Showing papers on "Curriculum published in 1983"

The Practical 4: Something for Curriculum Professors To Do

Abstract: (1983). The Practical 4: Something for Curriculum Professors To Do. Curriculum Inquiry: Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 239-265.

An Organization of Learning Styles Theory and Constructs.

Abstract: DOCUMENT RESUME TM 830 554 Curry, Lynn An Organization of Learning Styles Theory and Constructs. Apr 83_ 28p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (67th, Montreal, Quebec, April 11-15, 1983). Speeches/Conference Papers (150) -Reports Research /Technical (143) MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. *Cognitive Style; Definitions; Individual Differences; *Learning Theories; *Models; Psychometrics; *Research Needs; Standards In; the past 3 years there has been a resurgence of interest in learning styles as applied to education generally and to professions education in particular. For all this activity there are difficulties preventing significant progress. Chief among these is the bewildering confusion of definitions surrounding_learning style conceptualization, and the concomitant-wide variation in the scale of behavior claimed to be predicted by learning style conceptualizations. This presentation outlines a technical reorganization of learning style constructs and proposes an empirically testable structure encompassing style concepts that have established psychometric standards. (Author) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** r U.S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION _NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) >1. This document has been roproduced cs received from the persun or organization originating it. Minor_ changes have boen made to improve coproduction gualitY. Points of wow or opinions statod in this document do not necessarily represent official NIE LC1 position or policV. OD An Organitation of Learning Styles Theory and Constructs Lynn Curry; Ph.D. Division of Continuing Medical Education Dalhousie University Halifax, NS 13311 4H7 prepared for presentation at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, April 1983 Montreal; Canada 2 "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." Abstract for: An Organization of Learning Styles Theory and Constructsfor: An Organization of Learning Styles Theory and Constructs In the past three years there has been a resurgence of interest in learning styles as applied to education generally and to professions education in particu2ar. For all this a:tivity there are difficulties preventing significant p:.Igress. Chief among these is the bewildering confusion of definitions surrounding learning style conceptualization, and the concommitant wide variation in the scale of behaviour claimed to be prediCted by learning style conceptualizations. This presentation outlines a technical reorganization of learning style constructs and proposes an empirically testable structure encompassing style conceptS thAt have established psychometric standards. An OrganitatiOn of Learning Styles Theory and ConstruCtS Introduction Lynn Curry, Ph.D. Division of CME Dalhousie University Halifax, NS In the past three years there has been a resurgence of interest in learning styles as applied to education generally and health professions education in particular. This interest stems from those with research interests in learning style(1,2), those charged with the responsibility for curriculum determination(3,4), and from those with political responsibility to insure the quality of initial training and continuing education(5). For all this activity there are difficulties presently preventing significant progress in application of learning styles to professional training and continuing education. Chief among these difficulties is the bewildering confusion of definitions surrounding learning style conceptualizations, and the concommitant wide variation in scale or scope of behaviour claimed to be predicted by learning style models. Some learning style conceptualization, for example, claim to predict only an individual's choice between a lecture style course versus a small group style course; others attempt to predict habitual procedure for all learning acts in which an individual might engage. Needless to say the evidence gathered to support various conceptualizations varies radically in terms of psychometric standards. The organization described here attempts to bring some order to this chaos by proposing an empirically testable structure encompassing learning style concepts that have established psychometric standards.

School subjects and curriculum change

Abstract: The process of curriculum development is highly practical, as Goodson shows in this enlarged anniversary third edition of his seminal work. The position of subjects and their development within the curriculum is illustrated by looking at how school subjects, in particular, geography and biology, gained academic and intellectual respectability within the whole curriculum during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He highlights how subjects owe their formation and accreditation to competing status and their power to compete in the provision of 'worthwhile' knowledge and considers subjects as continually changing sub-groups of information. Such subjects from the framework of the society in which individuals live and over which they have influence. This volume questions the basis on which subject disciplines are developed and formulates new possibilities for curriculum development and reform in a post-modrnist age.

