Recent research in problem solving has shifted its focus to actual classroom implementation and what is really going on during problem solving when it is used regularly in classroom. This book seeks to stay on top of that trend by approaching diverse aspects of current problem solving research, covering three broad themes. Firstly, it explores the…

The authors assert that history can be approached from a creative perspective; the student need not merely report what has already been written. Instead, students may make an original contribution by becoming a practicing historian. Strategies and examples of ideas to motivate students toward this level of productivity are described. (Author/CL)

Interactive bulletin boards for early childhood rooms can often be made with supplies and materials used for other games and activities. This paper tells how it can be done. The project is interactive in that children are involved in decisions about the appearance of the completed board. Additional topics of discussion in this paper include…

The various roles that a teacher enacts are examined from four perspectives in this paper. Part one: "The Curriculum Text" presents a series of observations of classroom activity, and part two: "A Student Perspective" includes a collection of interviews with students who had been previously observed. The teacher's tape-recorded thoughts are…

Described is the laboratory program for a second-year chemistry class at a Wisconsin high school. The laboratory stresses student-designed labs. Examples of topics considered are included. (RH)

Describes several activities that can be used to involve students in class and prevent them from becoming merely passive observers of the teacher. (FL)

The results of an intensive study of sixth graders' perceptions about art are presented. It is increasingly apparent that students and their variations in perception, preferences, individual aptitudes, styles, personalities, and traits influence instruction and its outcomes as much as does the teacher. (RM)

Describes an historical narrative assignment that stimulates students' interest in questions of rhetoric and scholarship as it requires students to combine role-playing, research, and revision. Discusses how students' role as participant/persona in writing the story prompts an intricate multiplicity of decisions as it forces them to filter data…

To prevent learned helplessness in learning disabled students, teachers can share responsibilities with the students, train students to reinforce themselves for effort and self control, and introduce opportunities for changing counterproductive attitudes. (CL)

Explains how to implement and use a peer editing program. (FL)

An educational planning strategy is presented to assist students in assuming an active role in individualized education program conferences. Using the acronym "I PLAN," students learn to inventory their strengths and weaknesses; provide the information on inventory sheets; listen and respond; ask questions; and name their goals. (JDD)

This paper explores how individuals develop their personal definitions of teaching and learning and how that translates into the classroom. The literature on psychological and educational research suggests that human thinking and communication are profoundly metaphorical in nature. If this is true, metaphors can play a valuable role in revealing,…

This kit, the third publication in a five-part series on the educational "ministry," offers elements designed for Catholic school faculty, parents, and students. The kit contains an article on the nature of discipleship; a booklet with prayer services, scripture references, liturgies, and sacramental preparation; three prayer cards; three posters;…

An approach to spelling instruction allows students to select spelling words as part of a whole-language, language experience writing program. Guidelines for implementing such a program are offered. (CL)

This manual provides instructors in Peace Corps language training programs with information about two kinds of classroom testing: formative, ongoing testing and summative testing that occurs at the end of an instructional period. The first of the manual's four chapters on the purposes of language testing, discusses language testing within a…