Describes a student project to build a car powered by the energy in a mousetrap as part of a unit on simple machines. (PR)

Presents three patterns found in math for elementary students. Spirolaterals are patterns made by repeatedly tracing a series of three numbers in four directions on dot paper. Tessellating can be a combination of teaching about patterns, geometry, and art. The King's Problem requires recognition of a problem to find a solution. (PR)

Presents answers from a teacher, a curriculum developer, and the educational literature to the question "How is hands-on learning evaluated?" Describes different approaches to performance-based assessments including performance tasks, observational checklists, and portfolios. (PR)

Describes a survey sent to 210 member schools of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA) concerning attitudes toward obstacles to teaching ethics in public administrations courses. Lists 10 barriers preventing the offering of such courses in colleges and universities. (NL)

Describes the widely varied methods employed by the individual states in the U.S. for selecting national convention delegates. Reports that most states use one of three major systems: the binding candidate preference primary, the participatory caucus/convention, or direct election. Discusses the shortcomings and pitfalls of each. (NL)

Proposes the use of fictional "techno-thrillers" such as "Red Storm Rising" in a seminar on the topic of war. Explains how these thrillers provide descriptions of how opposing strategies and armies might interact during a future war. Provides a course reading list. (NL)

Suggests using simulation technique in the classroom to illustrate decision making, the perspectives of those in power, and the processes and institutions of government. Uses the simulation of a nuclear emergency alert to identify the issues and problems of nuclear confrontation. Provides instructions and an outline for the class. (NL)

Recommends using expert systems on personal computers in the classroom to teach international relations. Claims these systems can reach conclusions as reliable as those of a human expert. Explains that the system compels students to draw conclusions based on clarity of thought because they rely on a body of logically consistent rules. (NL)

Views the stage as effective in teaching critical thinking, writing, research, computer and verbal communication skills. Uses historically accurate testimony from the court martial of Lt. William Calley to demonstrate the nature of warfare and United States involvement in Vietnam. Classes dramatize the moral and ethical judgments that are made.…

Claims that educators use a model of higher education that overemphasizes intellectualism and rewards scholarship, rather than pedagogy. Argues that students need an inductive approach and process of inquiry and recommends an institutional commitment to an internationalized world by supporting overseas programs and foreign experience. (NL)

Highlights the strengths of the Advanced Placement American Government and Politics program and observes the program produces students who do well in college. Mentions a major weakness is the educational background of the instructors, and recommends using summer teaching institutes to ensure a minimal level of competency. (NL)

Responds to claims that teachers are inadequately prepared to teach advanced placement courses in U.S. government and politics. Contends that political scientists can assist secondary teachers by offering summer workshops. Defends the curriculum as an accurate reflection of a college-level course in introductory politics. (NL)

Defends the grading of the advanced placement examinations in U.S. government and politics courses. Provides the criteria used for the selection of the readers. Points out among 27 readers in 1989, all had masters' degrees and 4 held doctorates in political science or international relations. Claims high school instructors in the program are…

Maintains that, in order to understand the current debate over liberalism, a historical perspective on the subject is necessary. Traces the history of liberalism from its inception in the Reformation to the present conflict between neoclassical liberalism and welfare liberalism. Focuses on the major theorists of liberalism. (RW)

Discusses political liberalism, its major ideological tenets and proponents, and analyzes the criticisms that have been launched against it. Expounds on the various schools of liberalism and the implications of their divergent ideological positions on individuals, society, and government. (RW)