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Sample records for curriculum reform domain

  1. Integrative curriculum reform, domain dependent knowing, and teachers` epistemological theories: Implications for middle-level teaching

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Powell, R.R. [Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States). College of Education

    1998-12-01

    Integrative curriculum as both a theoretical construct and a practical reality, and as a theme-based, problem-centered, democratic way of schooling, is becoming more widely considered as a feasible alternative to traditional middle-level curricula. Importantly for teaching and learning, domain dependence requires teachers to view one area of knowledge as fully interdependent with other areas of knowledge during the learning process. This requires teachers to adopt personal epistemological theories that reflect integrative, domain dependent knowing. This study explored what happened when teachers from highly traditional domain independent school settings encountered an ambitious college-level curriculum project that was designed to help the teachers understand the potential that integrative, domain dependent teaching holds for precollege settings. This study asked: What influence does an integrative, domain dependent curriculum project have on teachers` domain independent, epistemological theories for teaching and learning? Finding an answer to this question is essential if we, as an educational community, are to understand how integrative curriculum theory is transformed by teachers into systemic curriculum reform. The results suggest that the integrative curriculum project that teachers participated in did not explicitly alter their classroom practices in a wholesale manner. Personal epistemological theories of teachers collectively precluded teachers from making any wholesale changes in their individual classroom teaching. However, teachers became aware of integrative curriculum as an alternative, and they expressed interest in infusing integrative practices into their classrooms as opportunities arise.

  2. Medical Education and Curriculum Reform: Putting Reform Proposals in Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Kam Yin Chan, MD, MB.BS, MHA

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to elaborate criteria by which the principles of curriculum reform can be judged. To this end, the paper presents an overview of standard critiques of medical education and examines the ways medical curriculum reforms have responded to these critiques. The paper then sets out our assessment of these curriculum reforms along three parameters: pedagogy, educational context, and knowledge status. Following on from this evaluation of recent curriculum reforms, the paper puts forward four criteria with which to gauge the adequacy medical curriculum reform. These criteria enable us to question the extent to which new curricula incorporate methods and approaches for ensuring that its substance: overcomes the traditional opposition between clinical and resource dimensions of care; emphasizes that the clinical work needs to be systematized in so far as that it feasible; promotes multi-disciplinary team work, and balances clinical autonomy with accountability to non-clinical stakeholders.

  3. Implementing Reform: Teachers' Beliefs about Students and the Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartiromo, Tara; Etkina, Eugenia

    2009-11-01

    This paper presents findings on how consistent teachers' perceptions of their students, their own role in the classroom, and the reformed curriculum are with the actual implementation of the reformed curriculum in the classroom. This study shows that the five participating teachers were consistent with their perceptions and their actual behavior in the classroom. The teachers who were engaged in designing the curriculum demonstrated consistent reformed teaching views and behaviors. The degree to which the teachers viewed the curriculum as useful to them and their students was an indicator of how reformed their teaching was as measured by the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) [1][2]. Finally, it was determined that faithful implementation of a curriculum can mean faithfully implementing the theoretical foundation of the curriculum materials during instruction instead of implementing every component or lesson of the reformed curriculum.

  4. Large-Scale Curriculum Reform in Finland--Exploring the Interrelation between Implementation Strategy, the Function of the Reform, and Curriculum Coherence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pietarinen, Janne; Pyhältö, Kirsi; Soini, Tiina

    2017-01-01

    The study aims to gain a better understanding of the national large-scale curriculum process in terms of the used implementation strategies, the function of the reform, and the curriculum coherence perceived by the stakeholders accountable in constructing the national core curriculum in Finland. A large body of school reform literature has shown…

  5. Impact of the Curriculum Reform on Problem Solving Ability in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An ex post facto study was conducted to examine the effect of the curriculum reform on 60 Dilla University chemistry education students' problem solving ability. The study shows that the curriculum reform that shifted university introductory courses of the old curriculum into preparatory school levels in the new curriculum ...

  6. Curriculum Reform in Higher Education: A Contested Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shay, Suellen

    2015-01-01

    Drawing on the theoretical and analytical tools from the sociology of education, in particular the work of Basil Bernstein and Karl Maton, the paper explores the tensions within curriculum reform discourses and how these tensions play out in different global contexts. The analysis focuses on two curriculum reform policies--Hong Kong and South…

  7. Curriculum reform and the market

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Karen Bjerg

    2011-01-01

    A neo-liberal discourse in the 2000s has been prevalent not only in international and Danish educational policy contexts, but also within a specific area, namely the education of adult immigrants in Denmark. With the adoption of a new law in 2003 high-stakes testing, standards, new market economy...... in Denmark. Based on studies of curriculum reform and research about headmasters’ and teachers’ attitudes the article addresses paradoxes rising in the wake of the neo-liberal education policy. Despite the intention of high-stakes testing to increase adult migrants’ language and employment related....... Teachers furthermore find the new working conditions stressing. It is discussed whether a neo-liberal discourse in adult teaching is ‘dumping down’ the intentions of curriculum and education reform....

  8. Curriculum reform and the market

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Karen Bjerg

    2012-01-01

    A neo-liberal discourse in the 2000s has been prevalent not only in international and Danish educational policy contexts, but also within a specific area, namely the education of adult immigrants in Denmark. With the adoption of a new law in 2003 high-stakes testing, standards, new market economy...... in Denmark. Based on studies of curriculum reform and research about headmasters’ and teachers’ attitudes the article addresses paradoxes rising in the wake of the neo-liberal education policy. Despite the intention of high-stakes testing to increase adult migrants’ language and employment related....... Teachers furthermore find the new working conditions stressing. It is discussed whether a neo-liberal discourse in adult teaching is ‘dumping down’ the intentions of curriculum and education reform....

  9. Examining the Gaps between Teaching and Learning in the Technology Curriculum within Taiwan's 9-Year Articulated Curriculum Reform from the Perspective of Curriculum Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Kuen-Yi; Chang, Liang-Te; Tsai, Fu-Hsing; Kao, Chia-Pin

    2015-01-01

    Curriculum reform has frequently focused on the curriculum-development stage, overlooking considerations regarding curriculum implementation, which has led to reform failure. In this study, consideration was placed primarily on the curriculum implementation stage. The gaps between teachers' and students' perceptions of content, learning…

  10. Moral education and values education in curriculum reform In China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhu Xiaoman

    2006-01-01

    In the new curriculum reform in China,moral education and values education have been defined from the angles of the integrity and conformity of curriculum functions.Accordingly, a new education concept based on complete/integral curriculum functions is established.By discussing the essences of the curriculum,the basis of moral and values education,integrated curriculum setting in instruction structure,the presence of emotional and attitudinal goals in the subject standards,and teaching methods,this text points out that this curriculum reform looks to moral and values education in schools.The reform also emphasizes and will guarantee moral and values education in schools.Finally,the article recommends to elementary and secondary schools the studies on moral education in class conducted by the Research Institute of Moral Education of Nanjing Normal University,one of the Key Bases for Humanities and Social Sciences Research for the Ministry of Education.

  11. Basic Education Curriculum Reform in Rural China: Achievements, Problems, and Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jiayi; Zhao, Zhichun

    2011-01-01

    The latest wave of basic education curriculum reform, carried out over the past ten years, has achieved significant results and promoted the development of rural education. There are still some problems in the reform of basic education in rural areas, however, such as a serious shortage of funds for rural school curriculum reform, the continuing…

  12. Curriculum reform at Chinese medical schools: what have we learned?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Lei; Cheng, Liming; Cai, Qiaoling; Kosik, Russell Olive; Huang, Yun; Zhao, Xudong; Xu, Guo-Tong; Su, Tung-Ping; Chiu, Allen Wen-Hsiang; Fan, Angela Pei-Chen

    2014-12-01

    Curriculum reform at Chinese medical schools has attracted a lot of attention recently. Several leading medical schools in China have undergone exploratory reforms and in so doing, have accumulated significant experience and have made considerable progress. An analysis of the reforms conducted by 38 Chinese medical colleges that were targeted by the government for upgrade was performed. Drawing from both domestic and international literature, we designed a questionnaire to determine what types of curricular reforms have occurred at these institutions and how they were implemented. Major questions touched upon the purpose of the reforms, curricular patterns, improvements in teaching methods post-reform, changes made to evaluation systems post-reform, intra-university reform assessment, and what difficulties the schools faced when instituting the reforms. Besides the questionnaire, relevant administrators from each medical school were also interviewed to obtain more qualitative data. Out of the 38 included universities, twenty-five have undergone major curricular reforms. Among them, 60.0% adopted an organ system-based curriculum model, 32.0% adopted a problem-based curriculum model, and 8.0% adopted a hybrid curriculum model. About 60.0% of the schools' reforms involved both the "pre-clinical" and the "clinical" curricula, 32.0% of the schools' reforms were limited to the "pre-clinical" curricula, and 8.0% of the schools' reforms only involved the "clinical" curricula. Following curricular reform, 60.0% of medical schools experienced an overall reduction in teaching hours, 76.0% reported an increase in their students' clinical skills, and 60.0% reported an increase in their students' research skills. Medical curricular reform is still in its infancy in China. The republic's leading medical schools have engaged in various approaches to bring innovative teaching methods to their respective institutions. However, due to limited resources and the shackle of traditional

  13. Curriculum Implementation and Reform: Teachers' Views about Kuwait's New Science Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alshammari, Ahmad

    2013-01-01

    The MoE (Ministry of Education) in the state of Kuwait is starting to reform the science curriculum in all school academic stages: primary (1-5) grades, intermediate (6-9) grades, and secondary (10-12) grades. The purpose of this study was to explore the opinions of science teachers about Kuwait's new sixth and seventh grade science curriculum,…

  14. Reform in Turkish Elementary Mathematics Curriculum

    OpenAIRE

    BABADOĞAN, Cem; OLKUN, Sinan

    2006-01-01

    Disappointed from such major international studies as TIMSS, PISA, PIRLS andsome internal indicators such as national university entrance examination, the Turkish Ministry ofNational Education initiated a massive reform movement in education. These reforms includedeveloping new curricula for both elementary and secondary education and developing teachercompetencies. The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of the elementary schoolmathematics curriculum, which is a part of the ref...

  15. The Reformulation of National Identity in the New Taiwanese Citizenship Curriculum through the Lens of Curriculum Reformers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Cheng-Yu

    2017-01-01

    The national curriculum reformers, regarded as members of the social elites and intellectuals, projected their vision of identity onto the curriculum which they constructed and influenced the next generation's national consciousness. In the tangled relationship between politics and education, the selection of the reformers in a sense dictates the…

  16. Curriculum Reform as Adaptive Leadership Challenge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, Kathy J.

    2015-01-01

    Serious curricular reform is both exhilarating in its possibilities and exhausting in its particulars. When its scope is significant and it is undertaken in response to a variety of difficult challenges, curriculum revision becomes more about cultural change than a mere matter of logistics. While studying adaptive leadership with colleagues at the…

  17. Graduates from a reformed undergraduate medical curriculum based on Tomorrow's Doctors evaluate the effectiveness of their curriculum 6 years after graduation through interviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watmough, Simon D; O'Sullivan, Helen; Taylor, David C M

    2010-09-29

    In 1996 Liverpool reformed its medical curriculum from a traditional lecture based course to a curriculum based on the recommendations in Tomorrow's Doctors. A project has been underway since 2000 to evaluate this change. This paper focuses on the views of graduates from that reformed curriculum 6 years after they had graduated. Between 2007 and 2009 45 interviews took place with doctors from the first two cohorts to graduate from the reformed curriculum. The interviewees felt like they had been clinically well prepared to work as doctors and in particular had graduated with good clinical and communication skills and had a good knowledge of what the role of doctor entailed. They also felt they had good self directed learning and research skills. They did feel their basic science knowledge level was weaker than traditional graduates and perceived they had to work harder to pass postgraduate exams. Whilst many had enjoyed the curriculum and in particular the clinical skills resource centre and the clinical exposure of the final year including the "shadowing" and A & E attachment they would have liked more "structure" alongside the PBL when learning the basic sciences. According to the graduates themselves many of the aims of curriculum reform have been met by the reformed curriculum and they were well prepared clinically to work as doctors. However, further reforms may be needed to give confidence to science knowledge acquisition.

  18. Survey of Attitudes towards Curriculum Reforms among Medical Teachersin Different Socio-economic and Cultural Environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl, Mads Ronald

    2007-01-01

    Curriculum reforms in medical schools require cultural and conceptual changes from the faculty. We assessed attitudes towards curriculum reforms in different academic, economic, and social environments among 776 teachers from 2 Western European medical schools (Belgium and Denmark) and 7 medical...... schools in 3 countries in post-communist transition (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The survey included a 5-point Likert-type scale on attitudes towards reforms in general and towards reforms of medical curriculum (10 items each). Teaching staff from medical schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina...... had more positive attitude towards reforms of medical curriculum (mean score 36.8 out of maximum 50 [95% CI 36.1 to 37.3]) than those from medical schools in Croatia or Slovenia (30.7 [29.8 to 31.6]) or Western Europe (27.7 [27.1 to 28.3]) (Pattitudes...

  19. Graduates from a reformed undergraduate medical curriculum based on Tomorrow's Doctors evaluate the effectiveness of their curriculum 6 years after graduation through interviews

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taylor David CM

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In 1996 Liverpool reformed its medical curriculum from a traditional lecture based course to a curriculum based on the recommendations in Tomorrow's Doctors. A project has been underway since 2000 to evaluate this change. This paper focuses on the views of graduates from that reformed curriculum 6 years after they had graduated. Methods Between 2007 and 2009 45 interviews took place with doctors from the first two cohorts to graduate from the reformed curriculum. Results The interviewees felt like they had been clinically well prepared to work as doctors and in particular had graduated with good clinical and communication skills and had a good knowledge of what the role of doctor entailed. They also felt they had good self directed learning and research skills. They did feel their basic science knowledge level was weaker than traditional graduates and perceived they had to work harder to pass postgraduate exams. Whilst many had enjoyed the curriculum and in particular the clinical skills resource centre and the clinical exposure of the final year including the "shadowing" and A & E attachment they would have liked more "structure" alongside the PBL when learning the basic sciences. Conclusion According to the graduates themselves many of the aims of curriculum reform have been met by the reformed curriculum and they were well prepared clinically to work as doctors. However, further reforms may be needed to give confidence to science knowledge acquisition.

  20. Debates on the Basic Education Curriculum Reform and Teachers' Challenges in China: The Case of Mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qiong; Ni, Yu-jing

    2012-01-01

    Focusing on the case of mathematics, this paper reviews debates on China's new Basic Education Curriculum Reform program, including the status of knowledge within the reformed curriculum, the arrangement of the curriculum system, and the push toward real-life applicability and hands-on participation. It discusses the related challenges that…

  1. An Empirical Study of Industrial Engineering and Management Curriculum Reform in Fostering Students' Creativity

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    Chen, Chi-Kuang; Jiang, Bernard C.; Hsu, Kuang-Yiao

    2005-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of a creativity-fostering program in industrial engineering and management (IE&M) curriculum reform. Fostering creativity in students has become a crucial issue in industrial engineering education. In a survey of previous studies, we found few on IE&M curriculum reform. In…

  2. Geography teachers' interpretation of a curriculum reform initiative ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article addresses how teachers in a specific developing world context interpreted a curriculum reform initiative. It is located within a broader interpretive study that investigated the integration of Environmental Education into the formal education system of Lesotho with particular reference to secondary school geography.

  3. Curriculum reform and evolution: Innovative content and processes at one US medical school.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischel, Janet E; Olvet, Doreen M; Iuli, Richard J; Lu, Wei-Hsin; Chandran, Latha

    2018-03-11

    Curriculum reform in medical schools continues to be an ever-present and challenging activity in medical education. This paper describes one school's experiences with specific curricular innovations that were developed or adapted and targeted to meet a clear set of curricular goals during the curriculum reform process. Those goals included: (a) promoting active learning and learner engagement; (b) establishing early professional identity; and (c) developing physician competencies in an integrated and contextual manner while allowing for individualized learning experiences for the millennial student. Six specific innovations championed by the school are described in detail. These included Themes in Medical Education, Translational Pillars, Stony Brook Teaching Families, Transition Courses, Educational Continuous Quality Improvement Processes, and our Career Advising Program. Development of the ideas and design of the innovations were done by faculty and student teams. We discuss successes and ongoing challenges with these innovations which are currently in the fourth year of implementation. Our curriculum reform has emphasized the iterative process of curriculum building. Based on our experience, we discuss general and practical guidelines for curriculum innovation in its three phases: setting the stage, implementation, and monitoring for the achievement of intended goals.

  4. Investigating the Alignment of Bhutanese Mathematics Teachers' Planned Approaches within the Context of a Reformed Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolma, Phuntsho; Nutchey, David; Watters, James J.; Chandra, Vinesh

    2018-01-01

    Reform of mathematics education has been in focus in many countries including those in major economic transition. This paper reports a segment of a study which was conducted in Bhutan, where a reformed elementary mathematics curriculum has been recently introduced. The reformed curriculum is based on social constructivism and its design has been…

  5. China's New National Curriculum Reform: Innovation, Challenges and Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, Qun; Meng, Wanjin

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents systematically China's New National Curriculum Reform (CNNCR). It covers the background, origin, essence, goals, features, evolvement, schedule, implementation, the alignment in primary, secondary and middle schools' curricula and inter-subjects, the outcomes and the challenges and strategies of CNNCR.

