This paper describes the development of a three-phase approach our team of educational developers finds useful in curriculum projects in our Teaching and Learning Centre. Informed by the literature on the importance of flexibility and iteration (Knight, 2001; Wolf, 2007) and an orientation towards Appreciative Inquiry (Srivastra & Cooperrider,…

Working within a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) perspective requires a rigorous approach based on conceptual frameworks in order to build on previous developments. Nevertheless, in health sciences education, the development, implementation, and evaluation of many educational innovations are carried out without an underlying conceptual…

Although post-secondary educational institutions are incorporating more active learning classrooms (ALCs) that support collaborative learning, researchers have less often examined the cultural obstacles to adoption of those environments. In this qualitative research study, we adopted the conceptual framework of activity theory to examine the…

This article details the journey Luke Rhine, a Program Specialist in Career and Technology Education at the Maryland State Department of Education, as he went about the difficult task of building consistency and establishing rigorous expectations for Technology education in Maryland. As a result, Maryland has developed a model for Technology…

This paper follows Kennesaw State's University's (KSU) faculty journey in developing a new integrated core curriculum for their Management majors that will empower the students and meet the needs of today's employers. Curriculums must change to stay current. Depending on the amount of change, this can be a huge undertaking for a department…

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare key elements of the actions that states in the USA and Australia took to implement the Common Core State Standards or Phase One of the Australian Curriculum, and what processes and products they used to facilitate implementation of these innovations. A rubric adapted from a diagnostic tool,…

Tested the curriculum leadership framework that Stark and Lattuca adapted from Quinn's competing values model of management styles. Chairpersons of departments nominated as effective in curriculum planning answered a survey about their leadership activities and styles. Factor analysis partially supported the model. Activities that chairs reported…

Vision and mission statements are the foundation for the types of undergraduate degrees departments confer as well as other types of academic programs such as pre-major, certificate, and distance education curricula. Critical to each department should be careful administration of course selections and offerings and management of academic majors,…

A framework for strategic planning within academic departments is outlined. Elements include analyzing the strategic situation of all constituencies (department, institution, competitors, students, student employers), development of mission statement and departmental objectives, development of strategic market-target and curriculum options,…

The communications department at Lewis and Clark College (Portland, Oregon) has grown from two faculty with three declared communications majors in 1965 to six faculty with 135 declared majors in 1984. The department curriculum is subdivided into three central areas of study: rhetoric and public address, interpersonal/organizational communication,…

Presents a case study illustrating processes used to implement curriculum reform at North Dakota State University. Describes methods used to develop the general education curriculum and to collect and relay information within the university. Provides a model of the involvement of academic departments in the process. (22 citations) (AJL)

This monograph is the report of a project designed to bring alternative means of addressing classroom instruction, curricular offerings, and departmental administration to tradition-bound departments. Section one contains an overview of the project, describing the organization of project, describing the organization of project teams that…

Emphasis is placed on the managerial roles at the organizational level and in particular the role of a curriculum coordinator in planning, organizing and controlling the resources needed to develop, install, continuously evaluate and modify curriculum materials used by teachers of vocational and career education in local educational agencies.…

The Laboratory staff reported the unit development and field test activities in their effort to collect, analyze, synthesize, and disseminate new curriculum developments in secondary level social studies to school curriculum decision makers. The audience consisted primarily of social studies teachers and department chairmen. To further refine and…

The need to include specific training in administrative skills is addressed. An informal survey of ten faculty members from four Boston area colleges examined their perceptions of the role of the department chair, and their experiences with this role. The questionnaire is appended. (MLW)