Researchers and practitioners alike express concerns about the conceptual difficulties associated with the concepts of momentum and kinetic energy currently taught in school physics. This article presents an in-depth analysis of the treatment given to them in 44 published textbooks written for UK secondary school certificate courses. This is set…

In this study, we seek a better understanding of how individuals and their daily interactions shape and reshape social structures that constitute a classroom community. Moreover, we provide insight into how discourse and classroom interactions shape the nature of a learning community, as well as which aspects of the classroom culture may be…

A program, called "Decision Making in the Public Sector" that uses simulated internships, was designed to provide IBM participants with firsthand exposure to the government actors, institutions, and processes involved in the formation and implementation of public policy. (Author/ND)

Examines the concept of feasibility in the decision making process and presents examples of policies which were unfeasible because policy makers did not explore all relevant policy dimensions. Suggests how to incorporate the political, economic, and technological aspects of feasibility into the political science curriculum. (Author/DB)

Suggests that college students in political science courses dealing with international law will learn more about the subject if the teacher stresses issues and student participation. (DB)

Describes and evaluates strategies related to audio-tutorial units in political science at the college level. Aims of the audio-tutorial system are to accomodate diverse student interests, develop a student-centered approach to learning, specify learning objectives, and provide variety in teaching style. (Author/DB)

Suggests a new typology for evaluating simulation games based on the extent to which participants' roles correspond to specific real-world equivalents. Application of the typology associates different simulation formats with characteristic teaching goals, learning processes, and administrative pitfalls. (Author)

Describes a classroom simulation game for public administration courses to help students develop knowledge of the governmental decision-making process. The game increases knowledge of planning, budgeting, strategies for achieving organizational goals, and leadership skills. (Author/AV)

Identifies a variety of resources and methods for identifying, locating, and acquiring doctoral dissertations to be used in research or in formulating a dissertation proposal. (AV)

Describes a simulation for an introductory American government course. It was based on the Panama Canal treaties ratification process, a decision pending in the Senate which was due to culminate before the end of the course. By keying the simulation to a real event, participants obtained real-world feedback on how closely their roles approximated…

Presents eight exercises which involve budgeting skills. These can be incorporated into political science courses to illustrate the way in which city governments raise, allocate, and manage their financial resources. (Author/AV)

A discussion of what "political" means--performing, acting, and participating in public arenas; a presentation of self; a showing and telling; an ongoing demonstration; and a continuous effort to disprove authority--and of how political activity belongs in a political science classroom. (ND)

This article discusses a learning package of active-learning exercises designed to provide a comprehensive view of the policies of some communist countries. Normative assumptions, instructional objectives and methods, and evaluation are outlined. (ND)

Describes content and activities of a "student legislative practicum" designed to prepare students from North Carolina State University for participation in the annual legislative session of the North Carolina Student Legislature (NCSL). The practicum employed the NCSL experience as a vehicle for understanding the legislative process more fully.…

Describes objectives and student activities of a simulated peace conference which the author has used successfully in a course on Middle East politics at the University of Maine in Orono. (AV)