Undergraduate medical education.

Abstract: MEDICAL SCHOOLS Accreditation The official accrediting body for educational programs that lead to the MD degree is the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), which is listed for this purpose by the US Secretary of Education and recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation. Since 1906, the American Medical Association's Council on Medical Education has reviewed US medical schools for the purpose of ensuring quality medical education. In 1942, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) joined the AMA Council on Medical Education in establishing the LCME. (For membership in the LCME, see Appendix I.) The criteria by which the LCME accredits such programs in the United States and in Canada, in cooperation with the Committee for the Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS), are published in the following two separate but related documents: "Functions and Structure of a Medical School" and "Special Criteria for Programs in the Basic Medical

Communicative competence : theory and classroom practice : texts and contexts in second language learning

Abstract: 1. Definitions of Communicative Competence 2. L2 Acquisition Research 3. Learner Attitudes and Interests 4. Selection of Materials 5. Shaping the Curriculum 6. Testing

Now you see it, now you don’t: (Some notes on participant and observer perceptions of language for learning.)

Abstract: Writing a proposal for a grant from a national organization and receiving it is a guaranteed way for a language arts supervisor to create an environment for change and to provide superb staff development. How could any language arts person pass up a chance to compete for participation in a project called "Excellence in Teaching English"? As a classroom teacher I never even had time to consider writing proposals, but as a supervisor, I am able to seek out and address various means for improvement and change in curriculum and instruction.

Beyond Criticism: The Authority of the School Text

Abstract: Research and literature on the nature and function of the school text, predominantly the concern of curriculum developers and educational psychologists, has been narrowly focused on the efficient delivery of reading skills and disciplinary knowledge. During the 1970s, David R. Olson began to formulate an interdisciplinary research orientation on the educational nature and function of textual knowledge (Bruner and Olson, 1977; Olson, 1977a). In On the Language and Authority of Textbooks (1980), Olson develops his general discussion of the cognitive and cultural "bias" of print to explain the force and meaning of a specific genre of text, the school textbook. Our purpose in this article is to critically explore Olson's view of the school text, focusing on the distinctive communicational constraints of both the school text and the classroom context. To this end we will examine the textbook's mode of discourse, the techniques of text construction, its material quality, and the institutional practices which circumscribe it. We take note of Michel Foucault's explanation (1972), which we share, that "the statement," textual or spoken, embodies an authority and meaning only insofar as it exists in a "discursive field"a field of use and exchange.

Thought and Two Languages: The Impact of Bilingualism on Cognitive Development

Abstract: By the end of 1979, approximately 3.6 million children in the United States were judged to be in need of special linguistic assistance to cope with the regular school curriculum (Pifer, 1980); at the time, however, roughly 315,000 children were participating in some kind of bilingual education program. Despite the fact that federal spending on bilingual education is comparatively low, and that existing programs reach only a fraction of eligible children, bilingual education is presently under considerable attack. Indeed, "few other educational experiments in recent years have managed to arouse such passionate debate-so much so, in fact, that the future of this promising educational tool is uncertain" (Pifer, 1980, p. 4). The attack against bilingual education can be explained mostly in terms of political, cultural, and socioeconomic variables (see Fishman, 1977). A discussion of such variables is well beyond the scope of this paper. Nevertheless, for our purposes it should be noted that psychological and educational research on the effectiveness of bilingual education often has provided the attackers with sophisticated weapons. For example, an influential study of bilingual education projects sponsored by the Office of Education in 1976 (American Institute for Research, 1977) showed that many existing programs were not providing academic gains for students and, in some cases, were allowing students to fall behind. Although the study has been criticized severely for basic methodological flaws, it has contributed significantly to a negative mood against bilingual education efforts in the nation (Blanco, 1977). Tucker and D'Anglejan (1971) outlined four commonly held beliefs regarding the effects of bilingual education:

We'Ve All Got Scars: What Boys and Girls Learn in Elementary School

Abstract: Foreword by Jessie Bernard Introduction PART ONE The Importance of Peers Chapter 1 Formation of Groups Chapter 2 The Tent Club Chapter 3 Winners and Losers Chapter 4 Some Consequences of Rejection PART TWO The Second Curriculum: Gender-Role Socialization Chapter 5 What Was Being Taught Chapter 6 What Was Being Learned: The Boys Chapter 7 What Was Being Learned: The Girls PART THREE The Third Curriculum: Self-Taught Sex Education Chapter 8 Fun and Games in the Primary Grades Chapter 9 Games of Chance PART FOUR Sterotypes and Friendships Chapter 10 Clearing the Debris Chapter 11 Fading Stereotypes Chapter 12 It Could Be Done Epilogue Notes

Prevention of cigarette smoking: three-year follow-up of an education program for youth.

Abstract: We reported previously on the success of an innovative approach to cigarette smoking prevention in seventh-grade students. The present report describes a 3-year follow-up of three schools and 1081 sutdents initially involved in the research program. The curriculum emphasizes the shortterm influences which affect smoking in youth, particularly social and peer influences. In the school which received this curriculum from likeaged peer leaders, the incidence of smoking remained low compared to that in a control school. Those who did smoke in this school consumed significantly fewer cigarettes. In the school where the curriculum was adult taught, smoking rates were initially lower but rose in the later years, ultimately differing little from those in the control school. Reported smoking behavior was confirmed by saliva ihiocyanate measurement in all students. Cigarette smoking behavior appears significantly inhibited by a peer-taught curriculum and that effect is retained for several years after the education program.

Problem Solving and Modeling in the First Two Years

Abstract: Mathematical education is currently confronted with a variety of substantial problems. This paper discusses three of these problems which are related to the role of finite mathematics and its appropriate place in the undergraduate curriculum. First, there is the pressing problem of how to incorporate important new mathematical subjects and discoveries into an already crowded curriculum, including discrete topics at the elementary level. Second, there is the recently emerging problem that the mathematical community, except for computer science, is very rapidly losing its base of talented young people. Third, there is the question of how to design courses which give due attention to the revolution and needs in discrete mathematics and are worthy enough to compete with traditional calculus courses. It is important in addressing this first problem of the “curriculum crunch” to not overlook the second problem of “diminishing base” which could be devastating to the health of the general mathematical sciences if allowed to continue for long. It is also not clear to many that we have yet come up with the appropriate finite mathematics courses to take a major slot in the freshman-sophomore years of college.

Curriculum evaluation in schools

Abstract: At attempt is made in this book to disentangle some of the professional, ethical, political, theoretical and practical issues involved in curriculum evaluation.

Remedial Writing Courses: A Critique and a Proposal.

Abstract: Many of our attempts to help college remedialI writers, attempts that are often well-intentioned and seemingly commonsensical, may, in fact, be ineffective, even counterproductive, for these attempts reduce, fragment, and possibly misrepresent the composing process. I believe we may be limiting growth in writing in five not unrelated ways. 1) Our remedial courses are self-contained; that is, they have little conceptual or practical connection to the larger academic writing environment in which our students find themselves. 2) The writing topics assigned in these courses-while meant to be personally relevant and motivating and, in their simplicity, to assist in the removal of error-in fact might not motivate and might not contribute to the production of a correct academic prose. 3) The writing teacher's vigilance for error most likely conveys to students a very restricted model of the composing process. 4) Our notion of "basic skills" has become so narrow that we attempt to separate the intimately related processes of reading and thinking from writing. 5) In some of our attempts to reform staid curricula we have inadvertently undercut the expressive and exploratory possibilities of academic writing and have perceived fundamental discourse strategies and structures as restricting rather than enhancing the production and comprehension of prose. At various places in my speculations I will offer potential solutions to the

Classroom research: A decade of progress

Abstract: The fruits of a decade of research on teaching are discussed in this article. The topics focussed on are time utilization, classroom management, teacher expectations and teacher effectiveness research. The difficulty of translating these findings into practice is discussed. It is argued that the complexities and uniqueness of each classroom make it impossible to follow a simple research‐into‐practice model. Research needs to become more integrative — studying teachers, students, and curriculum simultaneously — and the technology to change practice needs to be better developed.

