Curricular reform has had pitiful results. There are actually four curricula. Concentrating on the official and tested curricula, while ignoring the taught and learned curricula, diverts attention from more pressing policy issues such as inequitable funding allocations and persistent achievement gaps between richer and poorer students. The only…

What is striking about the Goals 2000 initiative is its virtual omission of the student, except as passive receptacle. To claim that students will learn more with heightened expectations is misleading. For content to take root, it must connect with students' internal "prepared structures" and become a "comfortable friend." In…

Experiences with an instructional strategy which enabled students to build for themselves the appropriate scientific concept for energy are described. This was done by pupil/teacher dialogue in small groups, in which students were expected to create for themselves a "generalization mechanism" based on their own frameworks. (KR)

Described is a way in which elementary science methods students experience the Generative Learning Model (GLM) from the learner's perspective and then analyze an activity about pendulums through the eyes of the pedagogue. The four phases of the GLM--preliminary, focus, challenge, and application--are discussed. (KR)

America 2000 presents an educational reform agenda that neglects the arts. Prevailing misconceptions of the arts are based on a massive misunderstanding of their role in human development and education. The arts contribute significantly by celebrating the value of multiple perspectives and nuances in problem solving, relating form to content, and…

Examines existing research and instructional design theories for guidelines that encourage a deep approach to learning, i.e., meaningful learning, critical thinking, or independent learning. Highlights include sequencing strategies and elaboration theory, linking concepts, student misconceptions, changing the attitudes of teachers, and projects…

Discusses a misconception about the cycloid that asserts the final point on the path of shortest time in the "Brachistochrone" problem is at the lowest point on the cycloid. Uses a BASIC program for Newton's method to determine the correct least-time cycloid. (MDH)

Discusses some misconceptions relating to location and to the earth's hydrosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere. Provides correction and explanation of various phenomena. Includes ocean names and sizes, sea level, coriolis effect, greenhouse effect, lightning, magma, and mass wasting. Suggests that myths can be dispelled by exposure combined with…

Presents a problem in which the incorrect application of the Law of Sines leads to an erroneous solution. Demonstrates that the commission of this error by an ophthalmologist using laser trabeculoplasty could lead to patient injury. (MDH)

Richard Jaeger owes "Kappan" readers apology for violating ethics of his profession in deliberately propagating erroneous information. Jaeger rejects the positive correlation of large class size with high mathematics test scores in Korea and Taiwan and ignores Japan, another high-scoring nation with high class sizes. However, Jaeger…

Historical accounts by fourth graders at the beginning stage of learning history show that these young students lack an experience-based framework for grounding and connecting historical teaching. Implications for teaching history to elementary school students and aspects of children's reliance on imagination in constructing historical narratives…

Questions some new orthodoxies of British elementary education: fitness for purpose, planning based on subject order requirements, and differentiation (learning described by hierarchical levels). Teachers cannot implement National Curriculum goals without substantive professional development and deeper subject area knowledge. A fruitful change…

An update on the changes in the infection pattern of the HIV virus in the United Kingdom and the United States and comments on misunderstandings about how HIV is spread in developed countries are presented. The implications for teachers in both countries are discussed. AIDS education resources are listed. (KR)

Discussed is misinformation people have on the subject of radiation. The importance of comparing artificial source levels of radiation to natural levels is emphasized. Measurements of radioactivity, its consequences, and comparisons between the risks induced by radiation in the environment and from artificial sources are included. (KR)

Addresses misconceptions concerning CD-ROM technology. Topics discussed include changes in CD-ROMs and possible obsolescence; high-speed wide area networks, frequency of updates, and pricing; CD-ROM databases in academic libraries; local area networks; interfaces between CD-ROM drives and computers; CD-ROM speed; uses of CD-ROM; and write-once CD…