  6. Leading change: curriculum reform in graduate education in the biomedical sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Shoumita; Symes, Karen; Hyman, Linda

    2015-01-01

    The Division of Graduate Medical Sciences at the Boston University School of Medicine houses numerous dynamic graduate programs. Doctoral students began their studies with laboratory rotations and classroom training in a variety of fundamental disciplines. Importantly, with 15 unique pathways of admission to these doctoral programs, there were also 15 unique curricula. Departments and programs offered courses independently, and students participated in curricula that were overlapping combinations of these courses. This system created curricula that were not coordinated and that had redundant course content as well as content gaps. A partnership of key stakeholders began a curriculum reform process to completely restructure doctoral education at the Boston University School of Medicine. The key pedagogical goals, objectives, and elements designed into the new curriculum through this reform process created a curriculum designed to foster the interdisciplinary thinking that students are ultimately asked to utilize in their research endeavors. We implemented comprehensive student and peer evaluation of the new Foundations in Biomedical Sciences integrated curriculum to assess the new curriculum. Furthermore, we detail how this process served as a gateway toward creating a more fully integrated graduate experience, under the umbrella of the Program in Biomedical Sciences. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

  7. Evaluation of oral microbiology lab curriculum reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nie, Min; Gao, Zhen Y; Wu, Xin Y; Jiang, Chen X; Du, Jia H

    2015-12-07

    According to the updated concept of oral microbiology, the School of Stomatology, Wuhan University, has carried out oral microbiology teaching reforms during the last 5 years. There was no lab curriculum before 2009 except for a theory course of oral microbiology. The school has implemented an innovative curriculum with oral medicine characteristics to strengthen understanding of knowledge, cultivate students' scientific interest and develop their potential, to cultivate the comprehensive ability of students. This study was designed to evaluate the oral microbiology lab curriculum by analyzing student performance and perceptions regarding the curriculum from 2009 to 2013. The lab curriculum adopted modalities for cooperative learning. Students collected dental plaque from each other and isolated the cariogenic bacteria with selective medium plates. Then they purified the enrichment culture medium and identified the cariogenic strains by Gram stain and biochemical tests. Both quantitative and qualitative data for 5 years were analysed in this study. Part One of the current study assessed student performance in the lab from 2009 to 2013. Part Two used qualitative means to assess students' perceptions by an open questionnaire. The 271 study students' grades on oral microbiology improved during the lab curriculum: "A" grades rose from 60.5 to 81.2 %, and "C" grades fell from 28.4 to 6.3 %. All students considered the lab curriculum to be interesting and helpful. Quantitative and qualitative data converge to suggest that the lab curriculum has strengthened students' grasp of important microbiology-related theory, cultivated their scientific interest, and developed their potential and comprehensive abilities. Our student performance and perception data support the continued use of the innovative teaching system. As an extension and complement of the theory course, the oral microbiology lab curriculum appears to improve the quality of oral medicine education and help to

  8. Goodbye Conflict, Hello Development? Curriculum Reform in Timor-Leste

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Ritesh

    2012-01-01

    Motivations to reform curriculum in post-conflict, or post-colonial states are often driven by the need to (re) construct a cohesive and publicly legitimated national identity that is starkly different to that which existed prior. This paper explores the context behind such action in the Timor-Leste (East Timor) and some challenges which policy…

  9. Using Symbolic Interactionism to Analyze a Specialized STEM High School Teacher's Experience in Curriculum Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teo, Tang Wee; Osborne, Margery

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we present a microanalysis of a specialized STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) high school teacher's experience of self-initiated science inquiry curriculum reform. We examine the meanings of these two constructs: "inquiry curriculum" and "curriculum change" through the process lens of interactions, actions,…

  10. Lebanon's 2011 ICT Education Reform Strategy and Action Plan: Curriculum Success or Abeyance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awada, Ghada; Diab, Hassan

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of Lebanon's Education Reform Strategy and Action Plan (LERSAP) set in 2011 as a form of the educational reform the curriculum underwent through focusing on promoting and employing the information communication technology (ICT) tools. The LERSAP was launched to equip teachers…

  11. The Failure of Progressive Classroom Reform: Lessons from the Curriculum Reform Implementation Project in Papua New Guinea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guthrie, Gerard

    2012-01-01

    Progressive education has been an article of educational faith in Papua New Guinea during the last 50 years but the best available evidence indicates that major reforms to formalistic curriculum and teaching in primary and secondary classrooms have failed during this period despite large-scale professional, administrative and financial support. In…

  12. Exploring the role of curriculum materials to support teachers in science education reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Rebecca M.

    2001-07-01

    For curriculum materials to succeed in promoting large-scale science education reform, teacher learning must be supported. Materials were designed to reflect desired reforms and to be educative by including detailed lesson descriptions that addressed necessary content, pedagogy, and pedagogical content knowledge for teachers. The goal of this research was to describe how such materials contributed to classroom practices. As part of an urban systemic reform effort, four middle school teachers' initial enactment of an inquiry-based science unit on force and motion were videotaped. Enactments focused on five lesson sequences containing experiences with phenomena, investigation, technology use, or artifact development. Each sequence spanned three to five days across the 10-week unit. For each lesson sequence, intended and actual enactment were compared using ratings of (1) accuracy and completeness of science ideas presented, (2) amount student learning opportunities, similarity of learning opportunities with those intended, and quality of adaptations , and (3) amount of instructional supports offered, appropriateness of instructional supports and source of ideas for instructional supports. Ratings indicated two teachers' enactments were consistent with intentions and two teachers' enactments were not. The first two were in school contexts supportive of the reform. They purposefully used the materials to guide enactment, which tended to be consistent with standards-based reform. They provided students opportunities to use technology tools, design investigations, and discuss ideas. However, enactment ratings were less reflective of curriculum intent when challenges were greatest, such as when teachers attempted to present challenging science ideas, respond to students' ideas, structure investigations, guide small-group discussions, or make adaptations. Moreover, enactment ratings were less consistent in parts of lessons where materials did not include lesson specific

  13. Business Curriculum and Assessment Reform in Hong Kong Schools: A Critical Review from a Competence-Based Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Christina Wai Mui

    2010-01-01

    From September 2009 onwards, a new business curriculum which focuses on three key business disciplines, namely management, accounting and finance, has been implemented in Hong Kong senior secondary schools. A new assessment guide has been also proposed in light of the new curriculum. Such business curriculum and assessment reform move in the…

  14. Results of Third-Grade Students in a Reform Curriculum on the Illinois State Mathematics Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carroll, William M.

    1997-01-01

    Reports on the results of the reform curriculum of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project's elementary curriculum, Everyday Mathematics, for third-grade students. Results included the fact that only 2% of UCSMP students failed to meet state goals. UCSMP students also scored well in all mathematical areas including number skills and…

  15. Extended professional development for systemic curriculum reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubitskey, Mary Elizabeth

    suggests a PD design model for long-term systemic change, incorporating teacher practice and student response, providing guidance for teachers making adaptations that maintain reform. This dissertation responds to the call for empirical research linking PD to learning outcomes. These models are unique because practice becomes a continuum of PD, rather than outcome and stresses the importance of addressing teachers' beliefs. This PD design provides mechanisms for maintaining equivalence between the written and enacted curriculum, sustaining the integrity of the reform.

  16. A Model for Persistent Improvement of Medical Education as Illustrated by the Surgical Reform Curriculum HeiCuMed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadmon, Guni; Schmidt, Jan; De Cono, Nicola; Kadmon, Martina

    2011-01-01

    Heidelberg Medical School underwent a major curricular change with the implementation of the reform curriculum HeiCuMed (Heidelberg Curriculum Medicinale) in October 2001. It is based on rotational modules with daily cycles of interactive, case-based small-group seminars, PBL tutorials and training of sensomotor and communication skills. For surgical undergraduate training an organisational structure was developed that ensures continuity of medical teachers for student groups and enables their unimpaired engagement for defined periods of time while accounting for the daily clinical routine in a large surgery department of a university hospital. It includes obligatory didactic training, standardising teaching material on the basis of learning objectives and releasing teaching doctors from clinical duties for the duration of a module. To compare the effectiveness of the undergraduate surgical reform curriculum with that of the preceding traditional one as reflected by students' evaluations. The present work analyses student evaluations of the undergraduate surgical training between 1999 and 2008 including three cohorts (~360 students each) in the traditional curriculum and 13 cohorts (~150 students each) in the reform curriculum. The evaluation of the courses, their organisation, the teaching quality, and the subjective learning was significantly better in HeiCuMed than in the preceding traditional curriculum over the whole study period. A medical curriculum based on the implementation of interactive didactical methods is more important to successful teaching and the subjective gain of knowledge than knowledge transfer by traditional classroom teaching. The organisational strategy adopted in the surgical training of HeiCuMed has been successful in enabling the maintenance of a complex modern curriculum on a continuously high level within the framework of a busy surgical environment.

  17. The Implementation of Entrepreneurship Education through Curriculum Reform in Finnish Comprehensive Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seikkula-Leino, Jaana

    2011-01-01

    How has entrepreneurship education been implemented in Finnish comprehensive schools. A two-part survey was undertaken in 43 municipalities with different educational and socio-economic backgrounds. The first part, in 2005, dealt with the local curriculum reform with a focus on the development of entrepreneurship education. The second part, in…

  18. Teacher Self-Efficacy and Occupational Stress: A Major Australian Curriculum Reform Revisited

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCormick, John; Ayres, Paul L.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this research was to study teachers' self-efficacy and occupational stress in the context of a large-scale curriculum reform in New South Wales, Australia. The study aims to follow up and replicate a study carried out approximately one year earlier. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical framework, primarily based on…

  19. Integrated Curriculum Design Reform of Civil Engineering Management Discipline Based on Inter-disciplinary Professional Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yidong, Xu; Ping, Wu; Jian, Chen; Jiansheng, Shen

    2018-05-01

    In view of the shortcomings of the current civil engineering management discipline, this paper investigates the necessity of the course design reform. Based on the analysis of basic occupation requirements of civil engineering management discipline, the basic ideas and implementation strategies of the integrated reform of curriculum design system are proposed, which can not only improve the students’ overall understanding of knowledge and skills, but also enhance the system of student learning.

  20. Reforming the 4th-Year Curriculum as a Springboard to Graduate Medical Training: One School's Experiences and Lessons Learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wackett, Andrew; Daroowalla, Feroza; Lu, Wei-Hsin; Chandran, Latha

    2016-01-01

    Concerns regarding the quality of training in the 4th year of medical school and preparation of graduates to enter residency education persist and are borne out in the literature. We reviewed the published literature regarding Year 4 concerns as well as institutional efforts to improve the 4th-year curriculum from several schools. Based on input from key stakeholders, we established 4 goals for our Year 4 curriculum reform: (a) standardize the curricular structure, (b) allow flexibility and individualization, (c) improve the preparation for residency, and (d) improve student satisfaction. After the reform, we evaluated the outcomes using results from the Association of American Medical Colleges Questionnaire, student focus groups, and program director surveys. This article describes the context, process, and outcomes of the reform of the Year 4 curriculum at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. We were able to achieve all four stated goals for the reform. The significant components of the change included a flexible adaptable curriculum based on individual needs and preferences, standardized learning objectives across the year, standardized competency-based evaluations regardless of discipline, reinforcement of clinical skills, and training for the transition to the workplace as an intern. The reform resulted in increased student satisfaction, increased elective time, and increased preparedness for residency training as perceived by the graduates. The Program Director survey showed significant changes in ability to perform a medical history and exam, management of common medical conditions and emergencies, clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills, working and communication with the healthcare team, and overall professionalism in meeting obligations inherent in the practice of medicine. Lessons learned from our 4th-year reform process are discussed. Listening to the needs of the stakeholders was an important step in ensuring buy-in, having an institutional

  1. Using symbolic interactionism to analyze a specialized STEM high school teacher's experience in curriculum reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teo, Tang Wee; Osborne, Margery

    2012-09-01

    In this paper, we present a microanalysis of a specialized STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) high school teacher's experience of self-initiated science inquiry curriculum reform. We examine the meanings of these two constructs: inquiry curriculum and curriculum change through the process lens of interactions, actions, and interpretations. Symbolic interactionism is the theoretical framework we used to frame our analysis of how this teacher, Darren Daley (a pseudonym) and various stakeholders purposefully and strategically engaged in "face-work" and act out lines of actions to advocate or oppose curriculum change. Symbols are used in this world of face-to-face encounters to communicate, imply, and assert, meanings through socially flexible and adjustable processes. We scrutinize how Daley (un)consciously engaged all of these to defend his decisions, actions, and outcomes and "look" to others as doing inquiry reform. The meanings of such work are not intrinsically driven or reactions to psychological and extraneous factors and forces, but emergent through interactions. The data collection methods include interviews with Daley, school administrators, students, and parents, lesson observations in Daley's class, and gathering of school website pages, brochures, and curriculum materials. We represent data in narratives describing storied history, voices, interactions, anecdotal accounts from individuals' experiences, and interpretations. The analysis and findings illuminate the nature of teacher agency—how it is reclaimed, sustained, reinforced, contested, exercised, and modified in more nuanced ways, hence offering an alternative lens to theorizing and empirically analyzing this construct.

  2. Enacting Curriculum Reform through Lesson Study: A Case Study of Mathematics Teacher Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni Shuilleabhain, Aoibhinn; Seery, Aidan

    2018-01-01

    Based in a time of major curriculum reform, this article reports on a qualitative case study of teacher professional development (PD) in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Five mathematics teachers in an Irish secondary school were introduced to and participated in successive cycles of school-based lesson study (LS) over the course of one academic…

  3. 臺灣課程改革理論基礎再思Revisiting the Theoretical Bases of Taiwan’s Curriculum Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    黃顯華Hin-Wah Wong

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available 教育工作者如何理解「課程」此一概念,對課程改革中的課程設計、課程決定模式、課程實施、課程評價/研究均有重要啟示。本文即從這些維度,針對教育部在二十世紀一九九○年代頒布課程標準與課程綱要的文本與相關研究進行比較分析。 結果發現:課程標準傾向於將課程定義爲「學科」,其改革過程可分為發 展、傳遞、採用三個階段;課程綱要傾向於將課程定義爲「經驗」,其改革表現出持續發展的傾向。但後者在課程決定、實施及研究取向上仍保留課程定義爲「學科」時的部分特徵。從課程的定義角度觀之,臺灣課程改革的性質正從課程作爲「科目」的方向朝課程作爲「經驗」的方向發展。 The way educators understand the concept of curriculum has significant implication to the nature of curriculum design, decision, implementation, evaluation and research in curriculum reform. Based on these dimensions, this article compares documents and research reports of curriculum standard of 1993 with those of curriculum program of 1998. It comes to the conclusion that curriculum standard tends to define curriculum as an academic discipline, in which reform is a repeated process of development, diffusion and adoption. Curriculum program tends to define curriculum as an experience, in which reform is a continuous development process. However, the latter has inherited some characteristics of the former in curriculum decision, implementation and research. From the perspective of the definition of curriculum, the nature of curriculum reform in Taiwan can be considered as moving from “academic discipline” to “experience”.

  4. Mind the Gap: An Initial Analysis of the Transition of a Second Level Curriculum Reform to Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prendergast, Mark; Faulkner, Fiona; Breen, Cormac; Carr, Michael

    2017-01-01

    This article details an initial analysis of the transition of a second level curriculum reform to higher education in Ireland. The reform entitled 'Project Maths' involved changes to what second level students learn in mathematics, how they learn it, and how they are assessed. Changes were rolled out nationally on a phased basis in September 2010.…

  5. Chemistry, Life, the Universe, and Everything: A New Approach to General Chemistry, and a Model for Curriculum Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Melanie; Klymkowsky, Michael

    2013-01-01

    The history of general chemistry is one of almost constant calls for reform, yet over the past 60 years little of substance has changed. Those reforms that have been implemented are almost entirely concerned with how the course is taught, rather than what is to be learned. Here we briefly discuss the history of the general chemistry curriculum and…

  6. Education for Sustainable Development in Malaysia's National Curriculum Reformation: A Theoretical Exploration

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    Aai Sheau Yean

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to examine the feasibility and potential of including appropriate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD elements in the National Curriculum Reformation of Malaysia that is set to be introduced in the year 2017. This is done through the proposal of a theoretical approach for understanding ESD fit for Malaysia from an environmental epistemology. To start with, this article outlines dominant ideologies and epistemologies revolving around the concept of Sustainable Development (SD and focuses on critiquing the underlying anthropocentric tendencies found within. Drawing principally from the ideas of Schumacher (1973, Orr (2004, and Sterling (1992, the article then sets out to examine the ideologies and epistemologies needed to support education reformation that are more environmentally sensitive in nature.

  7. Tobephobia Experienced by Teachers in Secondary Schools: An Exploratory Study Focusing on Curriculum Reform in the Nelson Mandela Metropole

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, P.

