When talking about pedagogical theories, the first thing to stress is that it is difficult to find something new that has not been said before. In this field, much of what is called innovation comes from earlier times. Theories, conceptions and research have developed a great deal in the field of education. This means that educational systems face…

Educators are often overcome by the daily concerns of the classroom so they tend to focus on what has worked in the past. It seems a luxury to take the time to ask the more fundamental question: what is learning? Yet this question lies at the fore of our profession and defines our choice of teaching methods. It has become a truism that social…

This article offers a typology of philosophical traditions in environmental education for adults, based on five philosophical perspectives of adult education described by Elias and Merriam. These five traditions are liberal, progressive, behaviorist, humanist, and radical adult environmental education, respectively. A summary of each philosophy's…

Videodiscs have much to offer in developing the school curriculum, but teachers must use definite criteria in planning teaching-learning situations that will enable students to achieve on an individual basis. Thus, students should find meaning, interest, purpose, provision for individual differences, and a balance among objectives in their…

Some personal reflections on instructional design and its relation to constructivism are explored. Instructional design in its present form is out of sync with the times in that its orientation, methods, and research base are behavioristic, or positivistic. However, a constructivist theory of instructional design is possible, particularly if…

This article contrasts the philosophies of early childhood special education and early childhood education and discusses a service delivery approach, known as activity-based intervention, which combines strategies for both fields and utilizes behavior analytic techniques within child-directed activities. (Author/DB)

This document proposes that preservice teachers assess various learning philosophies to find methods that may be useful in teaching at the higher education level. In the first section of the paper ten broad principles of teaching are cited: developing and maintaining student interest; motivating learners; providing useful learning opportunities;…

How do we encourage teachers to adopt Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) so that it becomes part of mainstream practice in physical education and community-based sports programmes worldwide? Why do some teachers adopt a TGfU instructional model and others stick to a technique-based approach? What happens to PETE students when they attempt to…

This document, which is intended as a primer for adult continuing education, contains 11 chapters examining the philosophical foundations of adult and continuing education. The chapter titles and authors are as follows: "Progressivism and Adult Continuing Education" (Michael Day); "Progressivism: An Anthology" (Andrea Reeve);…