My ever-emerging philosophy of education increasingly diminishes the role of "the teacher" in the teaching/learning equation. It took over 30 years of college teaching experience for me to realize that the learner is, for the most part, in charge of what gets learned. Implementing this point of view online has, for me, blurred, somewhat, the…

In this article, the author explores practices and economies of learning that make visible particular practices where educational work is embedded in places other than schools, colleges and universities, or at least in complex interaction with them. To do this, she draws on a body of work she has been involved with over the past ten years,…

Generally we think it good to tolerate and to accord recognition. Yet both are complex phenomena and our teaching must acknowledge and cope with that complexity. We tolerate only what we object to, so our message to students cannot be simply, "promote the good and prevent the bad". Much advocacy of toleration is not what it pretends to be. Nor is…

The paper explores challenges for the interpretation of the ideal toleration that arise in educational contexts involving children. It offers an account of how a respect-based conception of toleration can help to resolve controversies about the accommodation and response to diversity that arise in schools.

For many years, practitioners have heard that middle level teachers are teachers of reading. As the standards movement gains strength, it is even more crucial that teachers explicitly teach key vocabulary that makes their students "insiders" when it comes to understanding the content areas. This article reminds the reader of the principles for…

The development of online learning materials is a complex and expensive process that can benefit from the application of consistent and organized principles of instructional design. This article discusses the development at Brigham Young University of the online portion of a one-semester course in Swahili using the ADDIE Model (Analysis, Design,…

Today, many liberal philosophers of education worry that certain kinds of education may frustrate the development of personal autonomy, with negative consequences for the individuals concerned, the liberal state, or both. Autonomy liberals hold not only that we should promote the development of autonomy in children, but also that this aim should…

Around the globe people are confronted daily with intransigent problems of space and place. Educators have historically called for place-based or place-conscious education to introduce pedagogies that will address such questions as how to develop sustainable communities and places. These calls for place-conscious education have included liberal…

"The Montessori Observer" is mailed four times each year, in March, May, September and November, to Society members throughout the world. The purpose is to provide news and information about the Society's work in Montessori education, and to extend awareness. This issue contains a feature article, "Home-School Relations," by…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of Merrill's five star system using award-winning online courses. We compared Merrill's rubric with other recognized rubrics to explore the convergence of course awards with high scores on the Merrill's system, and convergence of scores on the Merrill system with relevant…

In the mid 1990s, Encoded Archival Description (EAD) appeared as a revolutionary technology for publishing archival finding aids on the Web. The author explores whether or not, given the advent of Web 2.0, the archival community should abandon EAD and look for something to replace it. (Contains 18 notes.)

The basic question of why schools exist can be addressed by two prevailing answers: to create workers and to develop citizens. The sorting and segregating and elimination of students who do not meet standardized expectations are a result of the belief that education should just produce workers. When creating workers is the focus of schools, the…

A common view seems to be emerging in the mathematics education world at the moment that the development and use of "rich tasks" is a good thing; a "right thing" to do. There are many examples of these "rich tasks" and teachers are encouraged to use them whenever they can. Professional learners don't just accept this uncritically, but question…

This paper is a review of the literature related to teaching science through designing technology. The premise of this method is that designing technology presents the students with the context through which they can apply the science concepts they learned and thus enhancing their understanding of these concepts. Despite the promise of this…

The leadership of today's schools supports both students' academic success and their preparation for employment in a global work environment. As stimulus funds become available to U.S. school districts, it remains critical that technology leaders align technology acquired with those funds with system-, school-, and classroom-identified student…