It is common practice in problem-based learning for students to solve cases developed by faculty. Rare is the practice of creating learning environments in which students construct their own cases. This paper examines the design and implementation of a 15-week problem-based learning writing course for graduate students in medical science. The…

This paper presents and discusses the evolution of a metadata-based course portal, the Open Learning Repository (OLR). Different instructional models and learning principles are integrated in order to meet different learning and teaching strategies: different metadata models (domain model, instructional model, cooperative and structural model) are…

Designing instructionally sound Web courses is a difficult task for instructors who lack experience in interaction and Web-based instructional design. Learning theories and instructional strategies can provide course designers with principles and design guidelines associated with effective instruction that can be utilized in the design of…

Does a current controversial issue become part of the social studies curriculum in a context where the media focus largely on the issue? A study explored this question through surveys and in-depth interviews that investigated K-12 social studies teachers' perspectives on the incorporation of current controversial issues into the curriculum. A…

Rural teachers are often undertrained in the identification and education of gifted students. This paper describes the principles and development of an online introductory course in gifted education that could meet the need for rural teacher training. Using the philosophy that learners construct their own knowing, the system for developing an…

A research curriculum designed to bridge the gap between clinical practice and social work research training is described. Data on student perspections of research utility and on agency use of research are discussed. (MSE)

Historical background to Arkansas Act 590, mandating inclusion of creationism in public school curriculum, is given, including the history of antievolution bills, emergence of textbook watchers, and political issues in the law's passage. Suggestions are given for elementary and secondary teachers to become informed and active regarding…

Presents the results of a survey on the status of inorganic laboratory courses. Indicates that they are in a continuing period of evolution and all stages of the evolution are represented in schools across the country. (Author/JN)

Presents a preliminary report on a survey of the American Library Association accredited schools of library and information science to determine the extent to which courses dealing with the economics of information are taught. The elements of a model syllabus for an economics of information course are presented. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the nature of information and considers objective versus subjective views of information; examines concepts dealing with information practice, including access to and use of information; and discusses impacts on the education of information professionals based on a course offered at the University of Technology (Australia). (Contains 13…

The article describes the development of the Estonian school mathematics syllabus in 1990-2005 on the context of changes in the national general education curriculum. The major steps of the development, the background and the main problems are observed: project of the Estonian mathematics syllabus from 1989; first mathematics syllabuses…

This study examined curriculum deliberation and decision-making in higher education through selected interviews with 11 university teachers in 11 different disciplines. All were full-time and tenure-track or already tenured. After completing individual interviews the participants gathered for a culminating discussion. Examination of the data found…

Setting performance standards is an area that different constituencies see quite differently. The choices of elements for a particular standard depend to a large extent on the purposes the standard is intended to serve. Standards can be used in certification, as predictors, as descriptors, and as motivators. While performance standards indicate…

Incorporation of management principles in the classroom can motivate students to successfully complete project work. The Communication Arts Department at Georgia Southern University developed a Public Relations Event Management course in which the students were responsible for planning a campus-wide special event to raise funds for two clients.…

When an instructor was asked to serve as the second vice president for the Eastern Communication Association, she found ways to incorporate her students into the process of convention planning. To assist her in her duties she developed a special topics course in applied communication that required the students to carry out much of the work for the…