Ohio vocational education teachers' awareness of, attitudes toward, and use of national skill standards were examined through a survey of a proportional (by vocational program area) stratified random sample of 346 of Ohio's 3,499 secondary vocational teachers. Of the teachers surveyed, 205 (59%) returned usable responses. The teachers were…

In 1993-1996, the Grocers Research and Educational Foundation of the National Grocers Association developed entry-level skill standards for the food marketing industry. A coalition formed early in the project directed the skill standard development process and solicited input from major organizations involved in the industry. The validity of the…

This document defines "photonics" as the generation, manipulation, transport, detection, and use of light information and energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communication and information processing. Photonics is at the heart of today's…

The spring 2003 The Idea Book for Educators highlights television programming from the Arts and Entertainment Network (A&E), the History Channel, and the Biography Channel, with a focus on an A&E original movie premiere, "Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor." The booklet contains the following materials: "A&E Study…

Construction began on the memorial to Abraham Lincoln in 1915, fifty years after his assassination. Sculptor, Daniel Chester French, designed the statue to honor the 16th U.S. President. French had gained a national reputation with his earlier portrayal of "The Minute Man," a statue to honor those colonials who died at Lexington and…

Between 1914 and the spring of 1917, Europe engaged in the conflict known as World War I. The United States remained neutral. In January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the German Minister to Mexico, Heinrich J. F. von Eckhardt, offering U.S. territory to Mexico in return for…

Although the U.S. Constitution of 1787 strengthened the national government and provided for the reestablishment of a national navy, congressional debate on rebuilding the Navy did not begin in earnest until the end of 1793. On March 27, 1794, Congress reestablished the Navy with authorization for six vessels. In 1797 the launching of the first…

Findings from a study of teachers' views of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) in England and Wales as a mechanism for improving secondary schools. Examines how teachers perceive the inspection process, whether Ofsted's process generates changes, and whether Ofsted's priorities agree with the school's. (Contains 44 references.) (WFA)

Presents a study focusing on underachievement, using group interviews with 13-14 year olds in the second year of Scottish secondary schools. Reports the school experience as social rather than pedagogic. Demonstrates the importance of listening to students and focusing on learning instead of standards of achievement and performance. Includes…

Discusses a student-centered activity in which students create a fictitious radio show as a means to address Content Standards 8 and 9 of the National Standards in middle school or high school general music courses. Explores student resources, preparation and teamwork, discussion topics, assessment, and extensions of the project. (CMK)

The educational system in Mexico has undergone important changes in recent decades. One of the most important took place in 1993, when the compulsory character of secondary school (ages 12-15) was established. National In-service Courses (NICs) were established as a way to bring curricular changes proposed in the reform near to the teachers. The…

This volume emphasizes decision-making which links all the other topics together. The book balances two major perspectives influencing teacher decision-making about instruction today: (1) findings from research on effective teaching; and (2) the ideas of constructivism. Unique to the book is the inclusion in each chapter of a scenario in which a…

Don Henry was a student at the University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas) who experienced a profound political change during his years on campus. Henry became a leader in radical campus organizations, volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War with the Lincoln Brigade, and died on the battlefield in Aragon (Spain) in September 1937. An article in…

Life in the western United States was reshaped by a series of patents for a simple tool that helped ranchers tame the land: barbed wire. Nine patents for improvements to wire fencing were granted by the U.S. Patent Office to U.S. inventors beginning with Michael Kelly in 1868 and ending with Joseph Glidden in 1874. Vast and undefined prairies and…

This guide provides assistance to state and local vocational-technical educators in the development of curriculum that is based on national and state skill standards that use workplace-derived measures of competent performance to prepare students for the work world. The guide begins with guidelines for determining the usefulness of existing…