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This paper focuses on the recruitment of Alan Dundes to the University of California, Berkeley, and his work with William Bascom in founding the Folklore Program. Using primarily the William [...]

Education research has shown that there is often a disconnect between what instructors teach and what students actually comprehend. Much of this disconnect stems from students' previous conceptions of the [...]

History teaching in schools has long been in a state of deep crisis. Students do not like history nor do they know it. This dismal state of history teaching has required the attention of experts in the realm of school history instruction and curricula design who have made a large number of proposals to improve its standing in schools. These have a wide common denominator: They usually revolve around the idea of closing the gap between school history and academic history, in general, and specifically, they stress the centrality of primary sources in the work of a historian and try to indicate ways of duplicating his/her work in the classroom. This article maintains that the view of academic history as a source of inspiration for school history encumbers it. The article proposes widening the angle of vision and the sources of inspiration and looking towards history outside of the academia, towards public history, when searching for directions which may rescue history from its crisis in schools. The article suggests that one of the directions could be the use of historical stories, 'tribal stories', (public history is full of them) that might give history the magic it has lost for students. Keywords: School history, Academic history, Public history, Story, Primary sources, Interest, Both teaching and learning history have for many years evoked dissatisfaction which has almost become built-in: Studying history just does not succeed in arousing interest among high school students in [...]

A growing body of research points to the need for character education in schools, as evidenced by rising rates of juvenile crime (Britzman, 2005) and increased reports of' bullying in [...]

At The High School Journal, we are commited to maintaining a conversation about relevant issues in education and how they speak to the general purpose of schooling. In our last [...]

Many communication scholars recognize the need to regularly explore current communication curriculum and to evaluate its contribution to meeting the needs of students and the demands of the workplace. However, within the communication discipline, current curricular decisions are based on studies conducted nearly a decade ago. This study (a) analyzes current course offerings in communication department curricula in a random sample of 148 four-year colleges and universities, (b) contrasts these data with results from earlier studies to identify current curriculum trends within the communication discipline, and (c) contrasts these findings with employer demands for communication skills to meet workplace competencies. Ultimately, this paper identifies specific curriculum shifts and offers suggestions about specific course offerings to provide some guidance in curriculum development. Keywords: Communication Curriculum; Curriculum Trends; Workplace Competencies; Curriculum Planning

Abstract A study designed to examine the structure of probability lessons within mathematics textbooks written for students in the middle grades is described. Lesson components and sequences from eight textbook [...]

Abstract There is increasing pressure for teachers in Thailand to achieve a comfort level integrating technology in classrooms. Pre-service teachers' competency levels in computer technology knowledge and skills were examined, [...]

Decision-making in the field of academic planning involves extensive analysis of large data volumes originating from multiple systems. With the many new technology application areas evolving from the domain of electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science, deans and department chairs must ensure that new specializations and programs are adequately supported. Academic workload management is concerned with distributing teaching resources to support the university's educational framework adequately (faculties, degrees, courses, admission policies, teaching workload, etc.). This work presents a methodology for assessing educational capacity and planning its distribution and utilization, implemented as a decision support system allowing simulation and evaluation of various proposals and scenarios. The system integrates input data from relevant sources into an autonomous data warehouse. Graphical client front-end ensures adequate output presentation to the decision-makers by revealing significant details and dependencies in the data. Applying the system as an 'on-the-fly' decision-support utility by the policy-makers leads to significant acceleration of planning procedures, deepens the insight into the data and the underlying methodology, and, consequently, provides for more efficient academic administration. Index Terms--Academic decision support system, admission policy, curriculum planning, educational capacity.

Abstract Instructors of dramatic literature face significant challenges to teaching undergraduates, caught between the established canon of university curriculum and ongoing field challenges to the same. The following article describes [...]

Abstract One of the goals of service-learning is to serve the needs of the community. Before this can be accomplished, roles of the various individuals involved in the partnership must [...]

Abstract Curriculum that is truly interdisciplinary reflects the emerging consensus definition of interdisciplinarity and addresses the core elements of interdisciplinarity. These elements include (1) addressing a complex problem or focus [...]

Abstract The late 1960s saw the emergence of cultural diversity courses as well as writing-across-the-curriculum programs. This article discusses the implementation of both in a First-Year Seminar centered on the [...]

IT IS EASY FOR ADULTS TO ASSUME THAT KIDS CAN MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM THAT THEY FEED INTO A PROJECT AND THE RESULT, BUT STUDIES HAVE [...]

Abstract Instructional materials for the online course may be designed with rich multimedia content and innovative approaches. Student engagement with these materials is unseen and left to be inferred. Design [...]

