Presents an interview with Dr. Richard A. Schermerhorn in which he discusses his teaching experiences from 1932-72 and his views on teaching college sociology. Schermerhorn also describes the interrelated changes in society, academia, and sociology and his innovative teaching methods. (AM)

Describes a study which explored the use of teaching innovations for undergraduate sociology in 433 college sociology departments. Results showed that teaching innovations are not concentrated in innovative departments, but that different types of innovations are used to meet particular organizational needs and educational goals of a department.…

Dewey's notion of "reflective thinking" is discussed. A model of phases of reflective thinking is described: problem recognition, enumeration of possibilities, reasoning, revision, and evaluation. Each phase has at least one parameter governing its operation and one rule for setting the optimum parameter value. Sources of individual…

Three network studies in education, assessing the "state of the art," are reviewed. New directions for developing social network analysis in education are offered from the author's fieldwork in Pontiac, Michigan. It is believed that networking will remain a popular change strategy, but it will be incorporated into more comprehensive…

This is a philosophical exploration of the role of educational conventions guiding teacher behavior. Although concepts like basic skills and grade level influence teacher decisions about daily teaching activities, they can also serve as conceptual points of departure when teachers decide to innovate. (AM)

Brookline (Massachusetts) school superintendent Robert Sperber in the last 18 years built his schools into an excellent system with innovative programs. Now the implementation of Proposition 2 1/2 is forcing him to dismantle programs and cut staff and supplies. (Author/RW)

Describes a psychology course in which magical illusions were used for teaching the principles of sensation and perception. Students read psychological, philosophical, historical, and magical literature on illusion, performed a magical illusion, and analyzed the illusion in terms of the psychological principles involved. (Author/KC)

Describes current videodisc technology, including intelligent videodiscs and the process of mastering (making videodiscs). A comparison of the features of four different noncompatible playback systems and the impact of this technology on education and training is briefly discussed. (BK)

Structuralism as a theoretical base has so pervaded instructional design procedures and principles that conceptually identical constructs are competing for attention in the field. Standardization of some of these variables in a structuralist framework will facilitate theoretical and empirical development of instructional design research.…

The study recorded the origin, development, and implementation of the physical facilities, organizational structure, and program of Chamisa Elementary School, Los Alamos, New Mexico. Recommendations made pertain to administrative and public support, physical facilities, faculty selection, innovating on a limited scale, curriculum development, team…

In this speculative article, Robert R. Rentz predicts that state educational assessment programs will continue to be fertile ground for measurement innovations, both technological and otherwise, in the areas of test content, development, administration and the reporting of test results. (AEF)

Highlights several ERIC resources that discuss educational change strategies. (RL)

Presented are brief descriptions of the winning entries in this magazine's contest for existing programs to serve as prototypes for wide-scale use in elementary schools of the 1980s. Top prizes went to computer literacy, energy education, and nutrition projects. Twenty runners-up are also described. Project addresses are included. (SJL)

One educational alternative for gifted students is Saturday programs. Ongoing programs offer instruction in such diverse areas as oriental philosophy, civil engineering, television production, and magic. (PHR)

Medical, educational, and psychological research supports the idea that first-graders benefit from a shortened school day. An examination of the implementation of this idea in two Connecticut towns is offered. (LH)