    2011-01-01

    Because of its history from apartheid to democracy, the aspiration to reform schools is a recurrent theme in South African education. Efforts to reform education in schools based on the outcomes-based education (OBE) curriculum approach created major challenges for policy makers in South Africa. The purpose of this exploratory research was…

  8. Exploration on teaching reform of theory curriculum for engineering specialties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yan; Shen, Wei-min; Shen, Chang-yu; Li, Chen-xia; Jing, Xu-feng; Lou, Jun; Shi, Yan; Jin, Shang-zhong

    2017-08-01

    The orientation of talents cultivation for local colleges is to train engineering application-oriented talents, so the exploration and practice on teaching reform of theory curriculum was carried out. We restructured the knowledge units basing on numerical solution problems, and chose the software to build algorithm models for improving the analytical and designed ability. Relying on micro video lessons platform, the teacher-student interaction was expanded from class to outside. Also, we programmed new experimental homework, which was suited for process evaluation. The new teaching mode has achieved good effect, and the students' application ability was significantly improved.

  9. Professional Identities and Emotions of Teachers in the Context of Curriculum Reform: A Chinese Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, John Chi-Kin; Huang, Yvonne Xian-Han; Law, Edmond Hau-Fai; Wang, Mu-Hua

    2013-01-01

    This study explores the changing professional identities of teachers and their emotional experiences during curriculum reform in Shenzhen in the southern part of China. A qualitative approach to research was adopted. Findings reveal that the informants display several teaching behaviours and diverse emotions ranging from pain and helplessness,…

  10. Curriculum development in studio-style university physics and implications for dissemination of research-based reforms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathleen T. Foote

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Over the past few decades, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that students learn best in engaging, interactive, collaborative, and inquiry-based environments. However, most college science classes are still taught with traditional methods suggesting the existing selection of research-based instructional materials has not widely transformed undergraduate education. SCALE-UP is a renovated pedagogy and classroom environment that has achieved a greater impact than most, used extensively throughout the United States and abroad. SCALE-UP is not a simple collection of lesson plans or a textbook that can be easily adopted, and instead instructors are encouraged to customize main pedagogical principles to their unique instructional situation. This flexibility along with promotion of instructor autonomy may have assisted its spread. This paper uses case studies of five successful secondary implementations in the United States to examine how instructors gather information about reform, create a curriculum, and achieve sustained use. Many people learned about research-based resources that formed the composite of their curricula through interpersonal connections. Time constraints and misunderstandings between developers and instructors limited which resources were chosen and how they were used. Once instructors created a “working form” of the curriculum, three out of five instructors did not make significant changes. This could lead to the preservation of a more conservative curriculum. Implications include that disseminators should articulate core principles of the reform that should be retained to uphold the integrity of the reform as well as the areas where adopters have flexibility to innovate. Strategically involving other secondary users in the dissemination process could facilitate important interpersonal exchanges that could provide an additional layer of support for faculty.

  11. Total Teacher Effectiveness: Implication for Curriculum Change (TOC) in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsui, Kwok Tung; Cheng, Yin Cheong

    This paper introduces the concept of total teacher effectiveness for facilitating educational reform and improvement, using target oriented curriculum (TOC) change in Hong Kong as an example. TOC change is a complex process that involves preparing, changing, and reinforcing teachers in multiple domains at multiple levels. Teacher effectiveness…

  12. Misrecognition and science education reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, Carol B.

    2012-09-01

    In this forum, I expand upon Teo and Osborne's discussion of teacher agency and curriculum reform. I take up and build upon their analysis to further examine one teacher's frustration in enacting an inquiry-based curriculum and his resulting accommodation of an AP curriculum. In this way I introduce the concept of misrecognition (Bourdieu and Passeron 1977) to open up new ways of thinking about science inquiry and school reform.

  13. Incorporation of peer learning in first MBBS curriculum to enhance metacognition skills

    OpenAIRE

    Manas Kanti Ray; Suranjana Ray

    2012-01-01

    Peer learning can be incorporated in the first MBBS curriculum along with didactic lectures and tutorials. Peer learning is when a student learns from another student who has been trained to explain the topic and discuss it. Peer learning improves domain-specific inquiry skills, supports self-directed learning, and improves metacognition skills. Metacognition is the ability to plan, reason, judge and regulate ways to approach learning a skill or concept. In the midst of curriculum reforms tha...

  14. Developing curriculum design expertise through teacher design teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huizinga, T.

    2014-01-01

    To foster the design and especially the implementation of curriculum reform, teacher involvement from the early stages of curriculum reform processes is advocated. By fulfilling the role of designer, it is expected that teachers’ understanding of the reform and their ownership concerning the reform

  15. Student participation in World Wide Web-based curriculum development of general chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, William John Forbes

    1998-12-01

    This thesis describes an action research investigation of improvements to instruction in General Chemistry at Purdue University. Specifically, the study was conducted to guide continuous reform of curriculum materials delivered via the World Wide Web by involving students, instructors, and curriculum designers. The theoretical framework for this study was based upon constructivist learning theory and knowledge claims were developed using an inductive analysis procedure. This results of this study are assertions made in three domains: learning chemistry content via the World Wide Web, learning about learning via the World Wide Web, and learning about participation in an action research project. In the chemistry content domain, students were able to learn chemical concepts that utilized 3-dimensional visualizations, but not textual and graphical information delivered via the Web. In the learning via the Web domain, the use of feedback, the placement of supplementary aids, navigation, and the perception of conceptual novelty were all important to students' use of the Web. In the participation in action research domain, students learned about the complexity of curriculum. development, and valued their empowerment as part of the process.

  16. The reform of the teaching mode of Applied Optics curriculum and analysis of teaching effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ning, Yu; Xu, Zhongjie; Li, Dun; Chen, Zilun; Cheng, Xiangai; Zhong, Hairong

    2017-08-01

    Military academies have two distinctive characteristics on talent training: Firstly, we must teach facing actual combat and connecting with academic frontier. Secondly, the bachelor's degree education and the military education should be balanced. The teaching mode of basic curriculum in military academies must be reformed and optimized on the basis of the traditional teaching mode, so as to ensure the high quality of teaching and provide enough guidance and help for students to support their academic burden. In this paper, our main work on "Applied Optics" teaching mode reform is introduced: First of all, we research extensively and learn fully from advanced teaching modes of the well-known universities at home and abroad, a whole design is made for the teaching mode of the core curriculum of optical engineering in our school "Applied Optics", building a new teaching mode which takes the methods of teaching basic parts as details, teaching application parts as emphases, teaching frontier parts as topics and teaching actual combat parts on site. Then combining with the questionnaire survey of students and opinions proposed by relevant experts in the teaching seminar, teaching effect and generalizability of the new teaching mode are analyzed and evaluated.

  17. Cognitive development in introductory physics: A research-based approach to curriculum reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teodorescu, Raluca Elena

    This project describes the research on a classification of physics problems in the context of introductory physics courses. This classification, called the Taxonomy of Introductory Physics Problems (TIPP), relates physics problems to the cognitive processes required to solve them. TIPP was created for designing and clarifying educational objectives, for developing assessments that can evaluate individual component processes of the problem-solving process, and for guiding curriculum design in introductory physics courses, specifically within the context of a "thinking-skills" curriculum. TIPP relies on the following resources: (1) cognitive research findings adopted by physics education research, (2) expert-novice research discoveries acknowledged by physics education research, (3) an educational psychology taxonomy for educational objectives, and (4) various collections of physics problems created by physics education researchers or developed by textbook authors. TIPP was used in the years 2006--2008 to reform the first semester of the introductory algebra-based physics course (called Phys 11) at The George Washington University. The reform sought to transform our curriculum into a "thinking-skills" curriculum that trades "breadth for depth" by focusing on fewer topics while targeting the students' cognitive development. We employed existing research on the physics problem-solving expert-novice behavior, cognitive science and behavioral science findings, and educational psychology recommendations. Our pedagogy relies on didactic constructs such as the GW-ACCESS problem-solving protocol, learning progressions and concept maps that we have developed and implemented in our introductory physics course. These tools were designed based on TIPP. Their purpose is: (1) to help students build local and global coherent knowledge structures, (2) to develop more context-independent problem-solving abilities, (3) to gain confidence in problem solving, and (4) to establish

  18. Teachers' sense-making of curriculum structures and its impact on the implementation of an innovative reform-based science curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckford-Smart, Meredith

    different teacher stories shaped their teaching practices and enactment of science curriculum. Curriculum developers and policy makers struggle to understand how their messages can be communicated clearly to their readers and users. Many argue that curriculum materials are not used the way they are intended. Others argue the messages read from policy and curriculum materials and artifacts are ambiguous and unclear. This study did not argue that teachers do not use the curriculum materials correctly. This study focused on teachers' sense-making of curriculum materials so we can get a better understanding of the role curriculum resources can play in reform.

  19. Scientists in the classroom: Curriculum reform and the Cold War, 1949--1963

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudolph, John Laurence

    This dissertation focuses on the origins of the National Science Foundation-supported curriculum reform movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Using the Physical Science Study Committee (PSSC) and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) as exemplars of the curriculum projects that proliferated during this era, this work provides a historical analysis of the shift in school curriculum from the life adjustment, functional approach to schooling prevalent after World War II to the discipline-centered approach characteristic of the 1960s. Important factors in this shift include the rising technological threat posed by the Soviet Union along with the Red Scare in the United States, which aroused public suspicion of the ideological underpinnings of the life adjustment curricular program. The efforts of the scientific elite to develop new science curricula were welcomed as a means to combat both the technological threat of the Soviets and, through science's identification with free inquiry and democracy, the ideological threat of communism. This dissertation specifically illustrates how the key elements of the new science curriculum materials---the focus on inquiry, laboratory work, and instructional technology---were shaped by the social and political atmosphere of the Cold War and how those elements were designed to advance the interests of the American scientific community in the postwar period. This social and political atmosphere, this work argues, was not only responsible for moving science instruction away from an emphasis on the every-day applications of science toward the disciplinary structure of scientific knowledge, but also contributed to a fundamental restructuring of the substantive content of the scientific knowledge itself that made up the subject matter of the new curricula.

  20. Correlations between Academic Achievement and Anxiety and Depression in Medical Students Experiencing Integrated Curriculum Reform

    OpenAIRE

    Yi-Chun Yeh; Cheng-Fang Yen; Chung-Sheng Lai; Chun-Hsiung Huang; Keh-Min Liu; In-Ting Huang

    2007-01-01

    This study aimed to examine the correlations between academic achievement and levels of anxiety and depression in medical students who were experiencing curriculum reform. The differences in academic achievement and the directions of correlations between academic achievement and anxiety and depression among the medical students with different levels of anxiety and depression were also examined. Grade 1 students from graduate-entry program and grade 3 students from undergraduate-entry program ...

  1. Discrete Mathematics and Curriculum Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenney, Margaret J.

    1996-01-01

    Defines discrete mathematics as the mathematics necessary to effect reasoned decision making in finite situations and explains how its use supports the current view of mathematics education. Discrete mathematics can be used by curriculum developers to improve the curriculum for students of all ages and abilities. (SLD)

  2. A Tale of Two Generations: Creativity Growth and Gender Differences over a Period of Education and Curriculum Reforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Ping Chung; Lau, Sing

    2013-01-01

    The Wallach-Kogan Creativity Tests were translated into Chinese and later fully computerized for research in Hong Kong. The normative data of two cohorts (1994 and 2002) of school children were employed to test the hypothesis that growth in creative thinking occurs in a society or culture during a period of education and curriculum reforms that…

  3. The Situations Bank, a Tool for Curriculum Design Focused on Daily Realities: The Case of the Reform in Niger

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charland, Patrick; Cyr, Stéphane

    2013-01-01

    In the context of the curriculum reform in Niger, the authors describe the process of developing a situations bank which focusses on everyday life situations in Niger. The bank plays a central role in the formulation of new study programmes guided by the so-called "situated" approach. The authors also describe various issues that arose…

  4. Analysis of curricular reform practices at Chinese medical schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Lei; Cai, Qiaoling; Cheng, Liming; Kosik, Russell; Mandell, Greg; Wang, Shuu-Jiun; Xu, Guo-Tong; Fan, Angela P

    2014-01-01

    A comprehensive search of the literature published between 2001 and 2010 was performed to gain a greater understanding of curricular reform practices at Chinese medical schools. There were 10,948 studies published between 2001 and 2010 that were retrieved from the database. Following preliminary screening, 76 publications from 49 different medical schools were selected. Thirty-one publications regarding clinical medicine curricular reforms were analyzed further. Of the 76 studies, 53 described curricular reforms that were instituted in theoretical courses, 22 described curricular reforms that were instituted in experimental courses, and 1 described curricular reforms that were instituted in a clinical skills training course. Of the 31 clinical medicine publications, 2 described reforms that were implemented for 3-year program medical students, 12 described reforms that were implemented for 5-year program medical students, 6 described reforms that were implemented for 7-year program medical students, and 2 described reforms that were implemented for 8-year program medical students. Currently, the majority of medical schools in China use the discipline-based curriculum model. Thirteen studies described transition to an organ-system-based curriculum model, 1 study described transition to a problem-based curriculum model, and 3 studies described transition to a clinical presentation-based curriculum model. In 7 studies educators decided to retain the discipline-based curriculum model while integrating 1 or several new courses to remedy the weaker aspects of the traditional curriculum, in 7 studies educators decided to integrate the preclinical courses with the clinical courses by using the systemic-integrating curricular system that dilutes classical disciplines and integrates material based on organ systems, and in 2 studies educators limited reforms to clinical courses only. Eight studies discussed the implementation of a formative evaluation system, 4 studies

  5. 論地方課程發展機制與課程改革On the Developmental Mechanism of Local Curriculum and Curricula Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    陸明玉Ming-Yu Lu

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available 自1992年地方課程正式提出至今,地方課程經歷了近20年的發展。擁有年輕生命的地方課程難免遭遇荊棘與障礙,本研究立足於課程改革的宏觀背景,在辨析相關概念的基礎上,考察地方課程發展面臨的困境,並力圖從困境中尋找路徑。受國家相關政策、地方教育行政管理,以及學校實施制衡的地方課程,亦受其內源性因素:價值取向的釐定、課程目標的確立、課程內容的選擇、課程的實施及課程的評價等的影響。那麼,合理定位地方課程、統整各內外因素、探索良性的地方課程發展機制,或許是地方課程發展的關鍵路徑。地方課程的發展可說對課程改革具有重要意義。 Since the beginning of it in 1992, local curriculum has developed for almost 20 years. Like every new things, it is unavoidable for local curriculum to meet some difficulties. Based on the macro-background of curricula reform, after defined the conception of related terms, the article tries to find the countermeasures by analyzing the difficulties and problems of the development of local curriculum. Apart from the laws of the nation, regulations of local educational administration and school, the local curriculum will also be affected by its inner factors, such as curriculum value, curriculum aim, curriculum selection, curriculum implementation and curriculum evaluation. So the key approach to explore the developmental mechanism of local curriculum is to establish exact position for the local curriculum by integrating all the factors. In all, development of local curriculum is very important for curriculum reform.

  6. Geography teachers' interpretation of a curriculum reform initiative: the case of the Lesotho Environmental Education Support Project (LEESP

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    Mohaeka Raselimo

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This article addresses how teachers in a specific developing world context interpreted a curriculum reform initiative. It is located within a broader interpretive study that investigated the integration of Environmental Education into the formal education system of Lesotho with particular reference to secondary school geography. More specifically the focus was on a Danish donor-fundedproject, known as the Lesotho Environmental Education Support Project (LEESP. Driven by a sustainable development imperative, the project was intended to assist Lesotho with the implementation of local action for Agenda 21 by introducing environmental education into the formal education system. It is widely accepted that teachers play an important role in implementing curriculum change. Using a previous framework, we generate insights for understanding how teachers' epistemologies interact with contextual factors to impede the process ofcurriculum sense-making. Furthermore, guided by the notion ofcurriculum as a contextualised social process, we present the findings on the contextual/structural factors enabling or constraining implementation ofthe LEESP curriculum policy intentions as perceived by the teachers.

