A curriculum guide for the visual arts is presented. The goal of elementary and middle school education in the four arts disciplines is the development of basic understanding and skills by every student. In secondary education the aim is to continue a sequential curriculum for those students who study the arts. This document is intended as a guide…

The literature selections serving as the basis for writing assignments in the articles in this journal issue range from time-honored English classics ("Beowulf,""Sir Gawain and the Green Knight") and American standards ("A Farewell to Arms,""The Scarlet Letter") to contemporary fiction. The articles deal with works by women writers (Shirley…

Introduces a two-step instructional model that promotes independence in reading comprehension by transferring responsibility for strategy use to the students throughout the course of instruction. Includes extended examples. (NKA)

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to interpret and evaluate complex works of music, dance, theater, visual arts,…

This essay examines the ways in which European history, as a discipline, has been influenced by feminist scholarship in the field and by research on gender and sexuality. It explains that historians continue to challenge assumptions that have long obscured women's places in the economic, social, and political histories of Europe, especially in…

This essay examines the ways in which geography, as a discipline, has been influenced by feminist scholarship in the field. It explains that early feminist critiques of the discipline examined the extent to which geography had overwhelmingly dealt with the lives of men and the ways in which its theories, methods, and content reflected men's…

This essay examines the ways in which U.S. history, as a discipline, has been influenced by feminist scholarship in the field and by research on gender and sexuality. It notes that the recognition that gender matters revolutionized the thinking of scholars who forged the field of women's history. Feminist scholars have expanded the definition of…

A videoconference instructor can adjust the tempo and activity of a class by opening alternative windows of information. Examines videoconferencing from a rhetorical perspective and proposes a lesson plan chart that helps teachers organize and manage instruction by coordinating instructional concepts, learning modes, teaching tools, and end goals…

Explicates a multicultural approach to art education that enhances critical thinking. Grounds this approach in the philosophical principles of constructivism that emphasize the student's construction of meaning rather than the passive transmission of knowledge from a teacher. Discusses the possibility of multicultural reasoning and its…

Describes the efforts of one elementary art class to move beyond the limits of formalism when examining and discussing art. Guided by the teacher, the class attempted a critical deconstruction of the work of Edgar Degas focusing on his depiction of working class women. Includes three reproductions of Degas works. (MJP)

Considers recent changes in issues and strategies of art criticism and how these relate to computer-generated images and computer assisted instruction. These changes both reflect and inhabit the decentered, fragmentary, and flexible postmodernist vision. Preservice art teachers should become familiar with these changes. (MJP)

Outlines an issue-centered approach to teaching aesthetics, where students identify and analyze possible solutions before learning an aesthetician's viewpoint. Suggests that teachers acquire basic aesthetic knowledge but also be willing to accept planned uncertainty as an educational principle. Presents a fictional art forgery scenario to…

Discusses three types of distance in art education that should be bridged: (1) between studio art and art criticism/history; (2) between thinking in images and thinking in words; and (3) between art and culture in cognition. Recommends a curriculum to integrate studio work with criticism and teach art along with culture. (CFR)

Two college courses, one in literary analysis and one designed to help students apply prior learning, were redesigned to incorporate time for students to tell the class about their own learning experiences. It was found that the narratives enriched faculty and students' understanding and awareness. (MSE)

Discusses the dilemmas posed by limited financial support for art education programs. Recommends four strategies for dealing with these problems. Suggests that discipline-based art education, which includes lessons on art criticism and art history, can be employed to provide quality art education. (CFR)