Asserts that getting students to apply their knowledge in new situations is important, noting that reaching this goal generally requires that students have a large share of knowledge of the relevant topic. Describes rote versus inflexible knowledge, explaining that inflexible knowledge is the normal foundation for expertise and discussing how…

In this article the author explores possibilities for cultivating justice with reference to teaching and learning in (South African) universities. It is argued that teachers and learners ought to become responsive, democratic and critical--they need to act justly in order to break with South Africa's apartheid legacy. The author discusses why…

Delineates four uses of schooling: replicative (rote), applied, associative, and interpretive learning. Argues that on the first two uses, by which schooling is ordinarily judged, the curriculum fails. Calls on curriculum researchers to demonstrate the school's role in developing the associative and interpretive uses of knowledge necessary to…

Many students, it is argued, view medical education as a onetime requirement for the mastery of facts. They give little thought to the application of these facts or the ethical contexts in which they are used, and they are not being educated for a lifetime of learning. (MLW)

In this essay, William Hazlitt (1778-1830) deplores the effects of the classical education of his time on students who memorized without understanding and on teachers who tended toward pedantry. Interchange editors noted that "many of his criticisms of scholars and schooling have a contemporary ring...." (PP)

Japan produces more technicians and engineers than the U.S. as a result of higher standards for high school graduation and college entrance, highly effective teacher inservice training, and public support for science and technology. However, the reliance on imitation and rote learning remains a weakness in the Japanese educational system. (WD)