Explores the logic of ethnographic inquiry that seeks to make gay and lesbian subjects seen and heard. Focuses on participants' opinions of the course Introduction to Christianity. Theorizes the effects of religious and sexual "open secrets," or "knowledge that is present yet unarticulated," in constituting the teacher's form of instruction. (CMK)

As a teacher educator committed to raising issues of racial, economic, and gender equality and those related to an appreciation for diversity, the author finds poetry to be a powerful resource in social studies methods classes. When preparing preservice teachers for elementary and middle school levels, she finds that poetry can often capture their…

In recent years, US curriculum policy has emphasized standards-based conceptions of curricula in mathematics and science. This paper explores the data from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) to argue that the presence of content standards is not sufficient to guarantee curricula that lead to high-quality instruction and…

Extending inquiry-based learning to allow students to develop their own questions and design and perform their own experiments can greatly enhance education. Students gain an appreciation of how knowledge is acquired and insights into evaluating data. Although easily applied to laboratory courses, the technique is also applicable to lecture…

The Quality of Working in Groups Instrument (QWIGI) was used in this research to measure students' fluctuating psychological need states as well as their situational interest online. Based on previous research with the QWIGI, it was predicted that the variance in university sophomores' situational interest in each of the five different topics of…

A second semester biochemistry laboratory has been implemented as an independent projects course at California State University, Sacramento since 1999. To incorporate aspects of carbohydrate biochemistry, or glycobiology, into our curriculum, projects in lectin isolation and purification were undertaken over the course of two semesters. Through…

The question of whether "intelligent design" amounts to legitimate science, pseudo-science, or religion masquerading as science has underwent a potentially historic legal test, as a federal court in Pennsylvania considered whether a public school district can require that students be exposed to the controversial concept. Eleven parents…

This paper describes a student-centered, task-based alternative to published, mainstream curricula for intermediate university-level (second-year) foreign language courses: global simulation. The course format requires students to collaboratively complete a long-term task organized around a single premise or scenario. In the process, they learn…

The landscape of education was permanently changed with the onset of online (web-based) distance education. As the number of participants in online education increases, providing effective instruction that focuses on the needs of adult learners is paramount. While the idea of taking a standard course curriculum and using a different vehicle to…

School leaders who have advocated for controversial programs know the pitfalls. Among the most frustrating are individuals and groups who resist any change at all, those who are supportive but remain silent, and those (opponents and allies alike) who are so passionate in their position they seem unable to hear the views of others. Each group…

Many instructors appreciate the importance of developing the critical thinking skills of their students yet are unfamiliar with pedagogical approaches for teaching critical thinking. These instructors rely on instructional support from teaching and learning centers or online resources. It can be time consuming, however, for instructors to…

This paper reflects on the process of developing a pedagogy that uses experiential learning and disruption in environmental education practice to challenge students to develop critical thought. We examine our practice with university students in an "Environment and Culture" course, and focus on the processes that can transform disruption…

One of the challenges faced by graduate programs in family and consumer sciences (FCS) is how to maintain the identity and cohesion of the profession (its values, mission and goals) despite an increasing number of students who have undergraduate degrees from other disciplines or from specialized areas within FCS but who do not identify themselves…

Many mathematics departments usually teach a variety of courses for students from different science departments and even from different faculties. These "service" courses are usually taught in the same way as the courses for mathematics major students. However, in science, because of the need to better analyse and interpret experimental…

Although most focus group theorists consider interaction to be a defining feature of focus groups, the influence that occurs through this interaction has been under-theorized. We argue that two important forms of influence may occur: influence on people's beliefs about the substantive issues under discussion and influence on self-efficacy beliefs.…