In this commentary I discuss three international school consultation experiences, highlighting aspects that serve as lessons for professional development and the implementation of effective and helpful strategies that meet the needs of children and youth in school systems. Relationships developed and maintained between the consulting teams and the…

"Digital natives" refer to today's students because they are native speakers of technology, fluent in the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet. Those who were not born into the digital world are referred to as digital immigrants. Educators, considered digital immigrants, have slid into the 21st century--and into the digital…

Problems of introducing students to innovational approaches to learning and an approach to solving those problems are discussed. The authors stress that students' definitions of classroom and school reality are powerful factors in the negotiation of educational change. If innovation is introduced in classrooms via lecture alone, the result is that…

As educators try to make schools more responsive to the diverse needs of students, public alternative schools are becoming increasingly investigated as viable and necessary options. This book provides an overview of public alternative education in the United Sates. Following the foreword by Robert D. Barr, acknowledgements, and the introduction,…

This commentary discusses Ron Wolk's essay "Think the Unthinkable." The need for variation in curriculum and approach to meet all students' needs is emphasized. The need for variation in what schools are, how they are organized, and what they present to and ask of students is an important theme in Ron's essay, as it is in much of the literature…

Discusses creativity in terms of imagination and knowledge. Considers how students have a need to create. Explores how creativity helps young adults "get through the darkness." Notes ways to use writing to foster creativity. Addresses ideas such as the magic of the unknown and the place of knowledge. (SG)

Presents the comments of two elementary students as supportive of daily physical education. (SJL)

In a partnership model, all members of a higher education institution work together to anticipate and meet students' changing needs, favoring team goals and course improvement. The model should replace traditional mechanistic models emphasizing form over function and regulation over innovation. (SK)

Discusses future directions in undergraduate psychology curricula. The author advocates the immediate need to define the field of psychology more clearly to increase its relevance. Innovative educational approaches are needed. (AM)

In a recent survey of outstanding school administrators, 70 middle-school administrators acknowledged the importance of student well-being, staff collegiality, higher expectations, innovative attitudes, school climate, risk-taking, professional activities, values, and institutional mission. The ability to facilitate others' growth and create a…

Electronic portfolios are a recent technology wave hitting the coast of higher education. Since 2000, more than 300 articles have appeared on the topic. Electronic portfolios are described as the panacea for potentially problematic issues ranging from student learning to standards, advising, job hunting, and assessment. The surge of attention…

This paper describes the role of a college instructional designer (ID), asserting that every college needs one. The field of instructional design has become especially important since the introduction of technology into the educational system. These individuals are knowledgeable about using technology to enhance teaching and learning. IDs help…

Since students learn conceptually, the basic speech course should be more than a skills course. Skills are the mechanics of speaking; teaching only skills tends to produce mechanical speakers. Basic course instructions need to continue to address skills, but must also address concepts. Concepts come from research, and the emphasis of the basic…

In his book "The Closing of the American Mind," Allan Bloom criticizes popular music for the "emptiness of its values." It has only one appeal, says Bloom, "a barbaric appeal, to sexual desire--not love, not eros, but sexual desire, undeveloped and untutored." However, to say "rock music is this or that" is…

The article describes ways to nurture gifted students without shortchanging the rest of the class. Curriculum compacting techniques allow teachers to plan for students with similar capabilities, determining which skills are already known, which need work, and what acceleration activities should be added. (SM)