Communications technologies have been continuously integrated into learning and training environments which has revealed the need for a clear understanding of the process. The Community of Inquiry (COI) Theoretical Framework has a philosophical foundation which provides planned guidelines and principles to development useful learning environments…

Contends that many students reject historical study because they see no connection between factual information and their own needs and interests. Suggests that this epistemology of the self can be used to analyze historical information. Recommends helping students see that historical fact is subject to individual and group interpretation. (CFR)

To teach critical thinking, teachers should (1) define critical thinking liberally enough to encompass affective responses, creativity, and flexibility; (2) respect their students; (3) discuss values and accept shifting values; (4) be receptive to change; and (5) be able to explain the epistemology of a subject. (GFW)

The paper describes four major patterns that emerge in studies of college student intellectual development. Quotations from students' writing about their epistemological beliefs and quotations from professors' writing concerning their courses and students are related to the four patterns. Characteristics of student writing associated with each…

Discusses responses related to the nature and purpose of history from a survey of historians. Contends that it is the appeal of history, rather than teaching methods, that captures the interest of high-school and college students. Applies Ernest Boyer's four principles of scholarship to the survey results. (CFR)

Epistemology traditionally has been defined as the division of philosophy that investigates the nature and origin of knowledge. More specifically, epistemology usually is said to be concerned with either the development of common bodies of knowledge or the establishment of personal knowledge. In recent years, epistemology also has come to be used…

Three themes are identified in response to several papers about teachers' cognition and instructional improvement of students with learning disabilities: (1) the teacher's dilemma between attention to the individual or the group; (2) the content of the curriculum and perspectives on knowledge and knowing; and (3) staff development. Researchers are…

This paper examines the degree to which women faculty and administrators are able to engage in connected knowing and interdependent definitions of self and reality within an institutional environment that values and rewards individualism, separateness, competition, and objectivity. The paper notes that connected knowing is essentially the process…

Asserts that the ethical dimensions of teaching involve complex decisions found in the sense-making process and deeply embedded in teachers' professional lives. Reports on a study of a middle school science teacher and how emancipatory learning, control, and social expectations influence teaching behaviors. (CFR)

Contends that knowledge and its representation in the scholarly community has undergone changes in the past two decades. Examines the nature and contributions of teacher knowledge in the scholarly literature of music teaching. Reflects on the contribution of teacher knowledge to existing university-based literature. (CFR)

Maintains that art education in an urban environment needs to move beyond multicultural awareness. Urban art education must stress art as a way of knowing about the world, a way of making nonviolent statements about social and environmental problems, and as a way of working cooperatively with other students. (MJP)

Responds to Arthur Efland's analysis of the relationship between current theories of teaching and learning and preservice art teacher education. Asserts that the cultural pluralism of today's schools is a significant factor in curriculum planning for art education. Discusses three characteristics of successful art teachers. (CFR)