This book presents 93 essays that offer guidance, reassurance, and commentary on the many activities leading up to and surrounding classroom instruction in first-year composition. Essays in the book are written by instructors who teach in community colleges, liberal arts colleges, state university systems, and research institutions. The 14 section…

Presents ways to stimulate teachers to try several techniques for having students write their own problems and verify their meanings with others to become effective mathematics problem solvers. These techniques include sharing self-generated problems in a Mathematician's Circle and publishing problems on worksheets. (PVD)

Discusses collaboration between secondary school teacher-librarians and English teachers to promote literacy and reading through choice book units, where students can choose from a selection of suggested titles. Topics include nonfiction books; advantages for low-ability readers; audio books; and Teachers as Readers book discussion groups. (LRW)

Describes the inclusion of critical thinking and information retrieval in an undergraduate business program utilizing active learning techniques. Presents a model assignment, outlines a library workshop, offers an evaluation of the project, and discusses librarian-faculty collaboration in creating an appropriate assignment. (Author/LRW)

In a summer faculty development workshop, seven faculty in different pharmacy disciplines (biochemistry, therapeutics, pharmacy management, pharmaceutics, pathophysiology, pharmaceutical analysis, pharmacy administration) clarified critical thinking objectives for their courses, practiced this approach in a faculty workshop, and piloted the…

Describes a systematic instructional process that incorporates the general steps of problem solving to develop a World Wide Web-based independent study course. Highlights include the educational setting, learner characteristics, method of assessment, learning processes, course assignments, interaction between faculty and students, course content,…

Asserts the importance of incorporating art criticism into art instruction to achieve quality art education. Presents and discusses art criticism formats. Includes three figures illustrating a typical student's written art criticism, that same assignment after teacher evaluation, and an example of a student gradebook. (CFR)

Discusses the Pocketful of History project, which uses historical fiction and biographies to fill in gaps in student knowledge and engage children in meaningful learning experiences. Presents examples of seven historical figures featured in the project. (CFR)

Maintains that writing is one of the most important skills students can acquire. Asserts that social studies teachers can help students learn the writing process through a variety of written formats, such as essays, diary writing, and letter writing. Describes a classroom activity using letters and editorials. (CFR)

Discusses the use of computers in elementary and secondary school mathematics instruction. Topics addressed include the use of computers in compiling student portfolios; a model shift regarding assessment, mathematics instruction, and computers; computer software programs; and new approaches to teaching, including cooperative learning, multigrade…

A step-by-step guide to designing interdisciplinary courses is presented. Underlying theoretical rationales and expected educational outcomes are explored, and concrete suggestions and examples are offered. Steps include assembling an interdisciplinary team, selecting a topic, identifying disciplines for inclusion, developing the issues underlying…

Presents four primary objectives for written assignments. Describes the use of writing assignments in a college probability and statistics course. Maintains that this approach requires students to show statistical and writing skills rarely elicited elsewhere in their coursework. (CFR)

Presents a secondary lesson in which students participate in a role-playing exercise to determine whether or not a juvenile should be remanded to an adult court. Includes learning objectives and step-by-step implementation procedures. Also includes four student handouts representing legal issues, briefing sheets, and a mock police report. (CFR)

Describes the use of primary source documents and maps in a seventh-grade geography class. Maintains that 90 separate topics were divided into 6 main categories for student research. Asserts that the use of primary documents encouraged the development of the students' critical thinking skills. (CFR)

Asserts that teaching report writing to students is a difficult task. Discusses four dimensions of student report writing and emphasizes the importance of visual aids to help students comprehend the material on which reports are based. Describes semantic webbing and cooperative groups to teach outlining and report writing. (CFR)