Businesses are now pushing more so than ever before for schools and educators to adopt a community or learning community based approach to student education, in the hopes students will graduate with more applicable skill sets they can apply to the immediate global workplace. Where did they originate? Learning communities originated from "theory-drive evaluation" research focusing on school reform initiated by education policy specialists (Felner, et al., 1997:520). The idea was

According to Bales, 1999, the concept behind SYMLOG is that "every act of behavior takes place in a larger context, that it is a part of an interactive field of influences." Further, "the approach assumes that one needs to understand the larger context -- person, interpersonal, group, and external situation -- in order to understand the patterns of behavior and to influence them successfully." With SYMLOG, measurement procedures are

Learning and Assessment Basics In a regular education classroom, eighth grade learners can be difficult to work with. That is largely because they are starting to develop more than they have in the past - not just physically, but mentally and emotionally, as well. With that in mind, teachers who work with eighth grade learners must be aware of what these students want and need in their learning experience (Pellegrino, Chudowsky,

This idea of guidance is important; children need the framework and support to expand their ZPD. Since the ZPD defines the skills and abilities that children are in the process of developing, there is also a range of development that we might call a "stretch goal"(Mooney). For Vygotsky, supplying the child with a combination of theoretical and empirical learning methods is a more robust way to ensure cognition. This leads

.. than grown-ups understanding, caring and self-motivation of children [are] what should be] cultivated... It can be very damaging for a person's development to be treated as a child until the age of 21... children can make very valuable contributions to society with their fresh perspectives and playful attitudes. This is to be supported and treasured. Instead, however, since childhood independence and autonomy often are not encouraged, today's young students often

Yet the fundamental skills of the game require strictly hands-on learning. Merely learning the rules does not prepare one to actually play the game. The game is learned through repetition of physical movements, for example on the driving range or the putting green. Golf swings are learned by training muscles to behave in a certain way consistently - the book element of that is minimal. The soft skills that one