Arguing that the word "knowledge" has become unfashionable, having been replaced by "science," this paper begins by positing that there are many sciences and that it is the task of basic theorist within each science to ascertain the appropriate procedures, principles, and canons of enquiry based on detailed knowledge of the…

Urges the use of new developments in structuralist and poststructuralist theory as the basis for a new practice in the teaching of composition. (CRH)

The Koan technique was originated by Zen masters to help students open up to new possibilities and to help the individual realize his/her full potential. The staff developer should be engaged in the same process. Important factors in the evaluation process of staff development are listed. (JN)

Discusses whether teachers should teach what they believe to be mathematics, teach the mathematics of students' backgrounds and aspirations, or teach the mathematics they think society expects them to teach. Suggests that teachers define mathematics and share those definitions with students. (DDR)

Offers clarification on the current debate about educational research pertaining to the issues of terminology, epistemology, and the societal and institutional issues at stake. Discusses globalwide institutional research trends as related to the theories of Emile Durkheim and Alfred Binet. (NL)

Described is a course designed to teach the intellectual methods of science while also fostering the development of mature, critical, and skeptical thinking students. Discussed are the course syllabus, teaching philosophy and techniques, and observed results. (CW)

This article argues that if higher education pursues the new norms of scholarship proposed by Ernest Boyer in "Scholarship Reconsidered," a new kind of action research is required that would conflict with the epistemology of the existing research university. An illustration of this kind of research is offered, and the epistemological,…

This paper examines inclusion as both a conversational and a theoretical idea, investigating whether scholarly standards and the universal claims of science function to exclude certain individuals and groups. The paper argues that inclusion is best understood as a moral rather than an epistemological virtue. (Author/SM)

Explores the type of school construction suitable for instruction that includes lectures, experiment, and creation. The philosophical bases of a triadic approach to learning that appeals to feeling, rationality, and imagination are considered. Four detailed diagrams portraying the author's concepts are included. (Contains four references.) (KRN)

Defines instructional design as a manifestation of specific educational theories that are founded on understandings about the nature of the learning process and of knowledge. Analyzes the specific background, main characteristics, and feasible prospects of worldwide changes in instructional design resulting from revolutionary changes in learning…

This paper reviews the book "Problem-Based Methodology," by Viviane Robinson. Consisting of 12 chapters divided into 4 parts, the book's general argument is that educational research must be grounded in problem-based methodology (PBM) if it is to contribute to the improvement of teaching and administrative practice. The reviewer first…

The Department of Administrative and Policy Studies (APS), University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), completed six research reports about its Conceptual Mapping Project. The reports reproduced here originally appeared in the "Occasional Paper Series" of the APS. They are presented in order of the chronological appearance as follows: (1)…

Intended for teachers of college composition, this history of major and minor developments in the teaching of writing in twentieth-century American colleges employs a taxonomy of theories based on the three epistemological categories (objective, subjective, and transactional) dominating rhetorical theory and practice. The first section of the book…

This paper contributes to the debate over whether the university disciplines are the best sources of knowledge for the school curriculum. Among the problematic issues raised in the paper are the distinctions between the university disciplines on one hand and the arts, crafts, trades, and sports on the other, and the distinction between enabling…

A constructivist analysis of the concepts of communication and environment may go against the traditional ideas of realists. Both concepts are treated as subjective constructs of a cognizing agent. It is held that the basis of the constructivist theory of knowing as the idea that knowledge is a mapping of ways of acting and thinking and the result…