  7. "I'm Not Teaching English, I'm Teaching Something Else!": How New Teachers Create Curriculum under Mandates of Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costigan, Arthur

    2018-01-01

    This study presents how beginning teachers create and teach an English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum in urban schools in the context of an educational reform movement driven by mandates such as Common Core State Standards (CCSS), high stakes tests, and prescribed curricula. They serve in schools with each using unique and individual curricula due…

  8. A case study of systemic curricular reform: A forty-year history

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laubach, Timothy Alan

    What follows is a description of the development of a particular inquiry-based elementary school science curriculum program and how its theoretical underpinnings positively influenced a school district's (K-12) science program and also impacted district- and state-wide curriculum reform initiatives. The district's science program has evolved since the inception of the inquiry-based elementary school science curriculum reform forty years ago. Therefore, a historical case study, which incorporated grounded theory methodology, was used to convey the forty-year development of a science curriculum reform effort and its systemic influences. Data for this study were collected primarily through artifacts, such as technical and non-technical documents, and supported and augmented with interviews. Fifteen people comprised the interview consortium with professional responsibilities including (a) administrative roles, such as superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, and curriculum consultants/coordinators; (b) classroom roles, such as elementary and secondary school teachers who taught science; (c) partnership roles, such as university faculty who collaborated with those in administrative and classroom positions within the district; and (d) the co-director of SCIS who worked with the SCIS trial center director. Data were analyzed and coded using the constant comparative method. The analysis of data uncovered five categories or levels in which the curriculum reform evolved throughout its duration. These themes are Initiation, Education, Implementation, Confirmation, and Continuation. These five categories lead to several working hypotheses that supported the sustaining and continuing of a K-12 science curriculum reform effort. These components are a committed visionary; a theory base of education; forums promoting the education of the theory base components; shared-decision making; a university-school partnership; a core group of committed educators and teachers

  9. Fashioning Curriculum Reform as Identity Politics--Taiwan's Dilemma of Curriculum Reform in New Millennium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Chin-Ju

    2008-01-01

    This paper explores indigenization and globalization, the double issue of curriculum and identity as a dialectical contradiction that characterizes the ambivalence of "Taiwanese identity." "Taiwanese identity" is treated as a social, political, and cultural construct rather than a fixed term in an essentialist sense.…

  10. Uncovering Portuguese teachers’ difficulties in implementing sciences curriculum

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    Clara Vasconcelos

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Many countries recognize the positive and effective results of improving science education through the introduction of reforms in the sciences curriculum. However, some important issues are generally neglected like, for example, the involvement of the teachers in the reform process. Taking the sciences curriculum reform under analysis and benefitting from 10 years of teachers’ experiences in teaching sciences based on this curriculum, 19 semi-structure interviews were applied so as to identify the major difficulties felt by science teachers when implementing the Portuguese sciences curriculum in the third cycle of middle school (pupils’ age range of 12–15. Some of the difficulties depicted by the data analysis include: length of the curriculum, lack of time, unsuitable laboratory facilities, insufficient means and materials for experimental work, pupils’ indiscipline and little interest in learning sciences. Although less frequently mentioned, the lack of professional development was also referred to as a constraint that seems to play an essential role in this process. Some recommendations for improving the success of sciences curriculum reforms’ implementation are given: defining and conceptualizing curricular policies by relating the reality of both the schools and the science classrooms; reorganizing and restructuring pre-service teachers’ courses; organizing professional development courses for in-service teachers.

  11. Constructivism and Pedagogical Reform in China: Issues and Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Charlene

    2017-01-01

    This article critically discusses the constructivist ideas, assumptions and practices that undergird the current pedagogical reform in China. The pedagogical reform is part of a comprehensive curriculum reform that has been introduced across schools in Mainland China. Although the official documents did not specify the underpinning theories for…

  12. Research on Implementation of the Teaching Process in Higher Vocational Curriculum

    OpenAIRE

    Songjie Gong

    2013-01-01

    The implementation of the teaching process is the main channel to carry out good education. The aim of the implementation of the teaching process is to place emphasis on cultivating students’ innovation ability and take innovation education as the point to deepen higher vocational teaching reformation. The reform of project curriculum has become the main trend of course reform in higher vocational education. The traditional curriculum teaching process has shown some disadvantages in the teach...

  13. 'Knowledge,' Curriculum and Social Justice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wrigley, Terry

    2018-01-01

    This article considers the place of knowledge in developing a socially just curriculum. It pursues the unusual route of a critique of Social Realism, a small but influential tendency in curriculum studies which claims that knowledge has been squeezed out by recent curriculum reforms and that there has been a descent into relativism. This paper…

  14. Educational Development and Reformation in Malaysia: Past, Present, and Future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Rahimah Haji

    1998-01-01

    Discusses educational development in Malaysia, focusing on curriculum changes, issues, and future perspectives. Discusses the development of values education, its importance in the curriculum, and the government's efforts to mold a united nation with Malaysian values. Current reforms target tertiary education. The school curriculum has not been…

  15. Education Reform: Ten Years after the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Driscoll, Joseph B. Berger, Ronald K. Hambleton, Lisa A. Keller, Robert W. Maloy, David Hart, Paul Oh, Victoria Getis, Susan Bowles, Francis L. Gougeon, Kathryn A. McDermott, Andrew Churchill

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available In June 1993, Governor William Weld signed into law the Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA. MERA greatly increased the state role both in funding public education and in guiding the local educational process. The state’s role changed to incorporate setting curriculum frameworks and holding schools accountable for student performance. Because MERA was designed to be a systemic reform of education, all of the various state activities and policies needed to fit together into a coherent whole based on state educational standards.

  16. How do medical educators design a curriculum that facilitates student learning about professionalism?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Glenn; Wang, Shaoyu

    2016-01-01

    Objectives This study analyses the ways in which curriculum reform facilitated student learning about professionalism. Methods Design-based research provided the structure for an iterative approach to curriculum change which we undertook over a 3 year period. The learning environment of the Personal and Professional Development Theme (PPD) was analysed through the sociocultural lens of Activity Theory. Lave and Wenger’s and Mezirow’s learning theories informed curriculum reform to support student development of a patient-centred and critically reflective professional identity. The renewed pedagogical outcomes were aligned with curriculum content, learning and teaching processes and assessment, and intense staff education was undertaken. We analysed qualitative data from tutor interviews and free-response student surveys to evaluate the impact of curriculum reform. Results Students’ and tutors’ reflections on learning in PPD converged on two principle themes - ‘Developing a philosophy of medicine’ and ‘Becoming an ethical doctor’- which corresponded to the overarching PPD theme aims of communicative learning. Students and tutors emphasised the importance of the unique learning environment of PPD tutorials for nurturing personal development and the positive impact of the renewed assessment programme on learning. Conclusions A theory-led approach to curriculum reform resulted in student engagement in the PPD curriculum and facilitated a change in student perspective about the epistemological foundation of medicine. PMID:26845777

  17. The Hegemonic Curriculum and School Dropout: The Newfoundland Case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gedge, Joseph L.

    1991-01-01

    Confronted by a disturbing dropout rate and low student achievement, the Newfoundland (Canada) government is attempting to rationalize organizational restructuring and curriculum reform based on a centralized core academic curriculum aimed at college entrance. This article argues for an expanded, hegemonic curriculum that is organic to the…

  18. From policy to practice: education reform in Mozambique and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Mozambican government has introduced reforms of basic education, notably the introduction of interdisciplinarity, learner-centredness and new teaching pedagogies. This is a case study of how these curriculum reforms have been implemented at Marrere Teachers' Training College. We conducted interviews with ...

  19. A Study of EFL Curriculum of China's Science and Technology Institutes under Graded Teaching Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Chunyan; Han, Fei

    2018-01-01

    Recent years, most universities and colleges have been reforming the English as a foreign language (EFL) curriculum system in China. Some reformed EFL curriculum into English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, for instance, while some conducted a graded teaching model in EFL teaching. However, the effect of this reform was not so good,…

  20. Factors affecting science reform: Bridging the gap between reform initiatives and teaching practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pensak, Karl John

    In response to the perceived deficiencies in science education today, and to the expressed need for research into the culture of schools (due primarily to the failure of many science reforms in the past), this study used a broad based approach to study the gap between science education research and science education practice. This study identified 47 factors that may encourage or inhibit science curriculum reform. A survey was conducted to determine which factors were perceived to be important by local and national K-12 classroom teachers, science supervisors/coordinators, and college/university professors. Continual staff development (scheduled as part of teachers' work day/week/month), funding (for long-term staff development, teacher training and support, science laboratory facilities and materials), teacher motivation and "ownership" of the reform, the need for collaborative opportunities for classroom teachers, teachers' college preparation, textbook reform, community support, and reform initiatives that are "in tune" with assessment, are major factors identified as having a substantial affect on the successful adoption, implementation, and institutionalization of science reforms.

  1. Designing Web-Based Educative Curriculum Materials for the Social Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Callahan, Cory; Saye, John; Brush, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    This paper reports on a design experiment of web-based curriculum materials explicitly created to help social studies teachers develop their professional teaching knowledge. Web-based social studies curriculum reform efforts, human-centered interface design, and investigations into educative curriculum materials are reviewed, as well as…

  2. Applying Concepts of Critical Pedagogy to Qatar's Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanowski, Michael H.; Amatullah, Tasneem

    2016-01-01

    Qatar is in the midst of a systemic education reform, Education For a New Era, steered by RAND's (a nonprofit research organization) analysis and report of Qatar's Educational system. Driven by a neoliberal agenda, the reform includes international curricula, curriculum standards, teacher licensure, and professional standards for school leaders…

  3. Neoliberalism and Corporate School Reform: "Failure" and "Creative Destruction"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saltman, Kenneth J.

    2014-01-01

    In the United States, corporate school reform or neoliberal educational restructuring has overtaken educational policy, practice, curriculum, and nearly all aspects of educational reform. Although this movement began on the political right, the corporate school model has been heralded across the political spectrum and is aggressively embraced now…

  4. A Curriculum and Software Design Scaffolding Goal Directed Teaching in Classrooms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Misfeldt, Morten; Bundsgaard, Jeppe; Slot, Marie Falkesgaard

    , the tool itself, and selected findings from qualitative and quantitative studies in the project. 2. International trends in goal oriented and data driven teaching The Danish curriculum reform builds on recent trends in school development and curriculum research suggesting the importance of a competence...... development and curriculum research suggesting the importance of a competence framework, learning goals and aggregation of classroom data to efficient teaching (Earl & Fullan 2003). Learning goals are supposed to support the student’s pace and sense of progression, inform classroom decisions, structure...... student has knowledge of text structure”). The curriculum can be presented in a number of graphical modes, e.g. in a matrix or in a hypertext structure. The curriculum reform was implemented in order to promote a goal oriented teaching and learning practice based heavily on research around data driven...

  5. The medical school curriculum committee revisited.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendricson, W D; Payer, A F; Rogers, L P; Markus, J F

    1993-03-01

    Numerous study commissions have contended that departmental territoriality and lack of coordinated planning are stagnating contemporary medical education. As a cure, these commissions have recommended the creation of centralized academic management units empowered to oversee revitalization of the curriculum through a series of reforms, including better definition of graduation competencies, community-based training, interdisciplinary courses, problem-based learning, and modernization of evaluation strategies. To determine the extent to which these recommendations were being adopted, in 1990 the authors sent a questionnaire on curriculum committee functions, current innovation efforts, and future priorities to academic administrators and members of medical school curriculum committees at 143 North American medical schools. Responses were received from administrators (primarily associate deans for academic affairs) at 118 schools and committee members (primarily faculty) at 111 schools. Recommendations for enhancing curriculum committee effectiveness were also elicited. The authors conclude that centralization of curricular management has occurred at very few institutions, and that the commonly mentioned reforms are being adopted at a modest pace. The results are analyzed in light of theories of the institutional change process and strategies for introducing educational innovations into established institutions.

  6. The influence of secondary science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge, educational beliefs and perceptions of the curriculum on implementation and science reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonner, Portia Selene

    2001-07-01

    Science education reform is one of the focal points of restructuring the educational system in the United States. However, research indicates a slow change in progression towards science literacy among secondary students. One of the factors contributing to slow change is how teachers implement the curriculum in the classroom. Three constructs are believed to be influential in curriculum implementation: educational beliefs, pedagogical knowledge and perception of the curriculum. Earlier research suggests that there is a strong correlation between teachers' educational beliefs and instructional practices. These beliefs can be predictors of preferred strategies employed in the classroom. Secondly, teachers' pedagogical knowledge, that is the ability to apply theory and appropriate strategies associated with implementing and evaluating a curriculum, contributes to implementation. Thirdly, perception or how the curriculum itself is perceived also effects implementation. Each of these constructs has been examined independently, but never the interplay of the three. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the interplay of teachers' educational beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge and perceptions of a science curriculum with respect to how these influence curriculum implementation. This was accomplished by investigating the emerging themes that evolved from classroom observations, transcripts from interview and supplementary data. Five high school biology teachers in an urban school system were observed for ten months for correspondence of teaching strategies to the curriculum. Teachers were interviewed formally and informally about their perceptions of science teaching, learning and the curriculum. Supplementary material such as lesson plans, course syllabus and notes from classroom observations were collected and analyzed. Data were transcribed and analyzed for recurring themes using a thematic matrix. A theoretical model was developed from the emerging

  7. Staying afloat: surviving curriculum change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Debra; Welborn-Brown, Pauline; Smith, Debra; Giddens, Jean; Harris, Judith; Wright, Mary; Nichols, Ruth

    2008-01-01

    In response to calls for nursing education reform, a content-based curriculum was changed to a concept-based curriculum, using Kanter's 7 skills for effective change model. The skills include tuning in to the environment, challenging the prevailing organizational wisdom, communicating a compelling aspiration, building coalitions, transferring ownership to a working team, learning to persevere, and making everyone a hero. The authors describe the steps taken to successfully accomplish this arduous task.

  8. Elementary Social Studies: Trite, Disjointed, and in Need of Reform?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duplass, James A.

    2007-01-01

    Elementary social studies has used the same scope and sequence for more than a half century despite significant changes in society. Efforts to reform the curriculum are adversely impacted by inertia, tradition, the culture wars, traditional state autonomy in setting curriculum, publishers, and competition between disciplines for space within the…

  9. Das Longitudinale Curriculum "Soziale und kommunikative Komptenzen" im Bologna-reformierten Medizinstudium in Basel [The longitudinal curriculum "social and communicative competencies" within Bologna-reformed undergraduate medical education in Basel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Langewitz, Wolf

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available [english] Background: Within the Bologna reform, a longitudinal curriculum of “social and communicative competencies” (SOKO was implemented into the new Bachelor-Master structure of undergraduate medical education in Basel (Switzerland. Project description: The aim of the SOKO curriculum is to enable students to use techniques of patient-centred communication to elicit and provide information to patients in order to involve them as informed partners in decision making processes. The SOKO curriculum consists of 57 lessons for the individual student from the first bachelor year to the first master year. Teaching encompasses lectures and small group learning. Didactic methods include role play, video feedback, and consultations with simulated and real patients. Summative assessment takes place in objective structured clinical examinations (OSCE. Conclusion: In Basel, a longitudinal SOKO curriculum based on students’ cumulative learning was successfully implemented. Goals and contents were coordinated with the remaining curriculum and are regularly assessed in OSCEs. At present, most of the workload rests on the shoulders of the department of psychosomatic medicine at the university hospital. For the curriculum to be successful in the long-term, sustainable structures need to be instituted at the medical faculty and the university hospital to guarantee high quality teaching and assessment.[german] Hintergrund: Mit der Umstellung auf die Bachelor-/Masterstruktur wurde in Basel (Schweiz ein longitudinales Curriculum „soziale und Kommunikative Kompetenzen“ (SOKO in das Medizinstudium implementiert. Projektbeschreibung: Ziel ist es, den Studierenden grundlegende Techniken einer patientenzentrierten Kommunikation in dem Sinne zu vermitteln, dass die Studierenden in der Lage sind, Informationen zu erheben und Informationen an Patientinnen und Patienten weiterzugeben, um sie als gut informierte Partner am Entscheidungsprozess zu beteiligen. Das

  10. Investigating Teacher Learning Supports in High School Biology Curricular Programs to Inform the Design of Educative Curriculum Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beyer, Carrie J.; Delgado, Cesar; Davis, Elizabeth A.; Krajcik, Joseph

    2009-01-01

    Reform efforts have emphasized the need to support teachers' learning about reform-oriented practices. Educative curriculum materials are one potential vehicle for promoting teacher learning about these practices. Educative curriculum materials include supports that are intended to promote both student "and" teacher learning. However, little is…

  11. The Mediating Role of Textbooks in High-Stakes Assessment Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Ching Yin; Andrews, Stephen

    2012-01-01

    Whenever high-stakes assessment/curriculum reforms take place, new textbooks appear on the market. These textbooks inevitably play a significant mediating role in the implementation of any reform and on teaching and learning. This paper reports on a small-scale study which attempts to investigate the role of textbooks in the mediation of a…

  12. The Significance of Context for Curriculum Development in Engineering Education: A Case Study across Three African Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Case, Jennifer M.; Fraser, Duncan M.; Kumar, Anil; Itika, Ambrose

    2016-01-01

    Curriculum reform is a key topic in the engineering education literature, but much of this discussion proceeds with little engagement with the impact of the local context in which the programme resides. This article thus seeks to understand the influence of local contextual dynamics on curriculum reform in engineering education. The empirical…

  13. Medical curriculum reform in Sun Yat-sen University: implications from the results of GMER evaluation in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Haipeng; Xian, Liqing; Yu, Xueqing; Wang, Jianping

    2007-09-01

    Created by interlocking economies, a global language, the informatics revolution and rapid travel, globalization has penetrated all aspects of human life including science, environment, public health and medicine. Physicians are now members of a global community. The global physician should possess universal core essential competences required for medical practice throughout the world. The Institute for International Medical Education (IIME), created by the China Medical Board (CMB) of New York, has developed the " global minimal essential requirements" (GMER) that define the knowledge, skills, professional behavior and ethics that all physicians must have regardless of where they received their general medical education and training. The IIME initiated a pilot project in China in October, 2003, to evaluate the graduates of the 7- or 8-year track program of eight leading medical schools, including Medical School of Sun Yat-sen University. The results of GMER evaluation indicated strengths and areas for improvement of our school in relation to international standards, which greatly re-invigorate our enthusiasm on medical curriculum reform on the new 8-year track program in Medical School of Sun Yat-sen University. The modifications of our medical curriculum for the new 8-year track program based on the results of GMER evaluation are discussed in this paper.

