This paper presents findings of a study that evaluated the instructional effectiveness of a problem-based learning module constructed around a computer simulation, "Making Change Happen"[TM]. The "Leading Organizational Change" (LOC) course sought to enable students in a graduate management program in Thailand to learn to lead…

Faculty from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the College of Education at the University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, developed a novel course for engineering graduate students emphasizing pedagogy and professional skills. The two-semester course sequence, titled "Preparing Engineering Faculty and Professionals,"…

The last few years have seen the implementation of fundamental structural and curricular policy initiatives affecting the teaching of languages in schools in England. Several policy initiatives have been introduced by the government affecting the position and status of languages in schools, such as the development of foreign language teaching in…

In response to the contrast between the instructional focus of the classroom practice and the actual communicative requirements of campus setting, this paper points out the constructive suggestions for the cultivation of culture awareness in college English education.

Humor through cartoons is an interesting way to engage students in learning course content. The purpose of this study was to document the process of graduate student-made cartoons that portrayed content about principles of designing gifted education programs. Seventeen graduate students enrolled in an introductory gifted education course…

Information on the divergence between student numbers and delivery hours for the period 2002 to 2007 is provided in this technical paper. The change in hours from one year to the next is decomposed into three effects, one of which is "hours inflation", whereby nominal hours increase over time for the same unit of competency or module.…

One of the central themes addressed by this paper is the design of the curriculum for architectural education using three schools of architecture: the Bauhaus in Dessau, Crown Hall in Chicago and the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU) in Sao Paulo. It also reflects on the practices in other schools such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin…

The purpose of this study was to use meta-analysis to synthesize findings from randomized control trials and quasi-experimental research on instructional approaches that enhance the mathematics proficiency of students with learning disabilities. A search of the literature from January 1971 to August 2007 resulted in a total of 42 interventions (41…

What are the basic things that compose curriculum, and what are the questions that may be posed about these things? Joseph Schwab's conception of curriculum is used to introduce a scheme of questions concerning the nature, elements, and practice of curriculum. Formulations of questions by other curriculum theorists are reviewed and analysed in…

The aim of this study is to understand the design of professional development programmes in teacher-based and context-based chemistry curriculum innovations. Firstly, the goals of these programmes are discussed and related to the concept of empowerment. Next, in a selection of empirical studies, four general strategies for professional development…

Literature on the role of higher education distance instructors mostly focuses on their teaching role, involving tasks such as curriculum design, instruction, and facilitating student learning. What is missing is the role of the "person" of the instructor, defined as his or her personality, identity, integrity, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and…

Design of the Integrated English Language Curriculum has been blamed for falling standards of students' competence in the subject. Teacher input in the curriculum design has rarely been considered in the centralized curriculum development approach used in Kenya. However, it is now recognized that teacher input is critical if curriculum is to be…

Among social justice efforts to make curriculum more engaging and achieving for "less advantaged" learners, the Funds of Knowledge (FoK) approach, as developed by Moll, Gonzalez and associates (Gonzalez, Moll, & Amanti, 2005; Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992), offers sound conception and a track-record. The Redesigning…

Tumaini University at Iringa, Tanzania, started a new B.Sc. program in IT in 2007. In the course of planning and implementation of the program, we found out that standard ACM/IEEE IT curricula are not adequate for an IT program in a poor, developing country. The standard curricula describe, in detail, the competences that IT specialists in…

This commentary brings additional theoretical perspectives to bear on data and findings presented by Anniken Furberg and Hans Christian Arnseth in their paper on students' meaning making in genetics in collaborative learning activities. The theoretical perspectives converge on the importance of maximizing students' learning in genetics. The…