The purpose of this study was to describe undergraduate students' experiences and perceptions of online courses based on interviews, observations, and online focus groups. I describe (a) motivational and learner characteristics within online classes, (b) the positive and negative aspects of online courses as experienced by students, (c) what…

This qualitative dual-case study addresses two 21st century teacher education imperatives, technology infusion and critical multicultural literacy instruction. We researched the integration of a blog as a tool to promote technology use in a graduate course on literacy and technology with a thematic focus on the Holocaust. Using a grounded theory…

Health education in New Zealand schools has a chequered history, peppered with controversy since its inclusion as a school subject in the early nineteenth century. In this paper we examine the trials and challenges faced by health education teachers over time, pointing to the particular components of this subject that are regarded as controversial…

In this article, I present some "axioms" that relate to undergraduate mathematics education. When I first heard the word axiom, it was defined as a "self-evident truth"; but an axiom is not a truth, it is a subjective assumption on which an argument or proof can be based. My purpose in presenting these axioms is to stimulate debate about…

Using the 2008 Presidential Election as a case of curricular controversy, the author describes how six high school government teachers responded to the racial, gender, and religious diversity included on the presidential tickets of the two major political parties. Teachers had to decide whether the issue of Americans challenging the tradition of…

This paper documents the experience and lessons from implementing an e-learning program aimed at creating research capacity for gender, crisis prevention, and recovery. It presents a case study of bringing together a multidisciplinary group of women professionals through both online and face-to-face interactions to learn the skills needed to be a…

For the forty-first time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains twenty-seven…

It is important that students understand the "open-ended" nature of scientific knowledge and the correct relationship between facts and theory. One way this can be taught is to examine a past controversy in which the interpretation of facts was contested. The controversy discussed here, with suggestions for teaching, is "Expanding…

Objective: To describe the availability, progression, and characteristics of conceptually based Fitness/Wellness ("CBFW") courses in American colleges and universities. Participants: Surveys were completed by 161 faculty members about the availability and characteristics of "CBFW" courses at their particular institutions. Methods: The "CBFW"…

Cosmopolitan and global discourses are more and more often used for conceptualization and interpretation of citizenship. However, in the United States, the majority of schools are still resistant to incorporating cosmopolitan and global perspectives into citizenship education curriculum. This paper addresses challenges of cosmopolitan and global…

This article discusses some of the challenges and lessons for teaching undergraduate-level courses related to terrorism. The author outlines some of the primary issues that instructors can expect to face, and provides strategies for dealing with several of these challenges. The goal is to relay useful information to those teaching, or planning to…

This study examines the current status of the introductory business communication course at colleges and universities across the United States. Using data collected during the spring of 2008 from a national sample of 505 instructors, this study reveals a number of pedagogical and programmatic insights about (1) major course sponsors; (2) academic…

This study examined the effects of external strategy use on the comprehension of relations among controversial texts. About 80 undergraduates read six controversial texts for the purpose of either finding intertextual relations or forming their opinion about the controversial issue. Half of them were permitted to use external strategies, the other…

This article presents an approach to integrate contemporary physics into high-school teaching. We present a simple way to understand mass spectroscopy using basic physics concepts, so that high-school students may have contact with recent topics of modern research. The main features of a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer using secondary…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide description and an analysis of two worlds colliding where real-world roles or ideas play out in a virtual dimension. Inhabited by digital natives, the virtual world in a learning organization is a journey back to the future of microworlds where the only limitation is one's imagination.…