  14. Shifts in funding for science curriculum design and their (unintended) consequences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pareja Roblin, Natalie; Schunn, Christian; Bernstein, Debra; McKenney, Susan

    2016-01-01

    Federal agencies in the Unites States invest heavily in the development of science curriculum materials, which can significantly facilitate science education reform. The current study describes the characteristics of K-12 science curriculum materials produced by federally funded projects between

  15. The influence of different curriculum designs on students' dropout rate: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergel, John; Quintero, Gustavo A; Isaza-Restrepo, Andrés; Ortiz-Fonseca, Martha; Latorre-Santos, Catalina; Pardo-Oviedo, Juan Mauricio

    2018-12-01

    The relationship between students' withdrawal and educational variables has generated a considerable number of publications. As the explosion of information in sciences and integration theories led to creating different curriculum designs, it has been assumed that differences among designs explain academic success and, therefore, students' retention. However, little attention has been given to examine explicitly how diverse designs influence dropout rates in practice, which questions if decisions to reform curricula are sufficiently informed. This article describes our curriculum reform, which exposes our former and current curriculum designs as having had dissimilar dropout percentages. Furthermore, we aimed to explore the influence of different curriculum designs on students' dropout rates. The conclusion is that dropout variations may be explained not only because of the curriculum design itself, but also because of the power relationship changes between teachers and students that brought out the design change. Consequently, more research is needed to fully understand the political implications of different curriculum designs and their influence on dropout rates.

  16. The influence of different curriculum designs on students’ dropout rate: a case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergel, John; Quintero, Gustavo A.; Isaza-Restrepo, Andrés; Ortiz-Fonseca, Martha; Latorre-Santos, Catalina; Pardo-Oviedo, Juan Mauricio

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT The relationship between students’ withdrawal and educational variables has generated a considerable number of publications. As the explosion of information in sciences and integration theories led to creating different curriculum designs, it has been assumed that differences among designs explain academic success and, therefore, students’ retention. However, little attention has been given to examine explicitly how diverse designs influence dropout rates in practice, which questions if decisions to reform curricula are sufficiently informed. This article describes our curriculum reform, which exposes our former and current curriculum designs as having had dissimilar dropout percentages. Furthermore, we aimed to explore the influence of different curriculum designs on students’ dropout rates. The conclusion is that dropout variations may be explained not only because of the curriculum design itself, but also because of the power relationship changes between teachers and students that brought out the design change. Consequently, more research is needed to fully understand the political implications of different curriculum designs and their influence on dropout rates. PMID:29392996

  17. Educational Borrowing and Mathematics Curriculum: Realistic Mathematics Education in the Dutch and Indonesian Primary Curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shintia Revina

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Since the late 1990s, Indonesian mathematics educators have considered Realistic Mathematics Education (RME, the Dutch approach to mathematics instruction, to be the basis for educational reform. In the National curriculum development, RME has, therefore, been reviewed as among the theoretical references to the curriculum goals and content. In the present study, an analysis of the consistency between RME and the curriculum descriptors and contents in Indonesia is presented. This is supplemented with some comparisons to that in the Netherlands. Findings in this study revealed that while most of RME principles are reflected in the Indonesian curriculum, the descriptions were often very general and less explicit compared to the Dutch curriculum. They were also limited by the content-based approach as well as by the centralized decision making process of the contents to be taught which have been pre-determined at the national level. This study suggests future research to see how the curriculum may influence teachers’ enactment of RME at classroom level.

  18. Barreda, Vasconcelos, and Mexican Educational Reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skirius, John

    1983-01-01

    Reviews the contributions to Mexican education of Gabino Barredas' positivism between 1867-1898 and the contributions of Jose Vasconcelos during the 1920s. Discusses the secondary curriculum reforms of Barreda's era and the vocational education and the education for women and adults during the Vasconcelos era. (SB)

  19. How does preclinical laboratory training impact physical examination skills during the first clinical year? A retrospective analysis of routinely collected objective structured clinical examination scores among the first two matriculating classes of a reformed curriculum in one Polish medical school.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Świerszcz, Jolanta; Stalmach-Przygoda, Agata; Kuźma, Marcin; Jabłoński, Konrad; Cegielny, Tomasz; Skrzypek, Agnieszka; Wieczorek-Surdacka, Ewa; Kruszelnicka, Olga; Chmura, Kaja; Chyrchel, Bernadeta; Surdacki, Andrzej; Nowakowski, Michał

    2017-09-01

    As a result of a curriculum reform launched in 2012 at our institution, preclinical training was shortened to 2 years instead of the traditional 3 years, creating additional incentives to optimise teaching methods. In accordance with the new curriculum, a semester-long preclinical module of clinical skills (CS) laboratory training takes place in the second year of study, while an introductory clinical course (ie, brief introductory clerkships) is scheduled for the Fall semester of the third year. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are carried out at the conclusion of both the preclinical module and the introductory clinical course. Our aim was to compare the scores at physical examination stations between the first and second matriculating classes of a newly reformed curriculum on preclinical second-year OSCEs and early clinical third-year OSCEs. Analysis of routinely collected data. One Polish medical school. Complete OSCE records for 462 second-year students and 445 third-year students. OSCE scores by matriculation year. In comparison to the first class of the newly reformed curriculum, significantly higher (ie, better) OSCE scores were observed for those students who matriculated in 2013, a year after implementing the reformed curriculum. This finding was consistent for both second-year and third-year cohorts. Additionally, the magnitude of the improvement in median third-year OSCE scores was proportional to the corresponding advancement in preceding second-year preclinical OSCE scores for each of two different sets of physical examination tasks. In contrast, no significant difference was noted between the academic years in the ability to interpret laboratory data or ECG - tasks which had not been included in the second-year preclinical training. Our results suggest the importance of preclinical training in a CS laboratory to improve students' competence in physical examination at the completion of introductory clinical clerkships during

  20. 再概念化:課程改革的邏輯與實踐Reconceptualization: the Logic and Praxis of Curriculum Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    許芳懿Fang-Yi Hsu

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available 「再概念化」起源自1970年代的再概念化運動,由William Pinar所發起。「再概念化」本身意喻著「不斷的重新定義」,代表一種批判、省思與重定位。我國的九年一貫課程改革立意在學習者中心,發展結果卻偏向菁英主義,顯示其邏輯與實踐存有矛盾。本文針對我國當前課程改革進行檢視,檢視角度除蘊含再概念化的歷史變化觀點外,更擷取「再概念化」內在的批判精神來檢驗九年一貫課程,針對統整、基本能力、鬆綁解構、國家教育目標等結構性問題提出質疑,同時亦探討績效責任、社會公平、倫理向度、文化同質性、工具理性問題,文末並提出省思與結論。 “Reconceptualization” stemmed from the “reconceptualization movement” initiated by Pinar in 1970s.“Reconceptualization” means “constant redefinition” which represents criticism, reflection and re-focus. Curriculum reform lately in Taiwan focused on learner centered, but it was inclined to elitism finally. That represents the relation between the logic and practice of curriculum reform was contradictory mutually. The article was aimed to review the reform of grades 1st–9th integrative curriculum lately in Taiwan. It was not only from the viewpoints of the history of reconceptualizaton, but includes the inner essence of criticism. The structural problems of integration, basic ability, deconstruction and the aims of country education were suspicious. Simultaneously, the accountability, social justice, ethic, cultural homogeneity, instrumental rationality were explored. Finally, the reflection and conclusion were suggested.

  1. Tracing the Policy Mediation Process in the Implementation of a Change in the Life Sciences Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh-Pillay, Asheena; Alant, Busisiwe

    2015-01-01

    This paper accounts for the enacted realities of curriculum reform in South Africa, in particular the mediation of curriculum change. Curriculum implementation is viewed as a complex networked process of transforming or mediating policy into classroom practice. The fact that curriculum implementation is seen as problematic requires attention for…

  2. What Are Critical Features of Science Curriculum Materials That Impact Student and Teacher Outcomes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roblin, Natalie Pareja; Schunn, Christian; McKenney, Susan

    2018-01-01

    Large investments are made in curriculum materials with the goal of supporting science education reform. However, relatively little evidence is available about what features of curriculum materials really matter to impact student and teacher learning. To address this need, the current study examined curriculum features associated with student and…

  3. Teologie kroniek/Theology Chronicle: The Politics of Salvation: Values, Ideology and the South African National Curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Jansen

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available The South African experience offers dramatic examples of how the curriculum remains a lightning rod for the values contestation in divided societies. Despite its overwhelming election mandate, the ruling party found that changing the curriculum required the consent of powerful and less powerful sections of society - whose opposition extended across racial lines. This essay reports on research into attempts� by the post- apartheid state to introduce values explicitly into the school curriculum, and how communities - mobilised� primarily on the common front of religious values - combined to decelerate if not reverse radical curriculum reforms. The most important finding from this work is that underestimating the power of faith-based communities is likely to undermine curriculum reforms that touch on matters of values, conscience and religious commitment.

  4. Curricular Revision and Reform: The Process, What Was Important, and Lessons Learned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilkiw, Jan E; Nelson, Richard W; Watson, Johanna L; Conley, Alan J; Raybould, Helen E; Chigerwe, Munashe; Boudreaux, Karen

    Beginning in 2005, the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at the University of California underwent major curricular review and reform. To provide information for others that follow, we have documented our process and commented on factors that were critical to success, as well as factors we found surprising, difficult, or problematic. The review and reform were initiated by the Executive Committee, who led the process and commissioned the committees. The planning stage took 6 years and involved four faculty committees, while the implementation stage took 5 years and was led by the Curriculum Committee. We are now in year 2 of the institutionalizing stage and no longer refer to our reform as the "new curriculum." The change was driven by a desire to improve the curriculum and the learning environment of the students by aligning the delivery of information with current teaching methodologies and implementing adult learning strategies. We moved from a department- and discipline-based curriculum to a school-wide integrated block curriculum that emphasized student-centered, inquiry-based learning. A limit was placed on in-class time to allow students to apply classroom knowledge by solving problems and cases. We found the journey long and arduous, requiring tremendous commitment and effort. In the change process, we learned the importance of adequate planning, leadership, communication, and a reward structure for those doing the "heavy lifting." Specific to our curricular design, we learned the importance of the block leader role, of setting clear expectations for students, and of partnering with students on the journey.

  5. Taiwanese Science and Life Technology Curriculum Standards and Earth Systems Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chun-Yen

    2005-01-01

    In the past several years, curriculum reform has received increasing attention from educators in many countries around the world. Recently, Taiwan has developed new Science and Life Technology Curriculum Standards (SaLTS) for grades 1-9. SaLTS features a systematic way for developing students' understanding and appreciation of…

  6. Liberal Studies Reform in Hong Kong Secondary Education: Contrasting Desirability with Feasibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fok, Ping Kwan

    2016-01-01

    In major curriculum reforms, there are inevitably gaps between design and implementation issues, taking the introduction of liberal studies (LS) into the senior secondary curriculum in Hong Kong as a classic example. The current paper illustrates how the implementation of LS as a compulsory core subject has impacted noticeably on Hong Kong senior…

  7. An exploration of the science teaching orientations of Indian science teachers in the context of curriculum reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nargund-Joshi, Vanashri

    This study explores the concepts and behaviors, otherwise referred to as orientations, of six Indian science teachers and the alignment of these orientations to the 2005 India National Curriculum Framework (NCF-2005). Differences in teachers' orientations across grade bands (elementary, middle, and secondary) and school types (public versus private) are also examined to determine how contextual factors may influence this alignment. First, a content analysis of the NCF-2005 was completed to identify the overarching principles of the NCF-2005 and goals specific to the teaching and learning of science. Interviews with school principals were also analyzed to understand how the goals of NCF-2005 were communicated to schools and teachers. Together, these data sources served to answer research question one. Next, profiles were created based on three interviews with each teacher and several observations of their teaching. These profiles provide a point of reference for answering the remaining three research questions. Findings include teacher's orientations falling along a continuum from traditionalist in nature to inquiry/constructivist in nature. Stark contrasts were found between traditionalist orientations and the goals of NCF-2005, with much of this contrast due to the limited pedagogical content knowledge these teachers have regarding students' scientific thinking, curriculum design, instructional strategies, and assessment. Inquiry/constructivist teachers' orientations, while more in line with reform, still have a few key areas of pedagogical content knowledge needing attention (e.g., knowledge of assessment and a variety of purposes for constructivist instructional strategies). In response to the final research question, several contextual factors contributed to teachers' orientations including environmental constraints, such as limited resources and large class sizes, cultural testing pressures, and limited accessibility to professional development. Suggestions

  8. The Curriculum Ideology of the South African Secondary School Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mnguni, Lindelani

    2013-01-01

    South Africa has had a number of curriculum reforms since 1994 which have been based on both political and education grounds. However, there is a dearth of knowledge about the nature of the envisioned graduates, especially with respect to social challenges. This can be addressed by exploring the curriculum ideology which outlines the vision of…

  9. Teacher involvement in curriculum design: need for support to enhance teachers' design expertise

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huizinga, T.; Handelzalts, A.; Nieveen, N.; Voogt, J.M.

    2014-01-01

    Teacher involvement in curriculum design has a long tradition. However, although it fosters implementation of curriculum reforms, teachers encounter various problems while designing related to conditions set for the design process, and lack the knowledge and skills needed to enact collaborative

  10. Centrifugal Schooling: Third Sector Policy Networks and the Reassembling of Curriculum Policy in England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Ben

    2012-01-01

    This article examines changes in curriculum policy in secondary education in England. It is concerned with recent curriculum policy and reform, and the proliferation of non-government actors in curriculum policy creation. It examines the emergence of a loose alliance of third sector organisations and their involvement in a series of alternative…

  11. Curriculum, quantitative concepts and methodology of teaching ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    kofimereku

    argues that the educational reforms in Ghana did not influence curriculum development in .... the educable level could perform at sixth grade level, which raises the .... McConkey, R. and McEvoy, J. (1986) 'Games for learning to count'. British.

  12. An anticipatory quality improvement process for curricular reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollander, Harry; Loeser, Helen; Irby, David

    2002-09-01

    Over half of American medical schools are currently engaged in significant curricular reform. Traditionally, evaluation of the efficacy of educational changes has occurred well after the implementation of curricular reform, resulting in significant time elapsed before modification of goals and content can be accomplished. We were interested in establishing a process by which a new curriculum could be reviewed and refined before its actual introduction. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine embarked upon a new curriculum for the class entering in September 2001. Two separate committees coordinated plans for curricular change. The Essential Core Steering Committee was responsible for the first two years of training, and the Integrated Clinical Steering Committee guided the development of the third-and fourth-year curriculum. Both groups operated under guidelines of curricular reform, established by the School's Committee on Curriculum and Educational Policy, that emphasized integration of basic, clinical, and social sciences; longitudinal inclusion of themes such as behavior, culture, and ethics; use of clinical cases in teaching; and inclusion of small-group and problem-based learning. In early 2001, the deans of education and curricular affairs appointed an ad hoc committee to examine the status of the first-year curriculum, which had been entirely reformulated into a series of new multidisciplinary block courses. This ad hoc committee was composed of students and clinical faculty members who had not been substantially involved in the detailed planning of the blocks. The charge to the committee was to critique the progress of individual courses, and the first year as a whole, in meeting the goals outlined above, and to make recommendations for improving the preparation of students for the clinical years. To accomplish these goals, the committee reviewed background planning documents; interviewed each course director using a

  13. Converging Paths or Ships Passing in the Night? An "English" Critique of Japanese School Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Andy

    2000-01-01

    Examines origins and potential effects of liberalizing reforms in Japanese secondary education in light of British experiences with policies such as local school management and school choice. Argues that Japanese reform involves necessary diversification of curriculum and pedagogic practices, but administrative shifts toward deregulation and…

  14. Ein Modell zur nachhaltigen Qualitätssteigerung der medizinischen Ausbildung am Beispiel des chirurgischen Reformcurriculums HeiCuMed [A Model for Persistent Improvement of Medical Education as Illustrated by the Surgical Reform Curriculum HeiCuMed

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kadmon, Guni

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available [english] Background: Heidelberg Medical School underwent a major curricular change with the implementation of the reform curriculum HeiCuMed (Heidelberg Curriculum Medicinale in October 2001. It is based on rotational modules with daily cycles of interactive, case-based small-group seminars, PBL tutorials and training of sensomotor and communication skills. For surgical undergraduate training an organisational structure was developed that ensures continuity of medical teachers for student groups and enables their unimpaired engagement for defined periods of time while accounting for the daily clinical routine in a large surgery department of a university hospital. It includes obligatory didactic training, standardising teaching material on the basis of learning objectives and releasing teaching doctors from clinical duties for the duration of a module. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of the undergraduate surgical reform curriculum with that of the preceding traditional one as reflected by students' evaluations. Method: The present work analyses student evaluations of the undergraduate surgical training between 1999 and 2008 including three cohorts (~360 students each in the traditional curriculum and 13 cohorts (~150 students each in the reform curriculum. Results: The evaluation of the courses, their organisation, the teaching quality, and the subjective learning was significantly better in HeiCuMed than in the preceding traditional curriculum over the whole study period. Conclusion: A medical curriculum based on the implementation of interactive didactical methods is more important to successful teaching and the subjective gain of knowledge than knowledge transfer by traditional classroom teaching. The organisational strategy adopted in the surgical training of HeiCuMed has been successful in enabling the maintenance of a complex modern curriculum on a continuously high level within the framework of a busy surgical environment

  15. The Lesotho curriculum and assessment policy: Opportunities and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hennie

    The Curriculum and Assessment Policy 2009 represents the latest education reform, which marks a ... statements create for educational development in Lesotho. We adopt a ...... approach is adopted in the higher grades, where there is policy ...

