Gives an analysis of how Einstein viewed "thinking," and the nature of scientific discovery, using extensive quotations from Einstein's own writings, and especially from his essay "Autobiographical Notes."

One hundred Chicanas with doctorates typically attributed their success to family support, access to funding, and a personal desire to succeed fueled by resistance to institutional and societal barriers. (DM)

In an adaptation from "The Making of an Adult Educator: An Autobiographical Journey," Malcolm Knowles, the father of adult learning theory, discusses motivation, self-directed learning, trainers and organizational change, and social and economic inequalities in the United States. (JOW)

Classrooms sensitive to race and caring cannot happen without sensitive teacher preparation. In this essay, the author (an Australian citizen) shares efforts to think about race in the teacher education classroom while disclosing her own difficulties in learning to care for others. Her autobiographical approach inspires students to ponder their…

Feminist researchers have demonstrated that reliable knowledge must include that derived from experiences of individuals and groups; autobiographical methods account for this source. However, only some autobiographical methods are sound: confessional, apolitical, and atheoretical ones are less useful than those that include theory and politics.…

Discusses the use of testimonials (edited oral narratives collected from people who by their circumstances cannot write about their experiences firsthand) in the English classroom. States that teaching testimonial narratives leads students to ask challenging questions about priorities in literature classes and their everyday experiences. (RS)

Analyzes autobiographical accounts of women faculty members to examine how they derive satisfaction from their work. Identifies such job satisfaction factors as ability to engage in scholarship for social change, teaching and learning relationships, relationships with colleagues and collaborators, and a sense of a coherent life. Suggests…

Life-story mapping is a technique for exploring personal identity and family history within the context of human geography. Site-specific autobiography develops a sense of how place influences identity. (SK)

This article provides a teaching guide to the effective use of biographies and autobiographies with gifted students. Fifteen learning activities are suggested such as conducting an eminent people news conference, creating a biography collage, writing a fictionalized biography, and completing a family tree. (Contains three references and a reading…

Presents a Holocaust literature class that brings new voices to the community college literature curriculum. Describes a course that involves reading five survivors' autobiographies, hearing four survivor speakers, one of whom was one of the authors, and hearing a speaker who had researched the murder and victimization of her family during the…

Presents an essay by renowned author of young adult literature Robert Cormier, musing on the autobiographical aspects of his own writings as well as writing in the guise of people or about situations to which he is a complete stranger. (SR)

College students (n=292), after completing an American environmental history course, selfselected, defined and defended their ecological worldview in an ecological autobiography essay that used historic content about different philosophies concerning the environment and natural resource use. The whole sample divided into groups along a spectrum of…

This paper argues that there is no other way to describe history, and particularly the personal life history of people, apart from in the form of a narrative. It also suggests that as history is not understandable, save in the form of a narrative, the narration as such "makes" history. Drawing on the findings of a research project on…

Students immediately think they understand this aspect of the Hitler regime, one in which the "Fuehrer" "says," or dictates, and his minions follow. Their usual view of Hitler assumes a tireless leader who works around the clock to supervise--through the secret state police (Gestapo) and other institution--every detail of…

A teacher's experience with an eight-year-old child named Aaron that pushes her understanding of language, literacy and culture to a different level is presented. This thrice-learned lesson details her professional journey of continual transformation by revisiting a story as a kindergarten teacher, a graduate student and a teacher educator.