Analyzes disability theory and content in the social work curriculum and advances a theoretically expansive approach to disability that is consistent with social work's commitment to diversity and the elimination of oppression. Suggests shifting disability content from an emphasis on individual deficiency toward addressing disability as the…

Provides a rationale for teaching about controversial issues in science and outlines the pedagogical approaches and types of learning activities that are likely to be successful. (MM)

Interviews with 8 distance course developers, 22 tutors, and 14 students in Hong Kong found that coordinators agreed that values education should be incorporated into distance education through counseling, support services, specific courses, or appropriate examples. Coordinators and tutors thought adult students might resist, but students appeared…

Presents examples of the life experiences of older women from 75 literary works. Provides a thematic content analysis and suggestions for curriculum development. Appendices list the 75 citations, 8 anthologies on aging and literature, and 26 bibliographers. (Contains 36 references.) (SK)

Examines 229 responses from members of the Association for Business Communication (United States) who rated the importance of 30 business communication concepts that were divided into six categories: communication theory, written communication, oral communication, employment communication, technology, and current business communication issues.…

Reflects upon theoretical and applied challenges and needs in incorporating sexual orientation issues into communication studies. Argues that communication courses need to explicitly include material related to the life experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people; and that reducing homophobia and heterosexism among high school…

Grant writing skills can be an important asset to many human service providers. This article presents the rationale and benefits for the inclusion of this course content as well as suggestions for a grant writing assignment, using an actual Request for Proposals. (Author)

Choice of curriculum content should follow four research-based principles: learning is a domain-specific skill; general learning ability is highly correlated with general knowledge; learning a subject requires comprehension of general principles illustrated by specific examples; and broad general knowledge is the best entree to deep knowledge.…

Dealing with contentious issues is a part of living in a democracy. Controversies in the classroom range from discussions of fairness regarding playground rules to the rules of "just war." Understanding that there are multiple and often competing viewpoints is a prerequisite to being an informed and effective citizen. Teaching students to define…

A national study of colleges and universities offering teacher-preparation programs was undertaken to ascertain how environmental education (EE) might be better incorporated into their curricula. Six questions guided the descriptive, explorative mail survery relating to satisfaction and fit into EE with current program offerings, what…

This article approaches the immense popularity of Mel Gibson's 2004 film, "The Passion of the Christ" as a significant artifact in the contemporary public, cultural curriculum, and a unique opportunity for religious educators to build on its notoriety. Five interrelated contexts are identified and explored to assist religious educators more deeply…

A well-designed and executed field trip experience serves not only to enrich and supplement course content, but also creates opportunities to build basic science process skills. The National Science Education Standards call for science teachers "to design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space, and resources…

Given the many changes in the introductory psychology textbook market in the past 2 decades and the lack of a recent citation study of introductory texts, we conducted a citation analysis of a stratified random sample of current texts. To provide a more comprehensive picture of current citation emphases, we extended our analysis to the top 60…

Science has a role to play in the resolution of many of the issues deemed controversial in all societies. However, evidence of a lack of public confidence in science and scientists as effective problem-solvers continues to accumulate. This paper speculates that this lack of confidence might in part be due to the way in which science educators…

The assessment of student learning in general education courses is of critical importance in higher education. This study examined the utility of a particular writing assignment, application essays, as a course assessment tool in a basic communication course. Application essays are one page compositions asking students to describe a communication…