This paper presents an approach to design Electronic Systems Curricula for making electronics more appealing to students. Since electronics is an important grounding for other disciplines (computer science, signal processing, and communications), this approach proposes the development of multidisciplinary projects using the project-based learning (PBL) strategy for increasing the attractiveness of the curriculum. The proposed curriculum structure consists of eight courses: four theoretical courses and four PBL courses (including a compulsory Master's thesis). In PBL courses, the students, working together in groups, develop multidisciplinary systems, which become progressively more complex. To address this complexity, the Department of Electronic Engineering has invested in the last five years in many resources for developing software tools and a common hardware. This curriculum has been evaluated successfully for the last four academic years: the students have increased their interest in electronics and have given the courses an average grade of more than 71% for all PBL course evaluations (data extracted from students surveys). The students have also acquired new skills and obtained very good academic results: the average grade was more than 74% for all PBL courses. An important result is that all students have developed more complex and sophisticated electronic systems, while considering that the results are worth the effort invested. Index Terms--Curriculum design, Electronic Systems Curricula, project-based learning, software and hardware tools for education.

'Local Solutions' (LS) is the name given by the Geographical Association (GA) to a distinctive approach to curriculum innovation through the continuing professional development of geography teachers. The approach draws strongly on research into school-based curriculum development and in particular on the concept of teachers as 'activist professionals'. LS are seen by the GA as a way of invigorating the curriculum and supporting creative teachers at a time when school geography in the UK is under pressure. By focusing on the 2004-5 LS project, 'Making the most of a department intranet', the article aims to elucidate the LS process and goes on to suggest that LS projects provide a useful model for achieving sustained curriculum development through a focus on the professional development of the innovating teacher

Adjustable speed motor drive design requires knowledge of various electrical and mechanical fundamentals. The theories of these fundamental topics are very well addressed in different courses during the undergraduate level of a typical electrical engineering education. Furthermore, related laboratory courses help students to improve their practical skills to some extent. Since they find experimental equipment ready to use, product development skills with group work cannot be improved in laboratories. Also, these separate courses and their associated laboratories regarding fundamentals, such as power electronics, electric machines, electric circuits, electronics, dynamics, and thermal analysis, are independent courses, and students usually cannot find a chance to apply all these fundamentals to a single problem before starting their professional career. This paper summarizes a project-oriented adjustable speed drive design course suitable for senior electrical engineering undergraduate students. The project was divided into several subsystems, and each subsystem was assigned to a group of students among 28 enrolled students. The paper gives enough details for each subsystem to develop an induction motor drive system. Index Terms--Course design, motor drive, voltage/frequency control.

Abstract In this paper, we discuss the theory and practice behind the creation and implementation of a new integrated doctoral program approach that requires students to begin the dissertation process [...]

Byline: Monique van der Hulst (1), Ellen Jansen (1) Keywords: curriculum organisation; engineering studies; higher education; study progress; success rate Abstract: Procrastination and time investment areimportant issues in the study of studentperformance and progress. Previous research onthese issues has mainly concentrated uponindividual differences between students inpersonality and time management skills.However, study progress depends not only onstudent characteristics but also on theorganisation of the curriculum. A multilevelanalysis that was carried out on dataconcerning 1578 engineering students on twelvedifferent programmes provides evidence thatvariation in study progress can partly beattributed to curriculum organisation. Thespread of study activities over the year,instruction characteristics and examinationcharacteristics were found to have effects onprogress. This implies that institutes inhigher education may improve their students'progress to some extent by means of efficientcurriculum organisation. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Work and Organisational Psychology, University of Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (author for correspondence Article History: Registration Date: 12/10/2004

The development of communication curricula and content for basic communication courses represents a challenge for the field. This is due in part to the complex and diverse nature of communication studies as well as to differences in preferred methods of inquiry, foci, and context of study. This article provides an overview of the historical development of communication curricula as an integral dimension of higher education, recommendations of start points for developing departmental curricula, and resources for planning content for basic courses. Keywords: communication curriculum, communication education, communication courses, higher education

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate how instructors design and deliver online courses in higher education. One hundred four instructors (response rate of 69%) responded to the [...]

Byline: David Kirk (1) Keywords: biopower; curriculum history; games; physical education; physical training; schooling bodies; social epistemology; sport Abstract: Using mainly historical material fromAustralia, the paper seeks to understand earlyforms of school physical training, sport andmedical inspection as specialised means ofschooling bodies. The study adopts a socialepistemological perspective in seeking tounderstand the meaning-in-use of notions suchas physical training. It explores the socialconsequences of the practices carried out inthe name of physical training, particularly inrelation to shifts in the social regulation ofbodies over time from a mass, externalised, andcentralised form to a relatively moreindividualised, internalised and diffuse form.This focus on the body is of key importance fora social epistemological study of physicaleducation because it forces us to look closelyat the practices constituting physicaleducation. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Physical Education, Sports Science and Recreation Management, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK Article History: Registration Date: 03/10/2004

Although discussions of a core curriculum in doctoral training in psychology can be heard in contemporary psychology, there is no such common core, nor has one ever existed in American psychology's history. Advocates of a core curriculum argue that it ensures breadth of training, an outcome made even more important by growing specialization in psychology, and that it provides psychologists with a needed common identity as members of a recognized professional discipline. Opponents argue that a core curriculum places unwanted constraints on a program of study, prohibiting the kind of diversity needed to keep abreast of changes in psychology and related fields of study. The author reviews the history of this struggle within American psychology and discusses its implications for the science and practice of psychology.

