This article analyses how Heinz von Foerster's Biological Computer Laboratory (BCL) translated cybernetic concepts into an experimental pedagogy tailored to the interests of the youth of the American intellectual counterculture. The existing research literature assumes that the opening of BCL to the counterculture in the early 1970s was the result…

Many school systems ask teachers to assess and report upon aspects of student performance beyond academic achievement. In Ontario, K-12 teachers assess a common set of six Learning Skills and Work Habits. How well teachers are able to undertake these assessments is not well studied. This study examines Grade 9 and 12 report card data from two…

Staff at a Louisville, Kentucky, school have created a caring community of learners whose members feel valued, personally interconnected, and committed to everyone's growth and learning. Child Development Project schools emphasize warm, supportive, and stable relationships; constructive learning; intrinsic motivation; a challenging curriculum; and…

Examined the relative importance of three variables on changes in students' orientations toward learning for self-knowledge. Academic and out-of-class experiences influenced students' learning orientation and also exerted a modest joint effect. Implications for theoretical models of student learning, for future research, and for administrative…

Assessed effectiveness of engaging students in a creative activity on a topic as a means of encouraging an active cognitive set toward learning that topic area. Creative task engagement was found to be an effective means of enhancing creativity (in the absence of evaluation expectation), intrinsic motivation, and long-term retention. (JBJ)

Two groups of students, one on the Atlantic coast and one on the Pacific coast think about and discuss their own experiences with and perceptions of public education. They were asked to consider the following questions: In your experiences as a student in an education system: What are the things that help students learn? What are the things that…