinary approaches" and a central…

The paper identifies factors influencing the direction of Early Childhood Special Education by the year 2000. Predictions are offered about least restrictive environment options, transdisciplinary team models, empirical bases for family involvement, technology, number of children needing services, availability of resources, and the relationship of…

A lack of cooperation between engineering and liberal arts faculty members, along with inadequate student advising, has thwarted efforts to broaden the education of engineering undergraduates. A report by the Association of American Colleges, "Unfinished Design: The Humanities and Social Sciences in Undergraduate Engineering Education,"…

A group of school and college administrators, Alliance of Educators, recommends that there be a focus on liberal arts and science instruction in secondary curricula, technology's impact be acknowledged, special attention be given to needs of Blacks and Hispanics, teachers be given more instructional flexibility, and state tests evaluate critical…

Identifies problems involved in the implementation of a course designed to explore issues at the interface of technology and society. Suggests steps for successfully maintaining this type of program. (RT)

The article discusses how the collaborative relationships of classroom, remedial, and special education teachers might be improved to develop specialized reading programs for low achieving and handicapped students. A decision-making framework based on levels of intensity of instruction is offered for the stages of the consultative process.…

Changes in biomedical research are outlined including financial competition that forces investigators to spend more time developing proposals and creates pressures to produce quickly; obsolescence of equipment, facilities, people, and knowledge; demand for interdisciplinary approaches and greater accountability; joint ventures with profit making…