It is suggested that John Dewey would today emphasize the structuring of learning environments rather than the individual interaction of a teacher and a student, as he did in the 1931 Rollins College conference on progressivism in higher education. (MSE)

Presents ideas to improve education, including employing increasingly effective group procedures, teaching techniques of cooperative planning and group problem solving, developing skills of cooperative assessment and self-evaluation, and developing skills of propaganda analysis. (CT)

The history and demise of the following two educational agencies are discussed: the Schools Council for Curriculum and Examinations of England and Wales and the National Council for Innovation in Education of Norway. (RM)

The authority-innovation-decision-making model, a top-down approach successfully used to disseminate some educational projects in Australia, is described. The four ingredients that make for success in this approach are: administrative advocacy, high prescriptiveness, good administrative engineering of the implementation process, and strong back-up…

Examples of innovative applications of telecommunications are cited, and the importance of school administrators' acquiring computer literacy emphasized. What educational leaders should know about telecommunications and the computer age is outlined. (MJL)

The emphasis on control and standards in current educational reform reports is a reaction to past permissiveness, but new business community studies suggest an emphasis on human resources development. Thus, the educational community should concentrate on stimulating unusual effort from ordinary students and teachers, rather than selecting those…

The Daily Physical Education Program was designed to incorporate fitness activities and skill development into the regular school curriculum in Australia. This program has produced measurable results in fitness, skill, and social development without affecting academic performance. (DF)

This innovative regional school for gifted juniors and seniors is characterized by state/private funding, a balanced student body, instruction emphasizing individual inquiry and group cooperation, enforced study hours, work and community service requirements, and professional outreach programs to other public schools. Criticisms of the school are…

Tested the effectiveness of interactive cable television in disseminating new teaching ideas among elementary school teachers. Found an increase in the diversity of new ideas within word groups, but the increase was regulated by the group's interpersonal communication or "intermediation." Discusses conditions under which communication…

Classroom teachers should depart from the accepted practice of placing the field trip at the end of a unit of social studies instruction and, instead, plan the field experience for the first week of activities. Reasons are discussed, and a sample unit on state government for the middle grades is described. (RM)

Describes several innovative programs at Lake-Lehman High School (Pennsylvania), including nutrition breaks, assembly programs, and the "Paint the School" project. Presents an interview with the principal, who is described as being "in touch, in tune, and in charge." (JAC)

Presents the findings of a national survey of coordinators of counseling services in public middle schools (N=552) concerning American children who change residence. Concluded that children generally have some difficulty associated with relocation and that many of these problems can be anticipated and addressed by the new school. (LLL)

Evidence is presented both for and against the proposition that innovation is punished by surveys that rank academic quality. Systematic work is needed to show how innovation, experimentation, and lack of orthodoxy in research and teaching affect Ph.D. programs' ratings in academic quality rankings. (Author/MLW)

Aesthetic education has attempted to teach art history and criticism, along with providing traditional art activities. The viability of aesthetic education is criticized, and a step beyond it is suggested. The purpose of this new direction, aesthetic literacy, is to ensure that students become knowledgeable consumers of the visual arts. (CS)

Describes a computer graphics course for children in grades four and five. Presents six projects relating computer graphics with more traditional art activities. (MM)