In course design, topic outline organization encompasses the structuring and sequencing of topics to be delivered in a learning environment. Recent studies in topic outline optimization revolve around massive open online courses (MOOCs) due to their abundance but not much has been studied on the traditional courses. This study investigates the…

Studies have shown that students' positive experience during their first year in college plays a significant role in their success in terms of persistence and satisfaction. That premise has been the motivation for the development of a first-year connection course by the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tennessee Tech University. Recent…

This study investigates the descriptions of support measures in the sequential pedagogical documents (individual education plans or programs and others) of children with special education needs from early childhood education and care to preprimary education. According to the previous research, the role of pedagogical work is largely disregarded in…

Librarians at four different academic institutions concurrently completed curriculum mapping projects using varying methods to analyze their information literacy instruction. Curriculum mapping is a process for systematically evaluating components of an instructional program for cohesiveness, proper sequencing, and goal achievement. There is a…

Best practice in curriculum development and implementation requires that discipline-based standards or requirements embody both curricular and programme scopes and sequences. Ensuring these are present and aligned in course/programme content, activities and assessments to support student success requires formalised and systematised review and…

Examines continuity in curricular aims, content, teaching, and assessment as found in the geography programs of a single secondary school and its feeder primary schools. Places emphasis on pupils aged 8 to 13. Finds little agreement in any of the areas investigated. Proposes that structures are needed to develop productive dialogue. (KO)

Examines the historical development of the expanding environments sequence in the elementary social studies curriculum. Concludes that the sequence is obsolete because it is based on the discredited idea that children relive the cultural history of their race as they develop. Argues for abandonment of expanding environments sequence because of its…

Describes the evolution and growth in popularity of the expanding environments framework for elementary social studies. Its reliance on developmental psychology and its portrayal of an artificial, conflict-free world suggest flaws of major dimensions. Concludes that the near-universal adoption of the expanding environments approach may sustain its…

In this article we report on the results of an evaluation of a two-tiered strategic approach to the development of sessional teaching staff in one Australian university. Analysis of the data reveals a tension between the institutional imperatives underpinning the strategy and its local implementations. This tension ultimately undermines the…

Describes the process for curriculum development effectively used in a rural Alaskan school district and currently being applied in another recently created rural school district. Suggests its potential for adoption in other rural school districts is great. (AH)