A good question is one of the most important tools in a staff developer's repertoire. Questions that cause thinking can produce more learning than telling. This paper describes how to develop questioning skills using word banks and scaffolds. It explains why mediative questions are important and which mediative questions are the most valuable. (SM)

A student-centered learning model for a course on information systems project management consisted of individual study and group discussion with facilitator guidance. Data from session records, repertory grids, and a learning network diagram showed that interactive learning was more effective and students took responsibility, although some…

Presents results of the 1999 National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Graduating Student and Alumni Survey. Participants (N=1,186) were asked about their job search experience, including why they chose their field of study, as well as their expectations of employers in terms of salaries, benefits, and how they gauge job success.…

This article describes using graphic organizers as a way of assisting students with disabilities in the note-taking process and helping them link the new information to their existing schema of knowledge. It discusses the concept behind graphic organizers, graphic organizer activities, and steps for creating a graphic organizer. (Contains…

This study investigated the effects of naturalistic, teacher-mediated intervention strategies on increasing levels of active engagement in three young children (ages 4-5) with developmental delays in inclusive classrooms. Intervention strategies were effective in increasing the level of active engagement in identified areas of need for all three…

Reports on a study of physics teachers' perceptions of "contexts" and the contextual approach to teaching physics. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/WRM)

Presents a study in which children in four grade 2 classrooms learned about transformational geometry and symmetry by designing quilts, while their four teachers participated in professional development focused on understanding children's thinking in arithmetic, and two of the teachers participated in additional workshops on students' thinking…

Contends that students in social studies classes can utilize Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) as a presentation and collaborative tool by developing websites. Presents two activities where students submitted webpages for country case studies and created a timeline for the French Revolution. Describes how to use HTML by discussing the various tags.…

Describes how to use a one-handed clock for teaching time telling: make a one-handed clock (hour hand only); discuss clock history; have students use approximate language to describe where the hour hand is; have students practice with their own clocks; introduce the minute hand; have students compare the clocks; and have students add minute hands…

As standardized tests increase in importance but remain fundamentally unchanged, they will guarantee the continued narrowing of instruction (as teachers concentrate on preparing students to pass them). Short-answer questions keep the focus on isolated fragments of learning. Writing samples are treated as formulaic exercises. Today's schools sorely…

Argues that instructional activities in teacher education programs can assist preservice teachers in identifying their beliefs. Identifies eight beliefs preservice teachers formulated about reading and literature following one part of a language arts education course in which they designed literature-based learning units. (NH)

Studies 10 undergraduate university students who were given intensive instruction in metacognitive strategies, which highlighted metacognition and executive control in the reading process. Finds the students (1) understood and applied metacognitive strategies in their personal reading; but (2) applied little of these strategies in tutoring and…

Using Weicke's environmental-enactment theory, explores how 18 "successful" principals enact and structure the internal and external school environment. Examines what specifically captures principals' attention, using the critical-incident technique. Principals' environmental attention-structure seems driven by their concerns for…

Focuses on teaching visual-literacy skills and multimedia. Discusses using visual images with verbal text to help students remember, helping students communicate by creating visual images, and categories of visual materials. A chart illustrates use of analogical graphics as figures of speech. (AEF)

Offers recommendations about the appropriate role of technology in higher education: too much technology in your class can be negative; technology can intimidate if students have not been uniformly prepared before its use; students can be unforgiving if technology fails; technology-assisted process can be more important than the product developed;…