Orientations to Curriculum and Transition: Towards the Socially-Critical School.

Abstract: Schools have become separated from society and social issues through the practice of "transition education." More specifically, by stressing the preparation of students for society, schools accept the present structure of society as a given and therefore neglect their responsibility to educate. Since schools play an educational role in society, the neglect of this role results in the separation of schools from society. Two attitudes toward curriculum that involve transition education are the vocational/neo-classical orientation and the liberal/progressive orientation. The vocational/neo-classical orientation regards education as a preparation for work and mirrors the current principles of society. The liberal/progressive orientation regards education as a preparation for life, emphasizes individuality, and asserts that society can be improved through the preparation of students for participation in its reconstruction. An alternative to these orientations and their subsequent separateness is the socially-critical orientation. This orientation maintains that education must address society and social issues immediately, emphasizes social and critically speculative processes, and maintains that only collective action can execute social change. Strategies for converting schools to a socially critical orientation include involving the community, curriculum reflection and debate, inservice activities, school reviews, and monitoring progress. The first of two appendixes offers nine starting points or concepts for initiating the socially critical school, with annotated lists of readings grouped under each concept. The second appendix contains hypothetical interviews with proponents of the three orientations. (RG) **************************************w******************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ***********************************************************************

Writing as Learning through the Curriculum.

Abstract: Writing-across-the-curriculum is an increasingly visible educational concept these days, attractive, it would seem, to English and non-English faculty alike. The spread of cross-disciplinary programs, the cooperative spirit of colleagues in other fields, and the recent success of textbooks such as Writing in the Arts and Sciences (Cambridge, Mass.: Winthrop, 1981) testify to the power of the idea and perhaps even to the likelihood that writing will become, as it once was, the concern of all educators and not just the narrow specialty of a few. Yet, as we hear teachers talk about writing across disciplines, whether they come from English departments or elsewhere, we are struck by the predominantly negative quality of discussion, its preoccupation with declining verbal abilities, its prescriptivist character, and its grimly resolute, "back to basics" tone. We note, especially, the limited and contingent role that writing is expected to play outside composition courses, a signal that instructors are resigned to do their bit for literacy but have not considered the relevance of writing to their classwork. It seems a pertinent question, therefore, whether teachers are getting as much out of the concept of writing-across-the-curriculum as they could-whether, that is, writing is seen as an important activity in "content courses" or as just a necessary inconvenience, tolerated in the interest of collegiality. Our review of high-school and college programs offering cross-disciplinary writing shows the greater number of them to be little more than "grammar across the curriculum," in which English teachers counsel their colleagues in other departments about deviations from "standard written English" so that history and biology teachers can learn to "correct" student writing with the same reverence for prose decorum displayed in the English department. Even at their best such programs emphasize "packaging information across the curriculum," offering ideal models for the presentation of knowledge in different fields. In either case the main concern of a content course is the mastery of information

