Presents a historical and pedagogical overview of various types of schools (for example, Montessori, laboratory schools, traditional). Attempts to classify these schools according to types of consciousness (for example, mythological, scientific, workshop) and types of social communities and activities. Considers the interrelation between the…

Maintains that student-centered curriculum embodies the progressive and constructivist principles of active, participatory learning. Advocates emphasizing the importance of context as part of a constructivist approach. Includes instructional examples of connecting contextual information about artworks to constructivist activities. (MJP)

Describes an upper-level undergraduate seminar on race, ethnicity, and social inequality that included an Internet discussion list consisting of over 300 faculty, students, and administrators from around the world. Discusses organizational and pedagogical challenges involved in creating and maintaining the list. (MJP)

Presents a multifaceted method for teaching engineering mechanics to satisfy several desiderata. This approach includes design projects, group work, basic competency exams, computational environments for simulating and visualizing phenomena, multimedia instructional tools, hands-on experiences, and student presentations. Describes the materials…

Describes two current educational reform strategies: "implementation-of-innovations," which fails to promote sufficient change for all children to succeed; and "indigenous intervention," which encourages indigenous school and community members to create change that will engage students. Describes the Educational and Community…

Provides an excellent overview of the major arguments for and against elimination of tenure. Considers the positions of tenured faculty, faculty unions, administrators, boards of regents, students, and parents. Neatly summarizes and critiques each of these positions. Concludes with a set of creative and productive options. (MJP)

Discusses the National Standards use of Bloom's Taxonomy and how it relates to increasing levels of expectations for students. Includes several examples illustrating middle school level expectations, such as distinguishing between governments with a constitution and constitutional governments. Maintains that effective civics education can offset…

An overview of the innovative curriculum and program design of Hampshire College (Massachusetts), a liberal arts college opened in 1970, looks at its educational philosophy, nontraditional curriculum structure, underlying economic assumptions, recordkeeping, administrative organization, employment policy, governance, and student life. (MSE)

Reports on activities and concerns of the Soviet Union's Academy of Pedagogical Sciences in conjunction with educational reform. Calls for systematic improvement, of which "the pedagogy of cooperation" is only a part. Emphasizes creative teaching methods and better coordination between research and classroom practice. Reviews individual…

Profiles an undergraduate college class that critically examines newspaper, map, and poster representations of the developing nations. Beginning exercises reveal how a person's gender, race, and background influence his or her construction and interpretation of cultural images. Includes a 29-item bibliography concerning deconstruction of images…

While researchers continue to debate teacher qualifications, explore how to get more qualified teachers into urban schools serving low-income students, or try to determine whether teachers who are successful with middle-class students would also be successful with pupils in low-income urban schools, one practicable idea can easily be overlooked.…

This paper describes the Action Research (AR) Team model for joining classroom observations with collegial interaction among university faculty, teaching assistants, and university students to improve pedagogy and the retention of diverse students in higher education. The paper includes a progress report of efforts to develop the model and apply…

The restructuring of traditional schooling will not meet the needs for further learning. What is needed instead is immediate massive change in the form of transitional steps toward new learning systems based on the Wilson Campus school operated at Mankato State University from 1968-77. The public year-round school adopted 69 innovations…

Project Vision was undertaken by the Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth Campus System (which includes 18 different campuses across Pennsylvania) to explore the potential of interactive instructional technology. Three campuses were chosen to participate, each of which selected a librarian, three faculty, and 20 incoming freshman students.…

Rend Lake College (RLC), in Ina, Illinois, has taken an integrated approach to internationalizing its college community by utilizing existing structures and funding to create six programs designed to foster global awareness and understanding. The first program offers student study abroad opportunities allowing students with 15 credit hours of…