Recent reports and analyses show that meaningful learning is largely missing from many of the nation's classrooms. Students who are taught in meaningful ways are able to think critically, engage in flexible problem solving, and apply learned skills and knowledge to new situations. Linda Darling-Hammond, and a team of content area experts, carefully examine this dilemma and present classroom vignettes which represent the best of what we know. 

Focusing on K-12 language arts, math, and science, the authors answer such important questions as how to support productive inquiry-based learning, how to connect reading and writing for maximum comprehension, how to ensure sense-making in math, and how to link science concepts to the world outside the laboratory/classroom. In addition to classroom practice, the authors look at school redesign programs--where the ultimate goal is a coherent system, from one classroom to the next and from grade to grade.