  16. The Lesotho curriculum and assessment policy: Opportunities and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hennie

    The Curriculum and Assessment Policy 2009 represents the latest education reform, which marks a departure ... out of the dissatisfaction with a traditional education that ..... polities to modern (Western) and knowledge-based polities. Is this the ...

  17. Correlations between academic achievement and anxiety and depression in medical students experiencing integrated curriculum reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Yi-Chun; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Lai, Chung-Sheng; Huang, Chun-Hsiung; Liu, Keh-Min; Huang, In-Ting

    2007-08-01

    This study aimed to examine the correlations between academic achievement and levels of anxiety and depression in medical students who were experiencing curriculum reform. The differences in academic achievement and the directions of correlations between academic achievement and anxiety and depression among the medical students with different levels of anxiety and depression were also examined. Grade 1 students from graduate-entry program and grade 3 students from undergraduate-entry program in their first semester of the new curriculum were recruited to complete the Zung's Anxiety and Depression Scale twice to examine their levels of anxiety and depression. Their academic achievement ratings in the four blocks of the first semester of the new curriculum were collected. The results indicated that no significant correlation was found between academic achievement and global anxiety and depression. However, by dividing the medical students into low, moderate and high level anxiety or depression groups, those who had poorer academic achievement in the first learning block were more likely to have higher levels of depression in the first psychologic assessment. Among the medical students who were in the high anxiety level group in the first psychologic assessment, those who had more severe anxiety had poorer academic achievement in the fourth learning block. Among the medical students who were in the low anxiety level group in the second psychologic assessment, those who had more severe anxiety had better academic achievement in the fourth learning block. Among the medical students who were in the moderate anxiety level group in the second psychologic assessment, those who had more severe anxiety had poorer academic achievement in the second learning block. Among the medical students who were in the high depression level group in the second psychologic assessment, those who had more severe depression had poorer academic achievement in the fourth learning block. The

  18. Correlations between Academic Achievement and Anxiety and Depression in Medical Students Experiencing Integrated Curriculum Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Chun Yeh

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to examine the correlations between academic achievement and levels of anxiety and depression in medical students who were experiencing curriculum reform. The differences in academic achievement and the directions of correlations between academic achievement and anxiety and depression among the medical students with different levels of anxiety and depression were also examined. Grade 1 students from graduate-entry program and grade 3 students from undergraduate-entry program in their first semester of the new curriculum were recruited to complete the Zung's Anxiety and Depression Scale twice to examine their levels of anxiety and depression. Their academic achievement ratings in the four blocks of the first semester of the new curriculum were collected. The results indicated that no significant correlation was found between academic achievement and global anxiety and depression. However, by dividing the medical students into low, moderate and high level anxiety or depression groups, those who had poorer academic achievement in the first learning block were more likely to have higher levels of depression in the first psychologic assessment. Among the medical students who were in the high anxiety level group in the first psychologic assessment, those who had more severe anxiety had poorer academic achievement in the fourth learning block. Among the medical students who were in the low anxiety level group in the second psychologic assessment, those who had more severe anxiety had better academic achievement in the fourth learning block. Among the medical students who were in the moderate anxiety level group in the second psychologic assessment, those who had more severe anxiety had poorer academic achievement in the second learning block. Among the medical students who were in the high depression level group in the second psychologic assessment, those who had more severe depression had poorer academic achievement in the fourth

  19. Global social issues in the curriculum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simovska, Venka; Kremer Prøsch, Åsa

    2016-01-01

    and sustainability education and treats the two issues as societal challenges that are important to address in schools as educational examples. We draw on the literature on school leadership challenges linked to global neoliberal trends in educational reform. The context of the study is the on-going school reform...... somewhat more than sustainability education; however, both are characterized by insufficient attention to teachers’ professional development and the low prioritization of collaboration within the school and between the school and community actors. Acknowledging the contradicting demands that principals...... face in the context of the reform, we argue for reconnecting the concept of leadership with the wider purposes of schooling and for providing space for an emergent, whole-school curriculum that addresses health and sustainability....

  20. What are critical features of science curriculum materials that impact student and teacher outcomes?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roblin, Natalie Pareja; Schunn, Christian; McKenney, Susan

    2018-01-01

    Large investments are made in curriculum materials with the goal of supporting science education reform. However, relatively little evidence is available about what features of curriculum materials really matter to impact student and teacher learning. To address this need, the current study examined

  1. Teacher collaboration and curriculum construction: Political, cultural, and structural contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esterle, Rochelle Eda Penn

    This longitudinal case study is the story of one high school's efforts to implement curriculum reform and the profound effect of local circumstances on reform ideologies. What began as a study of inter- and intradisciplinary collaborative science curriculum integration became the study of a systemic failure to modify cultural practices. Poritical, economic, and structural measures initiated to facilitate reform ultimately represent inherent conflicts of interest which undermine the reform effort. This research exposes obstacles that are deeply embedded within the school's governance, the beliefs and knowledge of teachers, and the culture of schools. The study site is both a new entity and a new concept: a specialized math/science high school located on a state university campus; the school recruits underrepresented students to become acclimated to university coursework and culture. To date, the school has maintained an exceptional record of college and university placements. The school is governed by a partnership representing the university, the corporate sector, and 11 surrounding K-12 school districts. Free from the regularities of a traditional high school, the school appears to be ideally situated for innovation. The principle innovations at this school relate to its organizational structure--heterogeneous student groupings, cooperative group work, curriculum integration, block scheduling, and concurrent university coursework. For teachers, grade level teams replace departments as the dominant unit for professional, curricular, and social interactions. Within teacher teams, collaboration centers around ongoing student problems and policies, subordinating academic content and significant interdisciplinary connections. Without active discipline-based departments and curricular leadership, however, this research finds an absence of academic direction and accountability.

  2. Student memories: Insights for science reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaillie, Jane Hall

    The purpose of this study was to examine the recollections pre-service teachers majoring in elementary education have of their science experiences during their elementary years and to explore the recollections in the context of science education reform efforts. At the beginning of science methods course work, pre-service elementary teachers reflected on their memories of their own elementary education experiences. Themes from 102 reflective essays collected in two settings and time periods were identified and compared. The themes remained consistent over both settings and time frames studied and fall into three general categories: curriculum and instruction, teacher traits, and student traits. The pre-service teachers expressed difficulty in recalling elementary science experiences and attributed their limited memories to what they perceived as a low priority of science content in the elementary curriculum. Teaching strategies played a prominent role in the memories reported. Hands-on and active learning strategies produced positive memories, while lectures, reading textbooks, and completing worksheets resulted in more negative memories. Furthermore, pre-service teacher essays often failed to connect the learning activities with concept development or understanding. Pre-service teachers were split nearly equally between those who liked and those who disliked elementary science. The attributes of elementary teachers received the least attention in the categories and focused primarily on passion for teaching science. Implications for science reform leaders, teacher education preparation programs, and school administrators and curriculum directors are identified.

  3. Academic Governance and Academic Reform: Legitimacy and Energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peter, Kenneth B.; Bain, Linda L.

    1998-01-01

    A thorough review and revision of curriculum at San Jose State University (California) illustrates that the modern university can achieve major internal academic reforms when two important conditions are met: legitimacy and energy. These two concepts are defined and practical illustrations are drawn from the institution's recent experience in…

  4. Curriculum Reform and School Performance: An Evaluation of the "New Basics."

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Karl L.; Pallas, Aaron M.

    This report examines whether a high school curriculum organized around the five "new basics" suggested by the National Commission on Excellence in Education is likely to enhance student achievement. Data from the ETS Growth Study reveals that completion of the core curriculum has sizable effects on senior-year test performance, even when…

  5. Description and Early Outcomes of a Comprehensive Curriculum Redesign at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heiman, Heather L; O'Brien, Celia L; Curry, Raymond H; Green, Marianne M; Baker, James F; Kushner, Robert F; Thomas, John X; Corbridge, Thomas C; Corcoran, Julia F; Hauser, Joshua M; Garcia, Patricia M

    2017-09-26

    In 2012, the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine launched a redesigned curriculum addressing the four primary recommendations in the 2010 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching report on reforming medical education. This new curriculum provides a more standardized evaluation of students' competency achievement through a robust portfolio review process coupled with standard evaluations of medical knowledge and clinical skills. It individualizes learning processes through curriculum flexibility, enabling students to take electives earlier and complete clerkships in their preferred order. The new curriculum is integrated both horizontally and vertically, combining disciplines within organ-based modules and deliberately linking elements (science in medicine, clinical medicine, health and society, professional development) and threads (medical decision making, quality and safety, teamwork and leadership, lifestyle medicine, advocacy and equity) across the three phases that replaced the traditional four-year timeline. It encourages students to conduct research in an area of interest and commit to lifelong learning and self-improvement. The curriculum formalizes the process of professional identity formation and requires students to reflect on their experiences with the informal and hidden curricula, which strongly shape their identities.The authors describe the new curriculum structure, explain their approach to each Carnegie report recommendation, describe early outcomes and challenges, and propose areas for further work. Early data from the first cohort to progress through the curriculum show unchanged United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and 2 scores, enhanced student research engagement and career exploration, and improved student confidence in the patient care and professional development domains.

  6. Curriculum Analytics: Application of Social Network Analysis for Improving Strategic Curriculum Decision-Making in a Research-Intensive University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Shane; Hubball, Harry

    2014-01-01

    This paper provides insight into the use of curriculum analytics to enhance learning-centred curricula in diverse higher education contexts. Engagement in evidence-based practice to evaluate and monitor curricula is vital to the success and sustainability of efforts to reform undergraduate and graduate programs. Emerging technology-enabled inquiry…

  7. Graduates from a traditional medical curriculum evaluate the effectiveness of their medical curriculum through interviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watmough, Simon; O'Sullivan, Helen; Taylor, David

    2009-10-26

    In 1996 The University of Liverpool reformed its medical course from a traditional lecture-based course to an integrated PBL curriculum. A project has been underway since 2000 to evaluate this change. Part of this project has involved gathering retrospective views on the relevance of both types of undergraduate education according to graduates. This paper focuses on the views of traditional Liverpool graduates approximately 6 years after graduation. From February 2006 to June 2006 interviews took place with 46 graduates from the last 2 cohorts to graduate from the traditional Liverpool curriculum. The graduates were generally happy with their undergraduate education although they did feel there were some flaws in their curriculum. They felt they had picked up good history and examination skills and were content with their exposure to different specialties on clinical attachments. They were also pleased with their basic science teaching as preparation for postgraduate exams, however many complained about the overload and irrelevance of many lectures in the early years of their course, particular in biochemistry. There were many different views about how they integrated this science teaching into understanding disease processes and many didn't feel it was made relevant to them at the time they learned it. Retrospectively, they felt that they hadn't been clinically well prepared for the role of working as junior doctor, particularly the practical aspects of the job nor had enough exposure to research skills. Although there was little communication skills training in their course they didn't feel they would have benefited from this training as they managed to pick up had the required skills on clinical attachments. These interviews offer a historical snapshot of the views of graduates from a traditional course before many courses were reformed. There was some conflict in the interviews about the doctors enjoying their undergraduate education but then saying that they

  8. Graduates from a traditional medical curriculum evaluate the effectiveness of their medical curriculum through interviews

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taylor David

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In 1996 The University of Liverpool reformed its medical course from a traditional lecture-based course to an integrated PBL curriculum. A project has been underway since 2000 to evaluate this change. Part of this project has involved gathering retrospective views on the relevance of both types of undergraduate education according to graduates. This paper focuses on the views of traditional Liverpool graduates approximately 6 years after graduation. Methods From February 2006 to June 2006 interviews took place with 46 graduates from the last 2 cohorts to graduate from the traditional Liverpool curriculum. Results The graduates were generally happy with their undergraduate education although they did feel there were some flaws in their curriculum. They felt they had picked up good history and examination skills and were content with their exposure to different specialties on clinical attachments. They were also pleased with their basic science teaching as preparation for postgraduate exams, however many complained about the overload and irrelevance of many lectures in the early years of their course, particular in biochemistry. There were many different views about how they integrated this science teaching into understanding disease processes and many didn't feel it was made relevant to them at the time they learned it. Retrospectively, they felt that they hadn't been clinically well prepared for the role of working as junior doctor, particularly the practical aspects of the job nor had enough exposure to research skills. Although there was little communication skills training in their course they didn't feel they would have benefited from this training as they managed to pick up had the required skills on clinical attachments. Conclusion These interviews offer a historical snapshot of the views of graduates from a traditional course before many courses were reformed. There was some conflict in the interviews about the doctors

  9. On Study of Teaching Reform of Organic Chemistry Course in Applied Chemical Industry Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yunshen

    2017-11-01

    with the implementation of new curriculum reform, the education sees great changes in teaching methods. Teaching reform is profound in organic chemistry course in applied chemical industry technology. However, many problems which have never been noticed before occur when reform programs are implemented which harm students’ ability for learning and enthusiasm in side face. This paper proposes reform measures like combining theory and practice, improving professional quality, supplementing professional needs and integrating teaching into life after analyzing organic chemistry course teaching in applied chemical industry technology currently, hoping to play a role of reference for organic chemistry course teaching reform in applied chemical industry technology.

  10. International trends in curriculum research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Jens

    of the western school systems (especially within natural science and mathematics), the PISA-study has also been followed by school and curriculum radical reforms. The inspiration for the European reforms was taken in the so called accountability policy that during the 1990s had been developed in the USA...... is at the same time a centralization and a decentralization strategy: centralization at the input and the output side and decentralization of processes. The basic idea is that those responsible for the processes (principals and teachers) are held responsible for the outcomes. In the USA outcomes are related...... of their first generation goals as well of their national test systems. A trend in international school reform policy seems to be a break with the New Public Management and accountability philosophy that has played a major role over the last two decades. It is probably too early to say that these strategies...

  11. The multidimensionality of electricity reform - an Australian perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Deepak

    2003-01-01

    The electricity industry in Australia has over the last decade undergone fundamental and profound change. The industry has been functionally unbundled. The generation and retail segments of the industry have been exposed to competition. The transmission and distribution monopolies have been reoriented to foster competition. The customers are being offered increasing choice in the selection of their energy providers. The ownership of the industry is generally moving away from the public domain to the private domain. The rules for the governance of the industry have been developed in the form of a variety of market codes and regulation. Much of the debate about industry reform is being conducted exclusively in the economic domain. There is a general lack of any serious analysis and debate on the political, social, environmental and other dimensions of reform despite a wide consensus on the criticality of such dimensions. This is clearly unhelpful and could lead to obfuscation of the real challenges confronting the industry and preclude the development of responsible policy prescriptions to meet such challenges. There is an obvious need to devote some direct attention to these neglected dimensions of reform. This paper is one such attempt. It draws together the various dimensions of reform and provides a firmer basis for meaningful analyses and concrete debate on the issues. While the discussion focuses on Australian experience, the messages are relevant for other countries engaged in electricity reform

  12. Zanzibar's Curriculum Reform: Implications for Children's Educational Rights

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia

    2015-01-01

    This article explores recent developments in linguistic choices in education in Zanzibar and examines the arguments for using local languages of instruction (LoI) as a right. The article's analysis is based on a study of a curriculum change in Zanzibar in which English replaced Kiswahili as the LoI in the last two years of primary school in…

  13. Incorporating the Tuning Approach in Higher Education curricular reforms and course design in Tanzania for enhancing graduates’ competencies: stakeholders’ views

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johnson Muchunguzi Ishengoma

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Available documentary and research evidences reveal that the majority of Tanzania universities’ graduates (public and private universities lack competencies or technical skills (employability skills required for the job market and by potential employers, despite massive curricular reforms implemented in the public higher education sector since the early 1990s. Lack of employability skills which consequently leads to graduate unemployment or un-employability is attributable to the fact that curricular reforms and design in Tanzania public universities undertaken by lecturers and professors do not incorporate basic Tuning principles of competence-based teaching and learning which puts emphasis on competencies and skills by identifying generic and specific competencies during course design or curriculum reform. This study using the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM’s School of Education sought to: (1 explore faculty and students’ views on the application of the Tuning approach in curricular reforms and degree/course design as a mitigation of university graduates’ unemployment and un-employability, (2 solicit stakeholders’(academic staff and students perceptions of Tuning approach and its relevance in higher education curriculum reforms and design to make higher education more competence-based, and (3 find out students perceived causes of graduate unemployment and un-employability and whether the application of Tuning approach in curriculum reforms and design in universities can be a solution to graduate unemployment. Findings from the study reveal that both faculty and students concur that application of Tuning approach in higher education reforms and curricular design could enhance graduates competences and skills and reduce graduate unemployment.First published online: 30 November 2017

  14. Launching Curricular Reform in First-Year Composition: Navigating the Terrain between Buy-in and Burnout

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deacon, Andrea

    2013-01-01

    One of the most taxing duties of a writing program administrator (WPA), and one that is likely to cause the most burnout, is initiating curricular reform, an initiative often met with pushback and resistance. Within the literature on curriculum reform in first-year composition, this resistance seems to arise from a complex web of issues related to…

  15. Surviving the Implementation of a New Science Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowe, Beverly; Appleton, Ken

    2015-12-01

    Queensland schools are currently teaching with the first National Curriculum for Australia. This new curriculum was one of a number of political responses to address the recurring low scores in literacy, mathematics, and science that continue to hold Australia in poor international rankings. Teachers have spent 2 years getting to know the new science curriculum through meetings, training, and exploring the new Australian curriculum documents. This article examines the support and preparation for implementation provided in two regional schools, with a closer look at six specific teachers and their science teaching practices as they attempted to implement the new science curriculum. The use of a survey, field observations, and interviews revealed the schools' preparation practices and the teachers' practices, including the support provided to implement the new science curriculum. A description and analysis of school support and preparation as well as teachers' views of their experiences implementing the new science curriculum reveal both achievements and shortcomings. Problematic issues for the two schools and teachers include time to read and comprehend the curriculum documents and content expectations as well as time to train and change the current processes effectively. The case teachers' experiences reveal implications for the successful and effective implementation of new curriculum and curriculum reform.

