Science teachers come in many varieties, but they share a common goal: to nurture learners. Over the past decade, we have learned a great deal about how to do this effectively. Of all this new (and some not so new) knowledge, what strikes me as most important is that learning occurs best within a context. Still, as obvious as that may seem, it is relatively rare in our high school science classrooms. The problem, of course, is that it is not easy to create a learning experience with hands-on relevance to the science under discussion. Science teachers, in addition to not having the the time,...

This resource manual for college-level science instructors reevaluates the role of testing in their curricula and describes innovative techniques pioneered by other teachers. part I examines the effects of the following on lower-division courses: changes in exam content, format, and environment; revisions in grading practices; student response; colleague reaction' the sharing of new practices with other interested professionals, and more. The book includes a comprehensive introduction, faculty-composed narratives, commentaries by well-known science educators, and a visual index to 100 more...

Compiles the experiences of upper-level college educators as they seek new methods for testing in biology, chemistry, physics, and some engineering and other fields. Reports on exam design, format, environment, and grading practices. The information was gathered from solicitations distributed throug

J. Gary Lilyquist synthesizes such innovative concepts as, systems thinking, mental models, effective school research, and Deming's theories of management to propose the new Balance Alignment Model, a wide-ranging approach for fostering school improvement. Three case studies demonstrate why schools are not improving and how Lilyquist's model can facilitate student learning.

The book's argument depends, as do most proposals in education, upon cer- tain positions in the philosophy of education. I believe that education should be primarily concerned with developing understanding, with initiation into worth- while traditions of intellectual achievement, and with developing capacities for clear, analytic and critical thought. These have been the long-accepted goals of liberal education. In a liberal education, students should come to know and appre- ciate a variety of disciplines, know them at an appropriate depth, see the interconnectedness of the disciplines, or...

David D. Kumar and Daryl E. Chubin We live in an information age. Technology abounds: information tech- nology, communication technology, learning technology. As a once popular song went, "Something's happening here, but it's just not exactly clear." The world appears to be a smaller, less remote place. We live in it, but we are not necessarily closely tied to it. We lack a satisfactory understanding of it. So we are left with a paradox: In an information age, information alone will neither inform nor improve us as citizens nor our democracy, society, or in- stitutions. No, improvement will...

WHY EDUCATE FOR SUSTAINABILlTY? Ask most people-especially young people-what the future looks like to them. They will paint for you a rosy picture of their individual lives, their future homes, their careers and sometimes even the lives of their children. Then they will paint for you a depleted, conflicted and weary picture of the planet as a whole. Do any of us note the incongruence? We are becoming increasingly aware that the very things we need, the things we adore most in this world are the very things we are undermining through our individual and collective behaviors. We can feel the...

Beginning with a brief history of the Internet, this book delves into a review of current research, active learning strategies, Web courseware, metacognition, strategies for Web discussions, promoting student self-regulation, building interactive Web pages, basic HTML coding, managing Web sites, using databases, automated testing, and security and legal issues.
Experience shows that Web teaching may be used in an extremely wide range of subject areas. Modern course management software has demystified the use of the Web for teaching, allowing instructors to focus on instructional design...

This wide-ranging handbook presents in-depth discussions on the array of subspecialties that comprise the field of sociological theory. Prominent theorists working in a variety of traditions discuss methodologies and strategies; the cultural turn in sociological theorizing; interaction processes; theorizing from the systemic and macro level; new directions in evolutionary theorizing; power, conflict, and change; and theorizing from assumptions of rationality.

Most everything in our experience requires management in some form or other: our gardens, our automobiles, our minds, our bodies, our love lives, our businesses, our forests, our countries, etc. Sometimes we don't call it -management- per se. We seldom talk about managing our minds or automobiles. But if we think of management in terms of monitoring, maintaining, and cultivating with respect to some goal, then it makes sense. We certainly monitor an automobile, albeit unconsciously, to make sure that it doesn't exhibit signs of trouble. And we certainly try to cultivate our minds. This book...