This paper examines a basic philosophical issue involved with the purpose of a senior capstone communication course required of all majors. The issue involves two opposites: closure, represented by the dome, and further exploration, represented by the spire. Both approaches have legitimate claims for a capstone course. There is definitely a need…

The nurturance and development of intellectual and creative talent in young people are examined, using the goals and curriculum of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (a public residential high school for highly talented students) as an example. Emphasis is on presenting learning as active, dynamic, and integrated. (DB)

Jane Tompkins, a Duke University (North Carolina) English professor, is working to transform the conventional approach to college teaching from combative to communal, focusing on students' personal development as well as their intellect and deemphasizing faculty career development. Critics feel her approach is extreme and unreasonable; supporters…

For years many educators have advocated school conditions that maximize human intellectual and creative potential, yet today's schools can be intellectually depressing. After identifying and describing factors that influence teachers' attitudes and experiences in education, this document explores three school climate conditions that facilitate the…

The question that ought to be at the heart of the school reform debate is: Why do we have schools? An answer to this question will drive the sorts of "improvements" that schools attempt. This book proposes that schools exist to help young persons create meaning and discover their own being through development of the mind. The mind is the…

This collection of 34 essays provides an overview of the debates and reforms under discussion in regard to undergraduate curriculum. Part 1 focuses on the purposes and objectives of undergraduate education, reviewing pivotal historical developments, changes in the curriculum due to social and historical forces, and traditional and innovative…

Four articles on higher education curriculum are presented. In "The Articulate Curriculum" an approach to curriculum description is presented that is designed to have minimal ambiguity concerning the intention, content, and processes of the curriculum and that will lead to questioning several discrete factors in the curriculum planning…

Presenting models based on the philosophies of Carl Rogers, John Dewey, Erich Fromm, and Jean-Paul Sartre, this paper proposes a philosophical approach to education and concludes with pragmatic suggestions concerning teaching based on a fully-functioning-person model. The fully-functioning person is characterized as being open to experience,…