Discusses possible changes that may occur in higher education in the coming years in methods of teaching and learning history. The use of new technology to update current teaching methods and student assignments is described, including the use of machine-readable records and databases together with optical disks and hypermedia for visual images.…

Discusses "connectionism," an alternative learning model wherein meaning resides in the function of the whole state of a network, rather than being localizable in certain symbols or areas. Topics discussed include integration with other learning models; the culture of the mathematics classroom; and characteristics of alternative…

Discusses the use of the computer software MINITAB in teaching statistics to explore concepts, simulate games of chance, transform the normal variable into a z-score, and stimulate small and large group discussions. (MDH)

Describes the Microworld Chance, a simulation-oriented computer environment that allows students to explore probability concepts in five subenvironments: coins, dice, spinners, thumbtacks, and marbles. Results of a teaching experiment to examine the effectiveness of the microworld in changing students' misconceptions about probability are…

Reprints a 1904 article from the "Journal of Geography" exploring geography's teaching focus. Argued for unchanged emphasis on the land and its people but advocated a deeper geographical interpretation of history. Contended that teaching should pay attention to scientific interpretation, and that children should discover a self-constructed…

Raises questions about an aspect of rhetoric called the commonplace. Suggests how commonplaces may be applied to educational topics in innovative ways. Shows historical analysis can highlight assumed concepts and values in discourse, policy, and practices. Argues educators must increase awareness of the interrelated arts of rhetoric in teaching by…

Suggests ways music teachers can improve their teaching and solve instructional problems by using existing research and conducting their own. Also offers strategies to help music district supervisors encourage effective use of research. Identifies several useful publications as sources of research reports. Includes a chart listing reasons and…

Introduces a four-step process of clustering to help students integrate their reading and writing skills to produce better papers in their college courses. Provides students writing samples from before and after clustering. (MG)

"Texts and Teachers," a truly collaborative, NEH-funded program originating in Brown University's Department of Comparative Literature, is a long-term university/high-school partnership in creating interdisciplinary courses. Sample course titles include "Desire and the Marketplace,""Coming of Age," and "City…

Describes the use of a multi-part journal format, known as the synthesis journal, in academic assistance composition classes. The journal promotes students' abilities to synthesize ideas from four major sources--text, lecture, class discussion, and personal experience--and encourages higher-order thinking skills without shifting attention from the…

Examines the use of new technology in foreign-language classrooms, specifically language labs equipped with interactive computers, interactive software packages, CD-ROMS, e-mail, and the Internet. States that faculty members are creating language multimedia packages that engage students in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Suggests ways…

Considers how teachers can help students become literate, critical, creative thinkers by aligning curricula, teaching strategies, and instructional resources. Promotes literacy, higher-level thinking, and writing skills through the interdisciplinary approach of combining language and art. Suggests that creating a comic strip stimulates and…

Uses an achievement-goal framework to examine changes in students' motivation for reading and writing (a longitudinal study involving 431 students in grades 3 through 5) and to evaluate a classroom-intervention project. Finds that, as teachers provided more opportunities for students to complete challenging, collaborative, and multiday…

Describes the development and implementation of real-world simulations in the classroom by Southwest Virginia Community College instructors in a Mathematics for Allied Health course. States that real-world simulations provide an avenue for active, contextual learning in what was a traditional classroom. Contains 11 references. (VWC)

Discusses the impact of teaching econometrics, particularly the theoretical aspects, in a computer classroom focusing on the hands-on and discovery learning approaches that computers encourage. Explores the problems that occur when teaching in a computer classroom, such as the increase in course preparation time. Includes reactions by Jeffrey…