This paper presents the results of an undergraduate civil engineering curriculum revision at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The process of revision included a variety of important constituencies that provided important input into the adopted curriculum. The curriculum provides emphasis on civil engineering systems, technical communications, sustainability, and computer-based analysis and design. In addition, the paper discusses efforts to encourage students to pursue a masters degree and the use of distance learning technologies as a platform for instruction.

As with any voyage, the successful transit of a university engineering education requires foresight knowledge of curricular objectives and structure. This simple requirement, which often seems overlooked, is especially important at the undergraduate-degree level, where contemporary engineering curricula are becoming increasingly complex in order to provide greater opportunities for subtrack specialization, degree minors, and joint degrees with non-engineering programs. This paper argues that, without foresight explanation of curricular objectives and structure, significant numbers of students soon find themselves effectively adrift in the curriculum, unsure as to where they are headed, undermotivated, and, consequently, underperforming. Foresight explanation also benefits faculty engaged in curriculum subtracks. It prompts them to monitor sequencing of course contents, to better appreciate the context of their own courses, and to coordinate textbook use. Two fairly straightforward ways are suggested to augment student-guidance techniques already used by colleges: course-direction lectures to indicate whence-and-whither guidance at key points throughout the curriculum; and an Internet Web site to help guide students (and faculty) through the curriculum.

Author and educator E.D. Hirsch Jr believes that a core-knowledge based curriculum needs to have explicitly state coverage. It is the only way a standardized curriculum can be formulated. However, specifying the curriculum content generates a lot of controversy for educators have different perceptions on what concepts are considered core knowledge. Data garnered from schools who have adopted this approach have been optimistic.

Over-all improvement of education may only be achieved by having clearly stated goals which all schools across the nation should strive for. If all teachers in all schools have a clear vision of what their students need to learn, then raising the quality of education would become a reality. However, despite the distribution of common curriculum guides to school districts, teachers' preferences on what topics to teach are the chief influence on subject coverage. Teachers also feel that the curriculum given them are unrealistic and cannot possibly be covered during the school year.

Keywords: Science education; school curriculum; ideological discourse; school reform; American democracy Abstract: School reforms in the late 19th century, mirroring larger social, economic, and political changes in American society, account fur the permanent lodging of science into the high school curriculum. Major changes in science courses, texts, and instruction occurred in these years. These changes then and since, however, were marked by ideological struggles among groups of reformers representing university academics, policy makers, and educators over why science knowledge (should science be taught for its knowledge or its utility in society?) and pedagogy (traditional or progressive methods) reflected deeply embedded value conflicts in American democracy and over the purposes of the high school in such a society. Article History: Registration Date: 16/10/2004

Keywords: curriculum; history of curriculum work; public education; discourses on curriculum; accountability of schools Abstract: This contribution first searches for historical and empirical evidence for whether and how curricula act or acted as a measure of public education. The problem is explicated on account of a short history of curriculum work and distinguished in a analytical, a political, programmatical and practical discourse of curriculum work. Curriculum work always underlies premises of planning, learning and effects. Three models are finally developed and brought in touch with the different discourses. Curriculum work proves to be an attempt to make publicly acceptable the empirically impossible accountability of schools. Article History: Registration Date: 16/10/2004

Three classrooms at the elementary, middle and high school levels are studied to assess the effectiveness of science classes. The students prefer laboratory experiments and hands-on experience and relate to topics that links science to their daily lives. Teachers need to be provided the tools and training for tailoring their methodology to meet these needs.

The integrated school curriculum for different public schools may offer short-term benefits for such a system cannot be sustained throughout the years. Although an integrated curriculum may offer cost-effectiveness, continuity and accountability, difficulties in handling such a system may adversely affect public education. Fragmented public education curricula may entail better education to different students for such curricula may provide the development of literacy proficiency.

Educational journalism should provide a curriculum which emphasizes the use of critical or reflective thinking. Since critical thinking may allow journalism students to have a wholistic worldview, the students can employ reflective thinking and judgment when they are already out in the field. Such a curriculum will encourage journalism students to become responsible citizens who take into consideration various aspects when dealing with public issues.

A study presents a formulation of modeling lesson distribution and compactness constraints in school timetabling problems. Distribution requirements are modelled by using multiple mode concept with mode identity constraints while compactness constraints are modelled using converging framework of partially renewable resources. Results reveal a modeling method that can provide optimal solution to timetabling problems.

The pursuit of academic excellence is the ultimate goal and mission of all educational institutions. In every country, schools are involved in setting new high standards of curriculum content and student performance. Educational reform, however, entails more than mere planning and idealism. Financial and intellectual resources must be provided to develop a stronger and more stable teaching force. Ultimately, students must be taught the value and noble purpose of education.