  16. Development and Implementation of Inquiry-Based and Computerized-Based Laboratories: Reforming High School Chemistry in Israel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnea, Nitza; Dori, Yehudit Judy; Hofstein, Avi

    2010-01-01

    Reforms in science education in general and in chemistry education in particular have been introduced in many countries since the beginning of the 21st Century. Similarly, at this time in Israel both the content and pedagogy of the chemistry curriculum in high schools were reformed. New content and pedagogical standards emerged, fostering…

  17. Effects of comprehensive educational reforms on academic success in a diverse student body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieberman, Steven A; Ainsworth, Michael A; Asimakis, Gregory K; Thomas, Lauree; Cain, Lisa D; Mancuso, Melodee G; Rabek, Jeffrey P; Zhang, Ni; Frye, Ann W

    2010-12-01

    Calls for medical curriculum reform and increased student diversity in the USA have seen mixed success: performance outcomes following curriculum revisions have been inconsistent and national matriculation of under-represented minority (URM) students has not met aspirations. Published innovations in curricula, academic support and pipeline programmes usually describe isolated interventions that fail to affect curriculum-level outcomes. United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 performance and graduation rates were analysed for three classes of medical students before (matriculated 1995-1997, n=517) and after (matriculated 2003-2005, n=597) implementing broad-based reforms in our education system. The changes in pipeline recruitment and preparation programmes, instructional methods, assessment systems, academic support and board preparation were based on sound educational principles and best practices. Post-reform classes were diverse with respect to ethnicity (25.8% URM students), gender (51.8% female), and Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) score (range 20-40; 24.1% scored ≤ 25). Mean±standard deviation MCAT scores were minimally changed (from 27.2±4.7 to 27.8±3.6). The Step 1 failure rate decreased by 69.3% and mean score increased by 14.0 points (effect size: d=0.67) overall. Improvements were greater among women (failure rate decreased by 78.9%, mean score increased by 15.6 points; d=0.76) and URM students (failure rate decreased by 76.5%, mean score increased by 14.6 points; d=0.74), especially African-American students (failure rate decreased by 93.6%, mean score increased by 20.8 points; d=1.12). Step 1 scores increased across the entire MCAT range. Four- and 5-year graduation rates increased by 7.1% and 5.8%, respectively. The effect sizes in these performance improvements surpassed those previously reported for isolated interventions in curriculum and student support. This success is likely to have resulted from the broad

  18. The International Curriculum: Current Trends and Emerging Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richter, Jesse Jones

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines the current state of tertiary level international curricula and provides groundwork for future research aimed at ongoing needs. Recognized is the premise that existing international curricular programs require maintenance. Burn (1995) called for curriculum reform in international departments two decades ago with the rationale…

  19. Student-centered and ability training-oriented curriculum reform in teaching Microcontroller Principles and Interface Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaoping; Cai, Peijun; Liu, Yuling; Wang, Liqiang; Liang, Yiyong

    2017-08-01

    Courses are an important way of cultivating talents in college education. Advanced training schemes and the course system are implemented through course teaching. Advanced teaching notions and methods also rely on course teaching. Therefore, the quality of course teaching is the fundamental guarantor for grooming talent. The teachers of the course "Microcontroller Principles and Interface Techniques" in the Optical Science and Engineering College of Zhejiang University insist on course teaching becoming student centered and ability-training-oriented. They pay attention to students'all-round development in terms of learning ability, practical ability, innovation ability, and exploring spirit. They actively carried out course reforms in four aspects, namely teaching, learning, evaluation, and experimentation. This paper mainly introduced these reforms. First, the teaching method was reformed by introducing case analysis and the notion of a flipped classroom to shift the course focus from the teacher to the students. Second, the learning method was reformed through the use of techniques such as peer learning and project design to promote students' sense of enquiry and learning initiative. Third, the evaluation method was reformed through the use of process assessment and diversity evaluation to encourage students to develop logical thinking and a down-to-earth manner. Fourth, the experimentation method was reformed by introducing hierarchical content, process management, and diversification of examination to change students'learning attitude from "dependence, passivity, and imitation" to "independence, active involvement, and creation."In general, the teaching method reform promoted reforms in learning, evaluation, and experimentation methods and further improved the style of study. These reforms improved teachers' teaching abilities and enabled course teaching to transform from being teacher centered to student centered. Years of exploration and practice results have

  20. Moving from Traditional Teacher Education to a Field-Based Urban Teacher Education Program: One Program's Story of Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waddell, Jennifer; Vartuli, Sue

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, teacher education has been charged with reforming programs to better align curriculum, clinical practice, and accountability. The sense of urgency for reform has been heightened by competition from alternative routes to teaching that jump straight to practice, often criticized for foregoing essential knowledge and theory. This…

  1. "Butterfly under a Pin": An Emergent Teacher Image amid Mandated Curriculum Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craig, Cheryl J.

    2012-01-01

    The author examines 1 experienced teacher's image of teaching and how it was purposely changed--through external intervention and against the individual's will--from the view of teacher as curriculum maker to the view of teacher as curriculum implementer. Laura's account of the "butterfly under a pin" image, a version of the…

  2. systemic chemical education reform [scer] in the global era

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    IICBA01

    growing the systemic way of thinking of our students that is one of the most important characteristics of Global Era. Here is the systemic education reform which means the change of our educational system from linearity to systemic in which we design the curriculum and write content systemically, which presented by SATL ...

  3. Who's Steering the Ship? National Curriculum Reform and the Re-Shaping of Australian Federalism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savage, Glenn C.

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores the repositioning of state curriculum agencies in response to the establishment of the Australian Curriculum and the key national policy organisation responsible for its development: the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). I begin with an analysis of the federal Labor government's role in the…

  4. Education Reform and Decentralization in Mexico and the Creation of "Educacion Civica" in the State of Jalisco

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contreras, Gloria; Rice, Marion J.

    2009-01-01

    In this article, the authors investigate Mexican education reform and decentralization and how the state of Jalisco focused in the early twenty-first century on developing a sequential curriculum for teaching civics in grades 1-6. The authors use the term "educacion civica" because in Mexico the curriculum emphasizes the acquisition of…

  5. National Assessment and the Opportunity to Learn in Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Conrad Wesley, Jr.; Mereku, Kofi D.; Amedahe, Francis K.; Etsey, Kofui; Adu, John

    2013-01-01

    Over two decades, national assessments in Ghana have revealed generally poor performances across curriculum-based tests for primary school (Grades 1-6). Various reform agendas have been applied to the education system, sometimes with isolated success, but the overall performances remained stable and low. Surveying teacher mentors in schools…

  6. The SQL Server Database for Non Computer Professional Teaching Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiangwei

    2012-01-01

    A summary of the teaching methods of the non-computer professional SQL Server database, analyzes the current situation of the teaching course. According to non computer professional curriculum teaching characteristic, put forward some teaching reform methods, and put it into practice, improve the students' analysis ability, practice ability and…

  7. 後九年一貫課程時期學校課程發展的變與不變:文化歷史觀點的省思 Changing and Unchanging of the School Curriculum Development in a Period of the Post Grade 1-9 Curriculum: The Perspective of Cultural History

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    楊智穎 Jyh-Yiing Yang

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available 九年一貫課程實施一段時日後,各種課程改革方案不斷被提出,特別是十二年國民基本教育課程改革,然由於長久以來課程工作者面對課程改革所持的價值觀,普遍會採取行政管理取向,關心的是如何實施課程的技術面向問題,同時假設新的改革會為學校教育帶來美好的未來,因而導致無視於課程改革背後所蘊含的政治、社會和文化等問題。為了避免重蹈過去的弊病,本研究採「文化歷史」的分析視角,將學校知識視為是一種觀念系統,探討後九年一貫課程時期學校課程發展中「變」與「不變」的相關問題。根據上述,本研究分為五個部分進行探討:首先分析「文化歷史」視角下的課程改革意涵;其次探討後九年一貫課程時期學校課程發展的趨勢;再次則針對十二年國民基本教育課程中變與不變的問題進行批判性分 析;接下來對影響學校課程中變與不變的可能性因素進行探討;最後提出本研究的結論及對未來臺灣課程改革的啟示。 After Grade 1-9 Curriculum been practiced for some years, a variety of curriculum reform programs have continuous been raised, especial in curriculum reform of twelve year basic education. However, most curriculum workers treated the reform from a perspective of administration management. They focused on the technical aspects of curriculum reform, and believed that a bright future of curriculum is coming afterwards. Therefore, they usually ignore the political, social and cultural implication of curriculum reform. To avoid repeating the past limit, this study viewed school knowledge as a concept system, and explored “the changing and unchanging problems” existing in the period of the post Grade 1-9 Curriculum from the perspective of cultural history. This study is divided into five parts: 1. Analyzing the significance of curriculum reform from the

  8. Discussion on teaching reform of environmental planning and management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qiugen; Chen, Suhua; Xie, Yu; Wei, Li'an; Ding, Yuan

    2018-05-01

    The curriculum of environmental planning and management is an environmental engineering major curriculum established by the teaching steering committee of environmental science and engineering of Education Ministry, which is the core curriculum of Chinese engineering education professional certification. It plays an important role in cultivating environmental planning and environmental management ability of environmental engineering major. The selection and optimization of the course teaching content of environmental planning and management were discussed which including curriculum teaching content updating and optimizing and teaching resource system construction. The comprehensive application of teaching method was discussed which including teaching method synthesis and teaching method. The final combination of the assessment method was also discussed which including the formative assessment normal grades and the final result of the course examination. Through the curriculum comprehensive teaching reform, students' knowledge had been broadened, the subject status and autonomy of learning had been enhanced, students' learning interest had been motivated, the ability of students' finding, analyzing and solving problems had been improved. Students' innovative ability and positive spirit had been well cultivated.

  9. Teachers' Innovative Change within Countrywide Reform: A Case Study in Rwanda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uworwabayeho, Alphonse

    2009-01-01

    This article presents practical perspectives on mathematics teacher change through results of collaborative research with two mathematics secondary school teachers in order to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics in Rwanda. The 2006 national mathematics curriculum reform stresses pedagogies that enhance problem-solving, critical…

  10. Revidert læreplan i naturfag – Økt fokus på grunnleggende ferdigheter og forskerspirenRevised Norwegian science curriculum – Increased focus on literacy and inquiry skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonja M. Mork

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available One of the main consequences of the large Norwegian curriculum reform in 2006 is that teachers in all subjects are now responsible for focusing on the basic skills of reading, writing, oral, arithmetic and the use of digital tools. However, research following the implementation of the reform report a gap between curriculum intentions and classroom practice regarding basic skills. Hence the curriculum in science and four other subjects are now revised to clarify basic skills. This article describes some of the background for the revision, the revision process and some main changes in the revised curriculum.

  11. Perspectives in medical education 9. Revisiting the blueprint for reform of medical education in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, R Harsha; Rao, Kanchan H

    2010-01-01

    Reform of medical education at Keio University has been underway since 2003. We measure the progress made since then in five specific categories that span fifteen recommendations presented in our "Blueprint for Reform" at the outset of the effort. These are effectiveness of leadership, curriculum reform, recognition of teaching, clinical competence, and comprehensive training in general internal medicine (GIM). First, effective leadership is being sustained through a succession of Deans, although a potentially crippling loss of leadership in the Department of Medical Education must be offset through timely appointment. Second, curriculum reform is awaiting the implementation in 2012 of an integrated, organ system-based curriculum with an emphasis on ward clerkships, but the introduction of PBL has been delayed indefinitely. Third, teaching is being recognized through the use of student feedback to reward good teachers and through funds for six full-time equivalent salaries dedicated to medical education, but promotions still depend exclusively on research, without consideration of teaching ability. Fourth, clinical skills training is still lacking, although enthusiasm for it seems to be building, thanks to the presence on the wards of a (still miniscule) cadre of dedicated teachers. Finally, exposure to GIM remains non-existent; however, visionary leadership in a newly-independent Emergency Department and the wide variety of medical problems seen there provide a remarkable opportunity to craft a uniquely Japanese solution to the problem. The changes implemented to date are impressive, and we remain enthusiastic about the future, even as we recognize the magnitude of the task that lies ahead.

  12. The New European and/or EU Studies Curriculum

    OpenAIRE

    Brie, Mircea; Dolghi, Dorin; Pantea, Dana

    2011-01-01

    In this part we will present turn by turn the evolution of the curriculum in four domains which are developing in the area of European and/or EU Studies: EU Intercultural Dialogue Studies, EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies, EU Communication and Information Studies, EU and Comparative Regionalism, from several points of view. First, we will take into consideration the perspective that each curriculum from the four domains has in the ensemble of European and/or EU Studies, t...

  13. Curriculum Outline for Tennessee Transition Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esch, B. J.

    This curriculum outline for the Sevier County, Tennessee, transition program for special needs students provides goals and objectives for the following domains: domestic, vocational, community functioning, and recreation/leisure. The domestic domain covers personal hygiene/grooming, first aid, home nursing, birth control/pregnancy, parenting, drug…

  14. Go Ask Alice: Uncovering the Role of a University Partner in an Informal Science Curriculum Support Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker-Doyle, Kira J.

    2013-01-01

    This article describes a study from the Linking Instructors Networks of Knowledge in Science Education project, which aims to examine the informal science curriculum support networks of teachers in a school-university curriculum reform partnership. We used social network analysis and qualitative methods to reveal characteristics of the informal…

  15. Action Research for Curriculum Development: An Alternative Approach in the Algerian Centralised Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ikhlas GHERZOULI

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Literature in the field of curriculum is debating the extent to which teachers should or could participate in the developmental process of the curriculum they enact. Being the practitioners, teachers are the ones who transmit theory into practice. However, they are not only consumers of curriculum knowledge, but also significant producers of it. Thus, teachers’ active participation as primary stakeholders in the curriculum development process is a necessity. The paper outlines one approach for teacher participation in curriculum development, which is action research. The main aim of this paper is twofold; first: it explores literature about ‘curriculum’, ‘curriculum development’ and ‘action research’; and second, it emphasizes the prominence of teachers’ involvement and research in curriculum development, paying specific attention to the Algerian secondary school educational reform, which is highly controlled and centralised.

