This reports a study that seeks to explore the experience of students majoring in technology and design in an undergraduate education degree. It examines their experiences in finding and using information for a practical assignment. In mapping the variation of the students' experience, the study uses a qualitative, interpretive approach to analyse…

In relation to health promotion and education, the use of post-positivist and constructivist approaches has been gathering strength in recent years. Despite this emerging tradition, little has been done to explore what this sort of approach actually represents, particularly in terms of health promotion in schools, professional organizations and…

As part of her Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education course, Therese McLaren was asked to imagine how issues the Social Contexts of Secondary Education class was reading about and discussing impact upon the work of teachers. To that end, students were asked to think deeply about one of the topics addressed in the semester, and to frame a…

Increasing numbers of infants and toddlers who were premature, had low birth weight, or experience chronic medical conditions are referred to early intervention services (Bernstein, Heimler, & Sasidharan, 1998). These young children often endure prolonged hospitalizations and are at risk for developmental disabilities by nature of their illnesses,…

This study examines the curriculum components in biology favoured by high school students in Taiwan. Our sample consisted of 155 senior high school students (51 boys and 104 girls) and 137 junior high school students (74 boys and 63 girls). The questionnaire was based on the idea of a repertory grid technique and was developed to investigate the…

Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology is a new advanced level biology course, piloted from September 2002 in England with around 1200 students. This paper discusses the reasons for developing a new advanced biology course at this time, the philosophy of the project and how the materials are being written and the specification devised. The aim of the…

In 1997, the ITESM in Monterrey Mexico initiated a system-wide programme of curriculum reform, bringing about three major changes: (1) a focus on the student in the teaching-learning process; (2) the incorporation of abilities, attitudes and values as an integral part of course content; and (3) the use of a technological platform for every course.…

In this article, the author describes the evolution of Electronic Collaborative Educational Learning Laboratory (ECELL) and shares some of the insights that she has gained over the past five years. ECELL was created as "Collaborative Learning Laboratory" for both pre-service and in-service teachers aimed at transforming the design and…

To increase student engagement and enhance critical thinking and deep understanding, I supplemented weekly seminar meetings with focused Web-based discussions of issues in a "Race and Education" senior sociology seminar. These Web-based discussions were structured by specific questions and discussion roles. Before seminar, Staters posted on the…

By the spring of 2000, forty states had begun using student test scores to rate school performance. Twenty states have gone a step further and are attaching explicit monetary rewards or sanctions to a school's test performance. In this paper, the authors focus on accountability programs in which states measure the effectiveness of individual…

Design prescriptions to create web-based courses and sites that are dynamic, easy-to-use, interactive and data-driven, emerge from a "how to do it" approach. Unfortunately, the theory behind these methods, prescriptions, procedures or tools, is rarely provided and the important terms, such as "easy-to-use", to which these…

A major thrust of the current administration is the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001." This legislation is directed toward improving the overall educational picture of the United States by focusing on teacher improvement, curriculum enhancement, technology exploitation, and accountability measures. The first piece of a successful…

The constructionist concept of social negotiation of meaning recognizes peer interaction and feedback as an important factor for expanding meaning. This concept has particular relevance in the context of developing habits of reflective thinking in teacher preparation programs. This article describes an approach to increasing opportunities for peer…

The search for high school reform leads to William T. McFatter Technical High School in Broward County Public Schools, Florida. The purpose of this article is to highlight key information about the school and to demonstrate the success of its rigorous academic and technical instruction with state-of-the-art technology. By sharing this…

In this article Donald Philip describes Knowledge Building, a pedagogy based on the way research organizations function. The global economy, Philip argues, is driving a shift from older, industrial models to the model of the business as a learning organization. The cognitive patterns of today's Net Generation students, formed by lifetime exposure…