Liberal Studies (LS), a high-stakes senior secondary school subject in Hong Kong, has evoked widespread debate in recent years concerning the curriculum content about Mainland China. Highlighting the deregulated textbook policy on this subject as adopted by the Hong Kong Education Bureau (EDB), this paper compares how specific socio-political…

As South East Asia enters a new decade of English language education, attempts are being made to maximize the utility of university EAP courses to fully meet students' language learning needs and prepare them for further academic study. In order for this to be achieved, language educators have begun to focus on incorporating '21st century skills'…

This article presents Oregon State University's experience launching an innovative Open Textbook initiative in spring 2014. The partners, Open Oregon State and the Oregon State University Libraries and Press, aimed to reduce the cost of course materials for students while ensuring the content created was peer-reviewed and employed multimedia…

Describes an assignment in an undergraduate course on Roman history for junior and senior history majors in which students create their own 15-page textbook using primary sources. Explains how each class session developed student analysis of primary sources. (CMK)

Questions content of many introductory courses in political science, pointing out most courses focus on the U.S. political system, not the discipline and its basic theoretical and conceptual elements. Argues for a generalist approach that gives students a better understanding of political systems and the global world. Includes authors, choices,…

Asks the course planner, text writer, teacher, or even the student to consider a series of questions about Earth processes such as how, why, and where the process occurs and why is it important. Provides a guide for the coverage of a topic to ensure that nothing is overlooked. (Author/MVL)

Explores the development and application of syllabus and textbook design principles in the creation and use of an English-as-a-Second Language textbook that completely replaced the use of a structurally based course in Sri Lankan schools. Course components, the structural and functional syllabus, testing problems, and materials team training are…

This newsletter explores trends in social studies education from the 1950s through the 1970s. The decades of the 1950s and 1960s are characterized as kaleidoscopes of pedagogic fashions. Among the trends in social studies objectives, methods, and content were socialization, democratic attitudes, conceptual learning, inquiry learning, values…