Presents classroom lessons based on four self-portraits found in the Art Institute of Chicago. Provides background information, discussion questions, and activities for each portrait. Includes full-page color reproductions of the paintings. (CFR)

Asserts that the field of moral and values education lacks a comprehensive theory. Focuses on two neglected, but essential, dimensions: (1) community, or widening circles of belonging and group identification; and (2) activity, including formal and informal education in the school as well as youth organizations and nonschool activities. (CFR)

Traces the origins, growth, and decline of the "New Social Studies" movement between 1960 and 1975. Identifies the movement's curriculum projects, individual leaders, and materials. Discusses reasons for its decline and suggests that the 1990s may bring a revival of another period of social studies reform and innovation. (CFR)

Describes the Teaching with Historic Places Project, a cooperative effort of the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Explains the project's background and the factors that served as criteria for the lesson plans developed by classroom teachers and project staff. Includes information on obtaining the lesson…

Reports on a study of the geographic content in 44 secondary school U.S. and European Advanced Placement history lessons. States that 75% of 550 references to geographic content were categorized as "passing references," not "substantive references." Concludes that core geographic concepts that enable students to understand and…

Contends that infusing black psychology into an introductory psychology course can help students learn about the impact of social, economic, and cultural factors on psychological development. Provides a rationale, lecture outline, and resource list to assist teachers in incorporating black psychology in their courses. Reports that African-American…

Evaluates the effects of the scaffold explanation-based approach to collaborative discussion on students' understanding of photosynthesis. Forty-eight fourth- and fifth-grade students were divided into groups of high, average control (AC), and average intervention (AI). Students worked collaboratively and individually on two reasoning tasks.…

A discussion of cooperative learning in social-work education outlines its characteristics, reviews theory and research supporting its use, examines its relevance to social work, and provides case examples for use throughout the social-work curriculum. (Author/MSE)

Kohn believes the "tougher standards" movement is incompatible with personalized learning, excellence, and marginalized kids' interests. Horizontal standards that shift how teaching and learning happen in classrooms are terrific, but vertical standards using traditional pedagogy are macho and mindless. Kids need freedom to design their…

A response to Kenneth Ludmerer's "Time To Heal: American Medical Education from the Turn of the Century to the Era of Managed Care" examines changes already occurring in American medical education in both preclinical and clinical curricula. Concludes that, while Ludmerer's arguments are warranted, there is evidence of a commitment to change in the…

Evaluates effectiveness of a clerkship curriculum that teaches core family-practice competencies by focusing on the process of care in a generalist practice. Organizing framework consists of five prototypic visits and their encounter tasks: new problem, checkup, chronic illness, psychosocial problem, and behavioral change. Results indicate…

This case study of a 6-year-old boy with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder discusses the advantages of combining person-centered planning and functional analysis to develop and implement broad-based behavioral-support plans. The support plan resulted in decreased challenging behavior, increased functional communication, improved academic…

Describes the innovations in general and distance education at Pennsylvania State University in an effort to bind the goals of general education, to those of distance learning. Asserts that one emerging role of general education is to create the skills needed for effective citizenship in a global, information-rich society. (VWC)

Describes the problems and associated issues related to the implementation of integrated curriculum at the middle school level. Summarizes this journal issue's feature section, whose base was a conference proceeding and which includes an annotated list of recently published sources dealing with curriculum integration and relevant research studies.…

This article describes the development of TEChPLACEs, a collaborative Web site developed by an inclusive kindergarten class and a university development team, to test the feasibility of incorporating communication technologies into the early childhood curriculum. Contents of the Web site and the benefits to students, teachers, and families are…