This publication brings together ideas, techniques, and designs that have been encountered by designers of school community centers. It is intended as a guide to creating a school community center that will meet the needs of a particular community and help make it a more vibrant, healthy, desirable place in which to live. Part I (encompassing…

When elementary and middle level students lack effective problem-solving skills, they may make poor behavior choices in social conflicts, contributing to a negative learning and instructional environment. This action research project evaluated the impact of using social skills instruction to improve students' ability to solve problems related to…

In a teaching experiment, 16 face-to-face and 11 e-mail Finnish university students engaged in an argumentation course. The 19 students of the control group did not study argumentation. The course involved two lectures, exercises with argumentative texts, and face-to-face or e-mail seminar discussions based on these texts. The topics of the texts…

This multidisciplinary guide provides middle and high school teachers and students with inquiry-based tools to support their exploration of emerging local, national, international, and transboundary security issues. Students are introduced to critical thinking, problem solving, and peacemaking strategies that will help them better understand…

This paper is based on observations of ten middle and high school science teachers in a multimedia workshop during the fall semester of 1997 in a large Northeastern public university. The workshop objective was implementation of multimedia technology in teachers' classrooms. The following methods were employed in this project: multimedia portfolio…

Pre-service elementary education teachers who were enrolled in an educational technology course participated in a semester-long collaboration with technology. The course provided them with the opportunity to apply previously learned theory and to assess, design, develop, and implement solutions to educational problems. The course culminated in…

The Eckerd Wilderness Educational System provides emotionally disturbed children with alternative education in a year-round wilderness camp setting. Journal availability: see RC 503 504. (SB)

Playing simulation games is seen as having obvious educational value with players learning through personal involvement. Several games are described, including Communication Networks, Heating and Air-Conditioning (HAC), Construction Management Game, Semiotics, Awards, Blocks, Would You Like to Be an Architect?, POLIGRIP, and PASS. (MLW)

Describes two studies of mathematical problem solving using an episode from "The Adventures of Jasper Woodbury," a set of curriculum materials that afford complex problem-solving opportunities. Discussion focuses on characteristics of problems that make solutions difficult, kinds of reasoning that dyadic interactions support, and…

Describes a research project in which the students examine data showing the income disparity between men and women. The students decide on which sociological theories might explain this discrepancy and devise a study to test this hypothesis. Includes instructions for the assignment and guidelines for cooperative learning. (MJP)

At the University of Newcastle (Australia), architecture students' design projects, a central feature of the professional program, are based on design problems requiring integration of information from varied disciplines and therefore, rigorous planning and scheduling. The problem-based learning approach has helped improve student outcomes and has…

Describes the process of problem-based learning (PBL), discusses the history of the movement, and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of PBL. Explains the advantages of PBL in developing desirable attributes in biochemistry graduates which include being able to generalize, being able to interpret data, and possessing knowledge of relevant…

Uses the case study of a new private school to investigate the implementation of a curriculum designed to incorporate project-oriented, problem-based learning, and a constructivist approach to challenge gifted learners. Discusses the origins of the school, influencing factors, and implications for initiating similar efforts. (MJP)

Discusses the virtual library as a model for library service in developing countries and describes the potential for these countries to solve many problems through access to needed information and through increased cooperation. Outlines obstacles to achieving this goal, which include lack of economic resources, technological dependence on…

A study investigated how the social process and context of multidisciplinary teams in two rural, southern elementary schools inhibited the unbiased discussion of African American students' psychoeducational functioning. Although ethnic bias was not documented, four themes related to the teams social context and bias in the problem-solving process…