Adolescents view sexual orientation, especially homosexuality, as a very sensitive subject. Homosexuality is also a culturally sensitive topic; views on its appropriateness as a classroom subject vary widely from country to country. An English teacher at the International School of Brussels explains how he uses literature and essay writing to…

'Structured Controversy' (SC) is a cooperative learning activity where students, working in small groups, argue one side of an issue and then another side of the same issue in two Rounds. Discussion includes: organizing the activity; evaluation; and positive results. Students reported a high degree of satisfaction with the SC activity and were…

Special education teachers (n=121) in both self-contained and resource programs expressed their opinions about contemporary issues education (such as substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, suicide, delinquency, and child abuse). Responses are analyzed using a typology. Implications for educating students to reduce their…

Examines the reasons for the death penalty, the reasons why the death penalty attracts so much attention, whether the death penalty is applied consistently, and the evidence that the application of the death penalty may be racially biased. Provides an accompanying article on "Teaching Ideas" by Ronald A. Banaszak. (CMK)

A series of programs entitled Creationism and Evolution: The History of a Controversy was presented at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The controversy was addressed from an historical and sociological, rather than a scientific perspective. Speakers addressed the evolution of scientific creationism, ancient texts versus sedimentary rocks…

The introductory survey of media course is a standard offering in many media studies programs. Students' points of view about controversial issues treated in this class are quite susceptible to change. Indeed, a deliberately value-added approach to teaching this class acknowledges and appreciates that student opinions are likely to change in the…

History teaching continues to be driven by an overriding emphasis on information coverage. This trend has resulted in a fragmented approach to teaching that privileges the acquisition of facts over in-depth study (Evans 1989; Evans, Avery, and Pederson 1999; Goodlad 1984; Newmann 1988; Onosko 1992, 1996; Onosko and Swenson 1996; Wiggins 1989).…

This article discusses the results of a mainly qualitative study into possible impacts of recent controversial socio-scientific issues on a group of Portuguese secondary school students regarding their conceptions about scientists. The 86 participants: (1) answered a questionnaire with open-ended questions; and (2) wrote a science fiction story…

In this article, the author shares some anecdotes to point out a common enough trend that is all but ignored in pedagogical discussions within Native studies. As a non-Native scholar he shares his understanding of what he sees Native students regularly facing in the university (not just his institution, but most), and what they may come to face…

The purpose of this book is to explore what happens--and what can happen--in the higher education, and even secondary school, classroom when course content meets or collides with students' religious beliefs. It also considers the impact on learning in an environment where students may feel threatened, angry, misunderstood, or in which they feel…

This study examines how student practice of scientific argumentation using socioscientific bioethics issues affects both teacher expectations of students' general performance and student confidence in their own work. When teachers use bioethical issues in the classroom students can gain not only biology content knowledge but also important…

The question of whether religious explanations about the origin of life should be taught alongside scientific accounts in compulsory science education has sparked controversy in several countries for decades. An important site for these controversies is media reporting. This article presents the results of a quantitative and qualitative analysis…

Recent reform initiatives, especially the No Child Left Behind Act, tend to rely on a variety of highly debatable assumptions that fail to reflect the diversity of today's classrooms and also place pressure on educators in a manner we characterize as accountability by assumption. Such reform initiatives have become so political, complex, and…

This instructor's guide assists secondary social studies educators in making effective use of the five-part video series, "That Delicate Balance II: Our Bill of Rights." In the tradition of "The Constitution: That Delicate Balance," the series introduces students to the Bill of Rights and the controversies that have arisen over…

One reason for a lack of religious literacy among undergraduates and members of society at large is the virtual absence of religion in high school textbooks. Thirty high school textbooks approved for use in North Carolina in the fields of United States and world history, economics, home economics, and biology were reviewed. The review revealed the…