New Horizons for Learning Journal: January, February, March 2000

New Horizons for Learning's Online Journal
Vol. V No. 4* April, May, June 2000

(links were valid through September 2000)

In This Issue

We celebrate spring with this issue about change. Listed below is a variety of articles that preview a new spring in education. The authors include Dee Dickinson, John Moore, Gail E. Hanninen, Rick Smyre, Niki Hayes, Bill Miller, and Decline Mesa Johnson.

Finally, we are pleased to feature articles on the work of Reuven Feurestein, Israeli psychologist and pioneer in the teaching of intelligence, and his research on Instrumental Enrichment. These articles by Meier Ben Hur, Myron Tribus and Kathy Greenberg will be included in the Teaching for Intelligence Area of the Tool Room, which is being updated.

View from the Observation Deck: Dee Dickinson
Dee shares the issues that are at the forefront of education today along with items that will be featured in this journal.

Dee Dickinson: Today, everywhere in the world, people of all ages are asking how educational systems can be transformed into ones truly appropriate for our time. How can people of all ages learn how to learn, unlearn, and relearn? How can they develop skills to deal with complexity and challenges that have never before existed? How can schools that were created for another time meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population of students? Can schools alone meet these needs? In considering these questions, Dee has us look at new possibilities for individuals, learning communities, and an emerging global learning society.

Reforming the Reforming of Education: The Central Elements
Dr. John Moore: The author suggests that the time has come to undertake the difficult and complex task of revising the entire system of education in ways that will produce sustainable reform. The nation must have an educational system that will function at a high level of effectiveness. He shares the central elements necessary for this type of reform.
Creating Systems Change Gail E. Hanninen, Ed.D.: As Director of Special Services of the Sumner School District, Gail shares with us her knowledge of systems change, making change that endures and changes at the heart of the organization. She stresses vision, of what it means to create an understanding of an organization, of leadership and the role of different styles, of critical factors to the change process, and of the importance of organizational culture.
Transforming the 20th Century Mind: The Roles of a Futures Institute Rick Smyre

To Accommodate, To Modify, and To Know the Difference: Help Determine Placement of a Child in Special Education or "504"
Nakonia (Niki) Hayes

Explaining and understanding the differences between accommodations and modifications in the school setting can help determine the most effective and appropriate placement for students who are deemed eligible for special help. Niki Hayes gives examples of modifications and accommodations to help us determine the most appropriate placement for a child.

Wahluke School District Sees Unique Challenges As Opportunities to Increase Student Achievement

Dr. Bill Miller and Decline Mesa Johnson

Wahluke School District sees the unique challenges districts face as an opportunity to "pull out all the stops" and find innovative ways to support teaching and student learning. Wahluke is located in Mattawa, a small agricultural community an hour outside of Tri-Cities and Yakima on the Columbia River. Their four schools consist of a diverse student population with 40 percent migrant children.

Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment: Better Learning for Better Students
Meier Ben Hur: The article summarizes Feurestein's Instrumental Enrichment Program that is currently used in more than eighty countries worldwide and is available in seventeen languages. The program is based on the theory and research of Dr. Reuven Feuerstein that intelligence is dynamic and modifiable, not static or fixed.

Personal Revelation: No More Gold in the River