Besides learning transmitted content, university students develop learning patterns through pedagogical processes designed into the structure of their courses. Courses shaped within the assumptions of epistemologies and ontologies that only afford narrow learning patterns can eschew learning as valuing processes. However, university courses can be…

Arguably, performance assessment is an integral element of all human educative endeavors. It is the centerpiece of the standards-based reforms movement of the 1990s and continues to be a dominant feature of curriculum planning today. Using performance assessment as a lens, this article addresses the concerns and cautions offered by seminal…

The language-through-content movement of the past decade has promoted the use of authentic texts for language-learning purposes. Content-based instruction, however, has had the effect of emphasizing content as the driver of curriculum rather than language-learning objectives in the language-through-content equation. Longitudinal studies of ESL…

Far from being the lone voice for a new social order, Harold Rugg was one many educators throughout the United States who believed that education should offer more to the American way of life than graduating students with some form of common knowledge, but with little ability to effect necessary change. And in 1934, few Americans would disagree…

Information literacy is becoming an integral component of the higher education curriculum. Following a brief explanation of information literacy, highlighting links to the teaching of Politics at the tertiary level, this article shares lessons learned during a pilot study involving embedding information literacy on a third year Politics course at…

UNESCO defines education for sustainable development (ESD) as covering a broad range of issues from natural resources and HIV/AIDS to poverty reduction. ESD thus becomes a term that must be subtle yet clear, holistic yet tangible. One option for ESD, in dealing with this complexity, is to simplify its content and narrow the issues it addresses.…

The "Anywhere, Anytime, Anyway" slogan is frequently associated to e-learning with the aim to emphasize the wide access offered by on-line education. Otherwise, learning materials are currently created to be used with a specific technology or configuration, leaving out from the virtual classroom students who have limited access capabilities and,…

Relationship abuse is among the most challenging topics sexuality educators have to address in their classrooms. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, it is important to allow time for content (which is to be provided in a subsequent session) as well as an exploration of one's own values and beliefs. This full-session activity is designed to…

What goes into teaching a tissue engineering course in a chemical engineering or bioengineering department? Developing any new course presents numerous challenges such as topics to cover, textbook selection, and types of assignments to give. Additionally, in an area such as tissue engineering where the technology is constantly evolving, the course…

The Chinese Communist Party has invoked the Faure report as part of a large-scale learning initiative involving 61 cities and numerous streets, neighbourhoods and villages. By embracing western ideas and infusing them with Chinese characteristics, the Central School of the Communist Party has embarked on what looks increasingly like the 5th…

Are western psychological and educational theory and practice truly applicable to a range of diverse settings around the world? We demonstrate that there is a globally dominant pedagogical orthodoxy--not exclusively western--for which there is little supportive theory nor evidence of efficacy. There is an alternative--Standards for Effective…

Human Biology courses are typically offered for non-biology majors who, like students in high school biology courses, have varying degrees of motivation and background. The primary focus is on explaining the biology behind human health and disease, but human ecology, human evolution, and human genetics may also be covered. Hence, Human Biology…

"The Laramie Project" is a play based on a collection of interviews with the community members of Laramie, Wyoming, where Mathew Shepard, a 21-year-old university student, was murdered. The idea for the play originated with a theatre group, The Tectonic Theater Project, which devoted 2 years to this project, conducting over 200 interviews. This…

The purpose of this study was to experimentally test the influence of computer-mediated word-of-mouth communication (WOM) on student perceptions of instructors (attractiveness and credibility) and on student attitudes toward learning course content (affective learning and state motivation). It was hypothesized that students who receive positive…

Science centres aim to present science in ways that will attract visitors and enhance public interest in, and knowledge of, science. But what images and different aspects of science are visitors confronted with at Nordic science centres? This study aims to explore the different aspects of science that are displayed and the ways in which these…