Linking testing and instruction: policy issues

Abstract: We would not be surprised if many readers were to question the need for a special issue of JEM devoted to "Linking Testing and Instruction." After all, skeptics might reasonably argue, it is a truism that the content of standardized achievement tests-the focus of this issue-must be linked to instruction if meaningful inferences about performance are to be made. Further, they might contend that a central tenet of the evaluation movement is the need to gather information about student achievement using tests directly linked to educational objectives and instruction. Obviously, our skeptics are correct. Why then this special issue? The reason is that standardized achievement testing is no longer concerned primarily with issues directly related to classroom practice and to the use of results by teachers. Increasingly, standardized achievement tests are being used for a host of policy-oriented purposes: assessing educational equity; providing evidence on school and program effectiveness; allocating compensatory funds to school districts; evaluating teacher effectiveness; accrediting school districts; classifying students for remediation; and certifying successful completion of high school or a given grade of elementary school. Linking testing to instruction generally is not a major problem for individual teachers, thanks partly to sensitive teacher judgment about the relevance of test items to the content of instruction in their classroom and partly to many textbook publishers who now provide integrated teaching/testing/curriculum packages. When standardized tests were used primarily by teachers, the problem of the sensitivity of the test to actual classroom instruction was not a major issue. Generally, the results were not terribly important and seldom were major decisions made on the basis of the results. However, when achievement test results are intended to inform extra-classroom policy decisions where there is the potential for serious harm either to individuals or programs, then the problems of linking testing and instruction become acute. It is the increased use of achievement test results in the policy sphere, much less than the use of test results by classroom teachers, which makes this special issue so pertinent. Our task is to provide an overview of the issues associated with the problem of linking testing and instruction. First we describe two general policy areas which have prompted concern about these links: studies of school and program effectiveness and minimum competency testing programs used for pupil certification. While other policy issues noted above are important, space does not permit a discussion of each. However, the points associated with the two areas we shall deal with are also pertinent to these other issues. Second, we shall describe techniques that have been used to investigate links between tests and instruction. Finally, we shall address a number of educational and policy issues that arise from efforts to link tests and instruction.

The content of the medical curriculum at McMaster University: graduates' evaluation of their preparation for postgraduate training.

Abstract: Summary This paper describes McMaster University medical graduates' perceptions of how well their medical curriculum prepared them for postgraduate training. The graduates view their overall preparation for postgraduate work as sound. These perceptions were compared with independent assessments by internship supervisors for one graduated class. The graduates suggest their preparation for postgraduate work differs somewhat from fellow interns. Graduates reported feeling very well prepared compared to fellow postgraduate trainees in independent learning, self-evaluation and problem solving skills. They also judge their preparation in data gathering skills, behavioural science knowledge, ability to deal with social and emotional problems of patients, medical record keeping skills, preventive, follow-up and in-patient care as very good compared to peers. They identified two content areas, pharmacology and the basic medical sciences, as requiring more attention in the curriculum. These findings are discussed and related to the approach to medical education at McMaster University.

Nominal Group Technique: A process for initiating curriculum development in higher education

Abstract: The article presents a short case-study in which the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is used in the process of structuring a curriculum development team's preliminary course planning. Previous claims that NGT acts to support initial course development through modifying group dynamics, rapidly identifying central curriculum design issues and facilitating experience exchange seem warranted in the instance we present. We describe the use of the NGT procedure as we have employed it and discuss its strengths and limitations in the context of immediate and longer-term curriculum planning of a CNAA BEd degree.

The Impact of Elementary Children’s School Roles and Sex Roles on Teacher Attitudes: An Interactional Analysis

Abstract: In this paper, teachers' attitudes toward children are examined from the perspective of role theory. Based on existing analyses of the school as a social system, three school roles for children are formulated: Pupil, receptive learner, and active learner. Their relationship to the hidden and academic curricula of the school is discussed. The extant literature in three major areas of research on teacher attitudes is analyzed in terms of their interactions with each of the three children's school roles and with children's sex roles. The implications of these interactions for the differential educational experiences of boys and girls are considered. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research.

Assessment of the Educational Skills and Competencies Needed By Beginning Hospitality Managers

Abstract: The need for competent management personnel has created outstanding career opportunities for foodservice and lodging management graduates This increased demand, however, has also created problems

Toward the Development of an Intervention Model for Learning Disabled Adolescents: The University of Kansas Institute.

Abstract: At the Kansas institute, research was concentrated on the problems of LD adolescents. Epidemiological studies revealed the unique characteristics of LD in students of high school age. A curriculum ...

Improving the Reliability of Curriculum-Based Measures of Academic Skills for Psychoeducational Decision Making

Abstract: The effects of aggregation on the reliability of curriculum-based measuresof academic performance were explored in two studies. In the first , 30 children were tested four times, over four consecut...