The suggestion that new courses can be constructed from existing learning objects appears technically self-evident but remains unproven. Despite increasing evidence that learning objects can provide a suitable structure for constructing courses most evidence is based on creating learning objects, either through restructuring existing materials or…

In this article David Wiley provides an overview of how the general expansion of open source software has affected the world of education in particular. In doing so, Wiley not only addresses the development of open source software applications for teachers and administrators, he also discusses how the fundamental philosophy of the open source…

Given a heightened focus within the mental health profession on creative, complementary, and alternative practices, the authors surveyed CACREP programs with respect to their inclusion of such approaches in counselor training. For the purpose of this study, these approaches were designated as complementary and alternative methods (CAM) and defined…

This paper highlights events and issues in the development of physical education as a school subject. From the origin of physical culture in the German and Swedish "Battle of the Gymnastics Systems" to the advent of the New Physical Education in 1927, physical education curriculum has been a contested terrain. This remains true today as physical…

The purpose of this research study was to (a) describe how concept mapping can be used as an integral instructional strategy for teaching a college course in evolution, (b) evaluate the utility of incorporating concept mapping in a college course on evolution, (c) determine whether students' concept maps reveal "critical junctures" in learning as…

This paper is a reflective account of the experience of designing and teaching a philosophy module as part of a research training programme for students studying for research degrees in education. In the course of the discussion, I address various problems and questions to do with the relationship between philosophy and educational research, the…

Case studies typically do not promulgate a particular viewpoint about a subject. They may, however, take a particular stance on an issue--one the author does not necessarily personally support or believe in--to challenge students to examine a difficult subject from all vantage points. Ignoring controversial topics and striking a politically…

This article outlines the history of the high school "general biology" course and details how biology came to be placed first in the traditional order of science subjects (biology-chemistry-physics). The article briefly discusses the implications of the development of this sequence for the present day biology course.

This paper reports on a study of the complex ways a planned curriculum can get transformed in practice. The analysis also illustrates how the implemented curriculum can have moral and political significance, in ways that critics of the planned curriculum might not foresee. "Participant example," an actual or hypothetical event in which…

Profiles the Contemporary Liberal Arts Core Curriculum of Polytechnic University (New York). Provides the course syllabi for the four-course science, technology, and society sequence, which includes "Technology and Society in Historical Perspectives,""Introduction to Behavioral Science,""Ethics and Technology," and…

Presents an account of developments in an environmental education course for practicing teachers in Australia. Reports on some of the changes that have taken place in the course and the cyclic revision patterns that have occurred between the course's theoretical rationale and its practical embodiment. (TW)

Examines a teaching strategy called "constructive controversy" where students are required to argue both the pro and con positions concerning a controversial current topic. Describes students' response to a class using this method to examine the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Student response was generally favorable. (MJP)

A survey of 319 residents, recent graduates, and faculty of McGill University medical school investigated which ethical issues were viewed as important to include in the curriculum, frequency of occurrence, difficulty of management, and helpfulness of discussion. Gender differences were also studied. Results indicate little consensus on ethics…

Describes an undergraduate education course on teaching in a multicultural society. Finds students to be multicultural illiterates, based on their lack of knowledge of multicultural terms. Suggests videotapes and textbooks for building students' multicultural knowledge base. Presents field activities that promote greater multicultural awareness.…

This paper examines the relationship between literacy, equality and creativity and the relevance for adult literacy practices. It looks in particular at how literacy tutors can use creative non-text methods to promote an understanding of equality in learners' lives. Through an examination of the findings from the Literacy and Equality in Irish…