Jack Mezirow's theory of transformative learning has evolved into a description of how learners learn by integrating new knowledge with their existing knowledge, beliefs, and experiences. Centrality of experience, critical reflection, and rational discourse are three common themes in Mezirow's theory, which is based on psychoanalytic theory and…

This paper focuses on reflection and reflective thinking as a means of developing expertise in instructional designers. The need for the reflective instructional designer is discussed, and reflective thinking is examined from several perspectives, i.e., controlled thinking, tacit knowledge, epistemic assumption, abductive reasoning, willingness to…

Some reflections on the future of educational research are offered as responses to questions derived from an article by Ian Stronach ("Research Intelligence," n61 p3 1997). The first is the question of what the future holds for the philosophy and methodology of educational inquiry. A response to this question must recognize the importance of the…

This monograph presents a viewpoint of the nature of art education today. To provide more perspectives on past changes that help in grasping today's circumstances, the monograph offers lectures and papers that address the changing nature of the U.S. society, its cultures and sub-cultures as they affect students, the function of art in maintaining…

A teacher training course must serve as a model of turning theory into practice--a student-centered, collaborative effort involving active learners taking charge of their own learning--and that includes the teacher as well as the students. Only by active reading, writing, listening, and talking about these ideas--as opposed to merely being told to…

This proceedings contains 30 papers: "What Matters in Planning a Conference" (Ahmed et al.); "Faculty Motivations for Learning To Teach at a Distance with Instructional Technology" (Armstrong); "The Use of Literature in Qualitative Research" (Austin, Babchuk); "Reading Women's Lives" (Baker-Clark);…

This book reviews the history and effects of women's studies in American higher education and concludes that the rise of women's studies has challenged the university in the same way that feminism has challenged society at large. The history of the field is narrated within the context of the philosophical and political goals of its practitioners.…

A study investigated the stages of concern and the developmental nature of change as possible explanations for the paradox existing between theory and practice related to content area reading. Subjects, enrolled in either an introductory teacher education class, a content reading class, or a student teaching class, were administered a variety of…

A study was designed to evaluate the interplay between the California Assessment Program (CAP), the broadest assessment California's students undergo, and one junior high school. The study was conducted at a racially and socioeconomically heterogeneous school in the San Francisco Bay area. Observations were made on the school, department, and…

This collection of 16 papers grew out of a seminar held in 1989 on Research in Distance Education (RIDE). The participants in the seminar and those whose papers are included here were searching for new research methodologies, broadening their research agendas, and putting the practice of distance education under scrutiny. The following papers are…

In an interdisciplinary approach to improve faculty members' teaching competencies in higher education at the University of Innsbruck (Austria), an action research type of program proved most suitable to promote reflective professionality across the disciplinary boundaries. After an introductory session individual projects were initiated, in which…

This study focuses on the relationship between teacher mental planning and instructional design (ID) skills for the graduates of the teacher education program at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), which has had a two-semester sequence in instructional design (ID) and evaluation since 1976. The two courses are designed to…

This paper describes research needs in light of changes taking place in school-based practice in both general and special education. The tenets of educational reform and societal concerns fueling demands for reform are identified. The context in which changes in educational practices are occurring is described, focusing on evolving relationships…

Multicultural education emerged as a curriculum and pedagogical movement in the late 1960s but it has yet to be clearly understood. Several distinct approaches to multicultural education constitute a range of curricular, pedagogical, and social justice perspectives each with significantly different political, social, and economic goals. A healthy…

A practicum was designed to increase the instructional options chosen by classroom teachers in order to create meaningful connections between reading and writing for elementary students. Teachers in the target school were experiencing difficulty in translating theory into effective classroom practice. In response to a teacher needs assessment,…