Large numbers of people are personally disenfranchised from learning, often because of poor and uninspired experiences in educational institutions. And yet, as the first learning principle of the Rover Learning Company says, "Learning is the most natural human instinct." This paper discusses the need to learn and some of the tools and…

What's the hardest part of history? Heads of Year 9 at options time seem depressingly clear--"Don't do history, there's too much writing." David Hellier and Helen Richards show that at The Green School it is reading that used to be the problem. At every level students found it difficult to assimilate, transform and use information by…

Discusses how and why three schools are using computers to teach bilingual students and describes the CHIPS Project, West New York; Computer Education Language Learning Program, Irvine School District; and Applied Computer Technology in Education Project, Compton Unified School District. Six bilingual education computer-using demonstration…

The needs and motivation of short-term ESL students and immigrants are contrasted, and the wide variety of programs and services needed for immigrant English instruction is emphasized. Aspects of ESL instruction that need changing or restructuring include adult and community education, teacher training and examination, and innovative educational…

The Parallel Curriculum, a problem-based curriculum at Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is described through each year of study. The curriculum increases learning enjoyment by making medical students responsible for scholarly exploration and integration of knowledge and skills with faculty support. (Author/GLR)

Describes an academically-oriented English-as-a-Second-Language program at an urban community college in the Southwest that aggressively recruited international students, particularly from the Pacific Rim. Discusses the differences between immigrant and international students, such as attitudes and motivation toward learning English and…

The National Research Council (1996), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993) and the National Science Teachers Association (2004) all posit that quality science instruction for all students is imperative in promoting scientific literacy that extends into adulthood. Hands-on, inquiry based experiences are effective means of…

There is no shortage of important research findings describing how educators may improve the academic and social achievement of adolescents (Ames and Archer 1988; Anderman 2002; Goodenow 1993; Committee on Increasing High School Student Engagement and Motivation to Learn 2003; Turner et al. 2003). Despite the soundness of this research and the…

This research summary focuses on learning preferences of early adolescents and their relationships with academic achievement and gender. The classroom structures under study were cooperative (working with peers in accomplishing academic material), competitive (competing with peers in academic endeavors), and individualistic (having no involvement…

It is the responsibility of the nation's schools to teach students to become lifelong, independent, self-assertive learners and evaluators of information. If schools are to analyze and evaluate whether or not they adequately address the goal of teaching learning skills across the curriculum, a conception of the components of learning skills and…

This collection of papers addresses three important aspects of professional practice schools: student learning, teacher development, and implementation issues related to collaboration among institutions and state policy environment. The first paper, "The Child as Meaning Maker: The Organizing Theme of Professional Practice Schools" (Ellen M.…

One teacher of English as a second language found that Gertrude Moskowitz' humanistic approach to instruction brought about significant changes in her small and diverse class. The direct results she perceived included very strong ties within the group, mutual trust and interest, values changes, and expressions of sentiment. Indirect results, those…

Focusing on computers and television and their applications both on campus and for distance education, this Unesco report on the role of instructional media in the system of higher education in the USSR argues that the new technologies are capable of performing three main instructional functions within the context of any teaching-learning process:…

A new teaching methodology, the "problem-posing" approach, is advocated in place of the traditional system of education. Experience in teaching the "Principles of Economics" course at the University of North Dakota is used as illustration. The problem-posing approach can create a learning atmosphere that is more conducive to…

New York State schools have adopted a variety of alternative schools and programs. The schools and programs include free schools, community schools, open education schools, street academies, schools without walls, minischools within schools, minicourses in the curriculum, and alternative programs that bridge the gap between schools and colleges,…