Analyzes a teacher education program centered in a constructivist teaching model, "Fostering Community of Learners," showing how three program iterations over time grappled with the fusing of inspiration, reasoning, skill development, and design work. Though none of the iterations were shining successes, all of the elements were…

Highlights 26 American community colleges that have implemented ground-breaking programs. Describes a survey conducted to glean information from 670 colleges. Discusses projects such as the Chesapeake Area Consortium for Higher Education--a partnership between Chesapeake College (Maryland) and two other institutions--which offers Physical Therapy…

Examines the uses of R.I.C.E. (Responsibility, Interdependence, Creativity, and Empowerment) processes to enhance civic education programs. Highlights R.I.C.E.'s compatibility with the National Standards for Civics and Government in the areas of shared responsibility, global interdependence, dynamic creativity, and people empowerment. Includes…

The current challenge for educators in inclusive settings is changing the curriculum to meet students' needs. This article describes a four-step curriculum-centered collaboration process involving regular- and special-education teachers. During the orientation phase, teachers establish rapport and set expectations for their collaboration. They…

Devised a model that hypothesized that students, in discriminating relevant information in mathematical story problems, search for values of semantic categories that match those in the problem. Two experiments assessed the validity of the model. Results indicated that the model was an accurate predictor of discrimination performance for successful…

Describes an early childhood educator's approach to teaching children about rain, rainbows, clouds, precipitation, the sun, air, and wind. Recommends ways to organize study topics and describes experiments that can help children better understand the different elements of weather. (MOK)

This article describes a multi-part approach to Shakespeare's playwriting, including his conception of comedy, his method of characterization, aspects of staging, and the status of male and females. It can accommodate all types of Shakespearean plays. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is treated as seminal, while other plays are also…

Discusses intellectual, practical, and accountability problems of the integrated curriculum model. Notes the need for improving basic classroom instruction before reform. Argues for the potential of the basic theory of curriculum integration. (JPB)

Discusses how learners affective domain should be incorporated into development of a second and foreign language curriculum. Addresses theoretical perspectives on the application of affective characteristics into curricular design for second and foreign language teaching and undertakes practical considerations for using this approach. (Author/VWL)

This action research study examines the perspectives and voices of students in a postsecondary Japanese class through an authentic project--a pen pal letter exchange. The project's effects on student motivation and learning are analyzed through the lens of the five goals of the national standards: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons,…

Draws on the new field of mathematical study called fractal geometry. Illustrates the pervasiveness and constraining tendencies of classical geometries. Suggests that fractal geometry is a mathematical analogue to fields such as post-modernism, post-structuralism, and ecological theory. Examines how fractal geometry can complement other emergent…

Traces the development of New American Schools, a nonprofit organization created in 1991 to apply a research and development approach to the design and dissemination of models of whole-school reform. (PKP)

Details study of the decision-making process of four middle school teachers who first decided to use integrative approaches to plan their curriculum and later stopped or reduced their use of curriculum integration in favor of more traditional curriculum planning. Considers the burden of the time it takes to plan, implement, assess, and defend…

Investigated factors that motivate students to learn by interviewing six self-described underachieving middle school students and their teachers. Developed a theory for meaningful, engaged learning involving four key components: learning environment, experience, motivation, and meaning making. (JPB)

Compares two models for design--systems and user-centered--each of which embodies different values. Argues that models of technology design can be applied to the development of Web-based courses and that various forms of user-centered design embody the values most compatible with writing instruction. Presents strategies for adopting a…