This paper suggests the need for a broader conceptualization of both instructional design and of instructional design theory, suggesting that this broader view is necessary to establish a truly comprehensive and functional theory base. Theories come in many forms: they can be formal systems of laws and propositions, narrative explanations and…

Viewed through an investigation of the cultural and social impact of Information Technology (IT), this paper attempts to illustrate the theoretical and practical utility of HCI (Human Computer Interaction) to communication research. Informed by the full integration hypothesis, which suggests that information technologies have become part of the…

This paper examines linkages between educational philosophy and classroom activities and presents 10 guidelines for early childhood teachers and administrators to effectively strengthen these linkages. The 10 guidelines are: (1) each child has a capacity to respond to what the teacher brings to the classroom; (2) educators need to open the world…

Top-down and bottom-up theories have long dominated the field of reading. Recently, interactive models have been proposed by some researchers. One model, the interactive-compensatory model, hypothesizes that a deficiency in one processing area is compensated for by a relative strength in another area. The concept of multiple intelligences is one…

Making the case that the human achievement of reading has few if any equals, this book uses protocol analysis data related to reading to develop a rich description and understanding of cognitive and affective processes during reading. The book concludes that reading is "constructively responsive"--that is, good readers are always…

The future role of the social sciences in educational administration theory is explored in this paper. First, the turn toward the social sciences in educational administration is considered. Attacks by the subjectivist and critical theorists on positivistic science are examined next, with attention to the decline of those two views in sociology…

The purpose of this paper is to prove that including a significant theoretical component in instructional technology curricula has numerous advantages. The discussion is confined to curricula offered at universities, typically at the graduate level. Three topics are discussed: (1) the current state of instructional technology programs; (2) why…

Communication scholars are uniquely suited to developing and implementing mechanisms that will promote a multicultural dialogue and build community. Storytelling is one such mechanism. Storytelling can be beneficial to the spiritual psyche on both the individual and universal levels. The folktale "The Princess Who Wanted to See G-d"…

The awakening of public interest in curriculum has come at a time when, within the education profession, the conventional wisdom about teaching and learning has itself undergone a major transformation. New Constructivist theories of knowing have emphasized the social nature of the construction of knowledge: students learn by "putting it into…

The single great value of composition theory is that it gives writing instructors ways to perceive and to talk (about)/write (about) and experience the language that they purport to teach. It is a vocabulary (or set of vocabularies) that, in its structures and definitions, (re-)structures and (re-)defines perceptions of language. If writing is a…

This paper offers a process for organizational decision making that will assist educators involved in school restructuring. The first part, which focuses on the nature of theory and the relationship of theory to practice, concludes that current organizational theory on decision making is inadequate. The next section outlines four stages of a…

This paper describes the outcomes of two study groups, one for teachers and one for principals that provide an interactive and innovative approach to curriculum change. The study groups were implemented as an alternative form of professional development in the Tucson (Arizona) Unified School District when it changed from a basal reader approach to…

The California Educational Research Cooperative (CERC) is a partnership between county and local school systems and the School of Education at the University of California, Riverside. The annual report of this organization is presented. The report details the missions and goals of CERC and its effort to bring professionals and research scholars…

This report describes activities and accomplishments of a four-year project to develop a doctoral program at the University of Kansas Medical Center to prepare teacher educators, researchers, supervisors/managers, and clinicians in programs in either deafness or learning disabilities and in a combined deafness and learning disabilities program.…

Constructivism is a theory about knowledge, whereas reflective practice is a professional development strategy with roots in the constructivist paradigm. A way to integrate these two conceptual frameworks within the context of professional development for prospective administrators is offered here. Constructivism and reflective practice share…