A lesson that focuses on the intricate co-evolution of flowers with their pollinators is one way to help students learn the delicate balance in nature and help ensure that our actions do not upset this balance. In this lesson students use the engineering design process to engineer a flower that is a perfect model for its chosen pollinator. Next,…

Understanding the relationship between energy and temperature can be challenging, but it is crucial to developing an understanding of the underlying mechanism behind climate change. In this article, the authors review the development of a unit that focuses on the relationship between energy, greenhouse gases, aerosols (a suspension of fine solid…

This paper describes the development of different lesson plans dealing with authentic and controversial socio-scientific issues in the framework of climate change. These lesson plans orient themselves along the socio-critical, problem-oriented approach to science teaching. They deal with the use of bioethanol as an alternative fuel and with the…

As part of its proposal to the U.S. Department of Education, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) committed to developing model content frameworks for English language arts/literacy (ELA/Literacy) to serve as a bridge between the Common Core State Standards and the PARCC assessments. The Model Content…

This paper describes a disruptive model of interpretation which explores positions in discursive practices embedded in visual culture as a means of understanding self and difference. The model understands interpretation as a Foucauldian technique of the self, and its use may give art teachers and students strategies for understanding the social…

Discussion of academic library instruction programs for high school students focuses on a model based on cooperation between classroom teachers and librarians from the high school and the university. A library instruction program at the University of Richmond for an eleventh grade honors English class is described. (LRW)

A five-step method of conflict analysis can help students generate accurate and complex theme statements about literature without teacher intervention. The conflict analysis involves (1) identifying the characters who are in conflict as a series of pairs and determining if the protagonist has an inner conflict; (2) determining the major conflict,…

A project involving thirty-nine eleventh grade students was undertaken at a senior high school to plan and initiate a community-based action learning program to provide students with a meaningful cooperative school-community work learning experience. Specific curriculum requirements were met through a combination of independent study,…

Inability to relate classroom experiences to the real world in the community was greatly impeding the learning process for some students. Other students were eager to gain career experiences in the community, yet were unable to do so because of an inflexible school schedule. In an effort to offer these students more relevant learning experiences,…

A longitudinal study was undertaken in Alberta to pilot an evaluation model which was devised by Robert E. Stake and which could provide feedback on the merit and effectiveness of vocational education in the provincial high school curriculum. Using both student records and questionnaires administered to the students, information was gathered over…

A unique public/private collaboration of colleges (City University of New York, Fordham University, New York University, St. John's University, and Teachers College at Columbia University) and high schools in New York City is described. The collaborative model's purpose is to attract talented minority high school students to teaching and related…