A war rages over outcome-based education. There is one primary reason for the OBE backlash: the mastery outcomes are often vaguely worded and associated largely with the affective domain. Supporters'"Aquarian" and "Nostalgist" fallacies do not help. A twofold policy embodying high, uniform, but sensible standards and…

Given the widespread acceptance of pseudoscientific and paranormal beliefs, this article suggests that science educators need to seriously consider the problem of how these beliefs can be combated. Proposes teaching science students to critically evaluate the claims of pseudoscience and the paranormal. (LZ)

Describes barriers to self-direction in learning from organizations, educators, and learners, emerging from emotions, understanding, and values. Provides an annotated bibliography of 17 sources about overcoming resistance. (SK)

Review of research on nurses' attitudes about AIDS reveals a misconception that negative attitudes prevail. Continued focus on negative attitudes might steer nurses away from AIDS care. Research should emphasize what nurses need to learn about AIDS. (SK)

Documents growing public support for school choice and profiles four types of choice programs. Although the school-choice movement has some real advantages in producing a market-driven, competitive, and performance-based system, it is not an educational panacea. Fundamental changes are needed within society, regulating political agencies, and…

The role, function, and historical perspective of entrepreneurship have been misunderstood. Rather than being used synonymously with charismatic leadership or small business, it should be considered the shifting of resources from areas of low to areas of high productivity. (SK)

Educators and business people must recognize that there is no shortage of skilled labor but a shortage of jobs requiring skilled labor. Corporate America appears to be hiding decades of mismanagement behind presumed faults of the education system. The salaries of skilled laborers have actually declined 3 percent since 1987, and about 20 percent of…

Examines a strand of Basil Bernstein's sociology that considers the importance of language. Attempts to understand the central meaning of Bernstein's work and classroom applications. Argues against interpretations supporting either a deficit explanation for student performance or one based on home-school differences. Recognizes language's…

To give practitioners greater control of theory, myths about theory must be dismantled; limitations in theories currently guiding practice must be acknowledged; and theory to fill the gaps and build a more adequate knowledge base must be developed. (SK)

Without a definition of good teaching, the supervisor's efforts to help teachers improve will probably be fragmented, and teacher improvement may not occur. This article examines three definitions of good teaching, presents and defends a certain definition, and suggests supervisory applications. Good teachers are proficient in the kinds of…

Describes a study that interviewed 32 students to determine their understanding of the meaning of a range of science processes. A total of 63 misconceptions was identified. (ZWH)

Identifies some common misconceptions regarding diffusion that exist among many biology teachers as well as students. Offers suggestions and demonstrations to use in the classroom to help students gain a more accurate understanding of diffusion. (ZWH)

Presents a demonstration that employs angular momentum to disprove the myth that water spirals down a bathtub drain clockwise in one hemisphere and counterclockwise in the other because of the Coriolis force on water. (ZWH)

The headmistress of an English school in India explains how a group of eight year olds responded to finding a "ghost" in a tree in the school courtyard. First-hand observation, exploration, and hard evidence led students to a more objective interpretation of the elusive tree spirit. (MLH)

Disagrees with several points in Mike Males's teenage pregnancy article in the March 1993 "Kappan." Males emphasized that family formation among teenagers mirrors larger societal trends. Recent evidence shows otherwise. The economic and societal costs of early childbearing are worsening; 60% of teen families live in poverty. Providing adolescents…