Reports on a pilot project to introduce an introductory course in computer literacy for elementary through postsecondary students in Pennsylvania. Includes descriptions of course rationale and teacher training. (DC)

Discusses the origin and reports on the progress of Project RARE (Rochester Area Resource Exchange), a pilot program initiated by the New York State Regents in 1978 to promote the sharing of resources among public and nonpublic school libraries in the state. (LLS)

Describes a joint high school/college pilot program planned by Massachusetts foreign language teachers and hosted by M.I.T. The success of the program dubbed "MACH MIT Total Immersion German Weekend" is attributed to the concept of active involvement, which was implemented through games, seminars, shows, cooking and other activities.…

Chronicles the development and promise for the future of ThinkAbout, the first step in AIT's effort to embody "Skills Essential to Learning" in televised instruction. The series will debut in fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms in September and is funded by 35 states and Canadian provinces, CPB, and Exxon. (Author/CMV)

The program utilizes the gifted extension model, which is composed of four sections: (1) content, which is divided into the areas of knowledge, skills, and attitudes; (2) process, which consists of decision making, creativity, and cognition; (3) output, in which students learn problem solving skills; and (4) evaluation, in which the gifted student…

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Austin College cooperated in an experimental project to assess the quality and readiness of premedical students for medical schools and careers. The project and assessment process were mutually beneficial and it is hoped that they will be useful to those involved in career guidance. (LBH)

Describes the development and implementation of an educational program designed to teach the humanities to those living in poverty and thus help them responsibly enter the public world. The pilot program, focusing on philosophical thought and reflection, successfully helps many of its students rise above poverty and improve themselves. (GR)

Dissatisfied with the mismatch between letter grades and their new (state-mandated) curricular emphases, the Tucson (Arizona) Public Schools began experimenting with rubric descriptions of student progress. The prototype progress report assesses students in two general categories: learner qualities and content areas. Frequent communication with…

Explores challenges that the design and realization of Web-based collaborative learning activities present for authors, tutors, and students, and suggests how quality can be assured. Describes a pilot study at a German vocational institution in a business English class that used a chat tool as computer mediated communication. (Author/LRW)

Reports on the findings of a pilot study investigating the reading choices and habits of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 years. Sets out to understand more fully what, when, where, why and how adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 years are reading, and the implications of this information for teachers and classroom reading pedagogy.…

Discusses a program to improve library instruction at Rider University (New Jersey) and reports on a pilot assessment. Topics include problems with assessment; student assessment tools; and five standards based on ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) standards that were designed to improve teaching methods to address learning…

Describes a pilot exercise in teaching middle and high school students how to conduct an assessment of the physical conditions and policies of their schools. Students were taught to use Crime Prevention through Environmental Design principles and to apply them in their own schools. (SLD)

An upstate New York school district approached technology integration by setting up pilot programs using computer clusters in the classrooms of interested teachers. The first wave of teachers evaluated and incorporated third-party software into their regular teaching. A second wave of technology involved multimedia applications. A third wave will…

Reports on a pilot study which sought to find out what 4- to 8-year-old rural Australian Aboriginal children think about night and day. Findings indicate more variations in thinking than were found in earlier research. Raises questions about the framing of cross-cultural research and the realization of indigenous data. Contains 40 references.…

Outlines the service rationale, software and technology considerations taken by the Pennsylvania State University library in planning towards online, real-time reference services and provides an overview of the planned pilot project. Discusses recent trends in academic electronic libraries, including providing value-added services to support…