  16. Education, Culture and Indigenous Rights: The Case of Educational Reform in Bolivia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comboni Salinas, Sonia; Juarez Nunez, Jose Manuel

    2000-01-01

    Examines the implementation of intercultural bilingual education throughout Bolivia and its relationship to the linguistic and cultural rights of the majority indigenous population. Discusses institutional and curriculum reforms, particularly in rural schools; a new emphasis on students' learning needs; relationship to indigenous…

  17. Reform in Secondary Education: The Continuing Efforts to Reform Secondary Education, and a Modest Proposal. Curriculum Bulletin Vol. XXXII, No. 340.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saylor, Galen

    The author begins by examining the functions of the school and the basic principles governing the provision of education in the American democracy as a way of providing a framework for analyzing proposals for the reform of secondary education. He then examines proposals for reform. His major focus is on ten proposals made by agencies,…

  18. Teacher and School Characteristics and Their Influence on Curriculum Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roehrig, Gillian H.; Kruse, Rebecca A.; Kern, Anne

    2007-01-01

    Reform-based curriculum materials have been suggested as a mechanism to make inquiry-based instruction more prevalent in secondary science classrooms, specifically when accompanied by comprehensive professional development (Loucks-Horsley, Hewson, Love, & Stiles, [1998]; Powell & Anderson, [2002]). This research examines the implementation of a…

  19. Teacher professional development through collaborative curriculum design in. Ghana¿s polytechnics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bakah, M.A.B.; Bakah, Marie Afua Baah

    2011-01-01

    This dissertation entitled Teacher professional development through collaborative curriculum design in Ghana‟s polytechnics is a research conducted among polytechnic teachers in Ghana. Polytechnic development, curricular reform, improving the quality of teaching and teachers‟ knowledge needs

  20. "Making Connections" at the University of North Carolina: Moving toward a Global Curriculum at a Flagship Research University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jay M.; Kruse, Julia

    2009-01-01

    The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has reformed its undergraduate curriculum to create connections across disciplines and advance efforts to internationalize its campus. As a result, global issues, experiential learning, study abroad, and international course clusters have become an integral part of a curriculum that emphasizes…

  1. Music Education Curriculum and Social Change: A Study of Popular Music in Secondary Schools in Beijing, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Wai-Chung

    2014-01-01

    In Chinese society over the last two decades, modernisation and globalisation, together with the transition to a market economy, have created new imperatives and challenges for the school music curriculum. As a result, the 2011 reform of the Curriculum Standards for Primary Education and Junior Secondary Education marks the first time that the…

  2. Impact of national context and culture on curriculum change: A case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jippes, M.; Driessen, E.W.; Majoor, G.D.; Gijselaers, W.H.; Muijtjens, A.M.M.; Vleuten, C.P.M. van der

    2013-01-01

    Background: Earlier studies suggested national culture to be a potential barrier to curriculum reform in medical schools. In particular, Hofstede's cultural dimension 'uncertainty avoidance' had a significant negative relationship with the implementation rate of integrated curricula. Aims: However,

  3. Columbia Public Health Core Curriculum: Short-Term Impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Begg, Melissa D; Fried, Linda P; Glover, Jim W; Delva, Marlyn; Wiggin, Maggie; Hooper, Leah; Saxena, Roheeni; de Pinho, Helen; Slomin, Emily; Walker, Julia R; Galea, Sandro

    2015-12-01

    We evaluated a transformed core curriculum for the Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health (New York, New York) master of public health (MPH) degree. The curriculum, launched in 2012, aims to teach public health as it is practiced: in interdisciplinary teams, drawing on expertise from multiple domains to address complex health challenges. We collected evaluation data starting when the first class of students entered the program and ending with their graduation in May 2014. Students reported being very satisfied with and challenged by the rigorous curriculum and felt prepared to integrate concepts across varied domains and disciplines to solve public health problems. This novel interdisciplinary program could serve as a prototype for other schools that wish to reinvigorate MPH training.

  4. Symbolic Politics and Institutional Boundaries in Curriculum Reform: The Case of National Sectarian University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Gordon B.

    2004-01-01

    In recent years, many colleges and universities have set out to reform or revisit their general education curricula. These efforts often have failed to achieve the comprehensive change that reformers originally had envisioned. Using the example of one case, this paper explores how institutionalized organizational elements and politics can shape…

  5. Sacred Choices: Adolescent Relationships and Sexual Ethics--The Reform Movement's Response to the Need for Faith-Based Sexuality Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winer, Rabbi Laura Novak

    2011-01-01

    "Sacred Choices: Adolescent Relationships and Sexual Ethics" is a sexual ethics curriculum for middle school and high school students developed by the Union for Reform Judaism. Sacred Choices strives to teach Reform Jewish teens that their bodies are gifts from God and that Judaism provides relevant guidance on how to use and care for that gift…

  6. Image of Applied university English teaching curriculum design under the influence of internet plus smart phones

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yuanyuan; Wang

    2015-01-01

    With the high speed development of modern information technology and the popularity of smart phones among college students, internet plus smart phones have become the main means of communication between youngsters.Those simple and handy features make them easily rank top one of today’s college students’ standard necessities.Internet plus smart phones have occupied most of college students’ time confetti; In light of the popularity, we can’t deny the fact that this trend also provides a new option for the college English curriculum design reformation.This article will discuss how to reform the college English course in the current internet and smart phones environment, and strength the application of language curriculum design as the preliminary program.

  7. The "Curriculum for Excellence": A Major Change for Scottish Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Sally

    2014-01-01

    The Curriculum for Excellence and new National Qualifications offer innovative reform, based on widely supported ideas and aims, for Scottish preschool, primary and secondary education levels. "Objectives and syllabuses" for science are replaced by "experiences and outcomes". Most strikingly, central prescription makes way for…

  8. Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of Creativity, Communication and Problem-Solving in the School Curriculum: Hong Kong Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, John Chi-Kin; Chan, Nim Chi; Xu, Huixuan; Chun, Derek Wai-sun

    2017-01-01

    The development of generic skills is a focal issue in education policy and school curriculum reform across countries. This study in the Hong Kong context explores the sources of formal and non-formal curriculum and learning activities related to senior secondary students' perceptions of learning outcomes in creativity, communication, and problem…

  9. 生命化心理健康教育课程教学改革的实施路径%The Ideas of Teaching Reform of Mental Health Education Curriculum of Life

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    潘柳燕; 余东芳

    2015-01-01

    Life-cultivatize education is a kind of procedural education theory which is based on life education and aimed at holis-tic education.From this perspective,this article discusses mental health education curriculum reform,including two main parts. Part one is about the reform theoretical foundation,that is,the harmony and unity of life education,life-cultivatize education and holistic education.Part Two is about the concrete configuration of the reform,covering value goal,fundamental connotation and implement approaches.%生命化教育是一种源于生命教育和指向全人教育的过程性教育理论,以此出发探讨了生命化心理健康教育的课程教学改革,一是探讨生命化心理健康教育课程教学改革的理论基础,二是提出了生命化心理健康教育课程教学改革的具体实施路径。

  10. Success for All and Comprehensive School Reform: Evidence-Based Policies for Urban Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavin, Robert E.; Madden, Nancy A.

    This paper discusses comprehensive school reform (CSR), which accepts the importance of standards and accountability but adds to these strategies for introducing innovations in curriculum, instruction, school organization, governance, parent interactions, and other core features of practice. The paper reviews research on the nature and quality of…

  11. The Problem with Reform from the Bottom up: Instructional practises and teacher beliefs of graduate teaching assistants following a reform-minded university teacher certificate programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Addy, Tracie M.; Blanchard, Margaret R.

    2010-05-01

    Reform-minded practices are widely encouraged during pre-service science teacher education in concert with national reform documents. This contrasts to the nature of instruction within university science laboratories in which pre-service teachers enrol, which are largely confirmatory in nature. Undergraduate science laboratories are taught predominantly by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) with minimal teacher preparation. The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to investigate the instructional practices and teacher beliefs of eight GTAs at a university with very high research activity who completed a reform-minded Teacher Certificate Programme, asking: What are their beliefs about teaching? How are their practices described? Do their beliefs and practices differ from one another? Do their teaching beliefs correspond with their practices? Findings indicate that GTAs held moderately reform-minded "transitional" beliefs of teaching following the programme, yet displayed fairly traditional instruction. Cross-case findings highlight similar patterns across subscales of the RTOP that draw attention to underlying constraints of the laboratory curriculum structure. We suggest that GTA professional development is best undertaken concurrent with laboratory course revision.

  12. Drivers for renewal and reform of contemporary nursing curricula: a blueprint for change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waters, Cheryl Denise; Rochester, Suzanne Freda; McMillan, Margaret Anna

    2012-06-01

    The creation of a curriculum blueprint appropriate to the development of a professional nurse who is practice-ready for the current and future context of health service delivery must take account of the extant context as well as an unpredictable and sometimes ambiguous future. The curriculum renewal process itself ought to challenge existing long held ideals, practices, and sacred cows within the health and higher education sectors. There is much to consider and importantly curriculum developers need to be mindful of reform within the health sector and health workforce education, as well as the concomitant vision and requirements of the nursing profession. Curriculum must develop more than discipline knowledge and skills: it must provide an infrastructure for generic abilities both social and intellectual in order to better prepare students for the registered nurse role. This paper discusses a number of forces that are essential to consider in curriculum development in undergraduate nursing education.

  13. Life Sciences Teachers Negotiating Professional Development Agency in Changing Curriculum Times

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh-Pillay, Asheena; Samuel, Michael Anthony

    2017-01-01

    This article probes teacher responses to three curricular reform initiatives from a South African situated contextual perspective. It focuses on Life Sciences teachers who have initially reported feeling overwhelmed by this rapidly changing curriculum environment: adopting and re-adapting to the many expected shifts. The research question posed…

  14. Teaching Economics in the Former Soviet Union: New Curriculum, Old Instruction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osipian, Ararat L.

    2004-01-01

    This article suggests that the reform of economic instruction in the Former Soviet Union should focus on both learning and action. The incorporation of mathematical methods into the new economic curriculum will occur based on close cooperation among mathematicians and economists. The new economic instruction will have an interdisciplinary…

  15. The perception of the hidden curriculum on medical education: an exploratory study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murakami Manabu

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Major curriculum reform of undergraduate medical education occurred during the past decades in the United Kingdom (UK; however, the effects of the hidden curriculum, which influence the choice of primary care as a career, have not been sufficiently recognized. While Japan, where traditionally few institutions systematically foster primary care physicians and very few have truly embraced family medicine as their guiding discipline, has also experienced meaningful curriculum reform, the effect of the hidden curriculum is not well known. The aim of this study is to identify themes pertaining to the students' perceptions of the hidden curriculum affecting undergraduate medical education in bedside learning in Japan. Methods Semi-structured interviews with thematic content analysis were implemented. Undergraduate year-5 students from a Japanese medical school at a Japanese teaching hospital were recruited. Interview were planned to last between 30 to 60 minutes each, over an 8-month period in 2007. The interviewees' perceptions concerning the quality of teaching in their bedside learning and related experiences were collected and analysed thematically. Results Twenty five medical students (18 males and 7 females, mean age 25 years old consented to participate in the interviews, and seven main themes emerged: "the perception of education as having a low priority," "the prevalence of positive/negative role models," "the persistence of hierarchy and exclusivity," "the existence of gender issues," "an overburdened medical knowledge," "human relationships with colleagues and medical team members," and "first experience from the practical wards and their patients." Conclusions Both similarities and differences were found when comparing the results to those of previous studies in the UK. Some effects of the hidden curriculum in medical education likely exist in common between the UK and Japan, despite the differences in their demographic

  16. Creating a Comprehensive School Reform Model: The Talent Development High School with Career Academies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Will J.; McPartland, James M.; Legters, Nettie E.; Balfanz, Robert

    2000-01-01

    Discusses the need for comprehensive reforms in school organization, curriculum and instruction, and professional development to address the problems of large urban high schools. Describes the Talent Development High School with Career Academies model being developed to meet the needs of such schools. (SLD)

  17. Status of medical education reform at Saga Medical School 5 years after introducing PBL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oda, Yasutomo; Koizumi, Shunzo

    2008-03-01

    In Japan, problem-based learning (PBL) is a relatively new method of educating medical students that is reforming the face of medical education throughout the world, including Asia. It shifts from teacher-centered learning strategies (for example, lectures in large auditoriums) to student-centered, self-directed learning methods (for example, active discussions and problem-solving by students in small groups under the guidance of faculty tutors). Upon a recommendation by the Japan Model Core Curriculum, Saga Medical School introduced a PBL curriculum 5 years ago. A full PBL curriculum was adopted from the McMaster model through Hawaii. A description of how PBL was implemented into the 3rd and 4th year (Phase III curriculum) is given. The overall result has been good. Students who experienced PBL had increased scores on the National Medical License Exam, and Saga increased its ranking from 56th to 19th of the 80 medical schools in Japan. A key step was introduction of the educational scaffolding in PBL Step 0. Students were allowed to see page one of the PBL case, containing the chief complaint, on the weekend before meeting in small groups. Despite a perceived overall benefit to student learning, symptoms of superficial discussions by students have been observed recently. How this may be caused by poor case design is discussed. Other problems, including "silent tutors" and increased faculty workload, are discussed. It is concluded that after 5 years, Saga's implementation of a PBL curriculum has been successful. However, many additional issues, including motivation of students and preparation for PBL in the first 2 years, must still be resolved in the future. This is the first description of the positive and negative outcomes associated with the reform of medical education and the introduction of PBL to a traditional medical school curriculum in Japan.

  18. Status of Medical Education Reform at Saga Medical School 5 Years After Introducing PBL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasutomo Oda

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available In Japan, problem-based learning (PBL is a relatively new method of educating medical students that is reforming the face of medical education throughout the world, including Asia. It shifts from teacher-centered learning strategies (for example, lectures in large auditoriums to student-centered, self-directed learning methods (for example, active discussions and problem-solving by students in small groups under the guidance of faculty tutors. Upon a recommendation by the Japan Model Core Curriculum, Saga Medical School introduced a PBL curriculum 5 years ago. A full PBL curriculum was adopted from the McMaster model through Hawaii. A description of how PBL was implemented into the 3rd and 4th year (Phase III curriculum is given. The overall result has been good. Students who experienced PBL had increased scores on the National Medical License Exam, and Saga increased its ranking from 56th to 19th of the 80 medical schools in Japan. A key step was introduction of the educational scaffolding in PBL Step 0. Students were allowed to see page one of the PBL case, containing the chief complaint, on the weekend before meeting in small groups. Despite a perceived overall benefit to student learning, symptoms of superficial discussions by students have been observed recently. How this may be caused by poor case design is discussed. Other problems, including “silent tutors” and increased faculty workload, are discussed. It is concluded that after 5 years, Saga's implementation of a PBL curriculum has been successful. However, many additional issues, including motivation of students and preparation for PBL in the first 2 years, must still be resolved in the future. This is the first description of the positive and negative outcomes associated with the reform of medical education and the introduction of PBL to a traditional medical school curriculum in Japan.

  19. Curriculum Reform in 3D: A Panel of Experts Discuss the New HPE Curriculum in Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickey, Chris; Kirk, David; Macdonald, Doune; Penney, Dawn

    2014-01-01

    This paper was developed at the request of the Organising Committee for the 27th Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation International Conference, in Melbourne, 2013. Its genesis was as a feature forum, wherein a panel of curriculum experts were bought together to discuss the emergence of the Australian Health and Physical…

  20. Examining the Perceptions of Curriculum Leaders on Primary School Reform: A Case Study of Hong Kong

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Alan C. K.; Yuen, Timothy W. W.

    2017-01-01

    In an effort to enhance the quality of teachers and teaching, and to lead internal curriculum development in primary schools, the Hong Kong Education Bureau created a new curriculum leader post entitled primary school master/mistress (curriculum development) or PSMCD for short. The main purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of these…

  1. Bourdieu, Department Chairs and the Reform of Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melville, Wayne; Hardy, Ian; Bartley, Anthony

    2011-11-01

    Using the insights of the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, this article considers the role of the science department chair in the reform of school science education. Using Bourdieu's 'thinking tools' of 'field', 'habitus' and 'capital', we case study the work of two teachers who both actively pursue the teaching and learning of science as inquiry. One teacher, Dan, has been a department chair since 2000, and has actively encouraged his department to embrace science as inquiry. The other teacher, Leslie, worked for one year in Dan's department before being transferred to another school where science teaching continues to be more traditional. Our work suggests that there are three crucial considerations for chairs seeking to lead the reform of science teaching within their department. The first of these is the development of a reform-minded habitus, as this appears to be foundational to the capital that can be expended in the leadership of reform. The second is an understanding of how to wield power and position in the promotion of reform. The third is the capacity to operate simultaneously and strategically within, and across, two fields; the departmental field and the larger science education field. This involves downplaying administrative logics, and foregrounding more inquiry-focused logics as a vehicle to challenge traditional science-teaching dispositions-the latter being typically dominated by concerns about curriculum 'coverage'.

  2. Designing a tool for curriculum leadership development in postgraduate programs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Avizhgan

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Leadership in the area of curriculum development is increasingly important as we look for ways to improve our programmes and practices. In curriculum studies, leadership has received little attention. Considering the lack of an evaluation tool with objective criteria in postgraduate curriculum leadership process, this study aimed to design a specific tool and determine the validity and reliability of the tool. Method: This study is a methodological research.  At first, domains and items of the tool were determined through expert interviews and literature review. Then, using Delphi technique, 54 important criteria were developed. A panel of experts was used to confirm content and face validity. Reliability was determined by a descriptive study in which 30 faculties from two of Isfahan universities and was estimated by internal consistency. The data were analyzed by SPSS software, using Pearson Correlation Coefficient and reliability analysis. Results: At first, considering the definition of curriculum leadership determined the domains and items of the tool and they were developed primary tool. Expert’s faculties’ views were used in deferent stages of development and psychometry. The tool internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficient times was 96.5. This was determined for each domain separately. Conclution: Applying this instrument can improve the effectiveness of curriculum leadership. Identifying the characteristics of successful and effective leaders, and utilizing this knowledge in developing and implementing curriculum might help us to have better respond to the changing needs of our students, teachers and schools of tomorrow.

  3. Teachers and the Implementation of a New English Curriculum in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardman, Jan; A-Rahman, Norhaslynda

    2014-01-01

    In the light of a recent curriculum reform to improve the teaching of English in primary schools in Malaysia, this study set out to investigate the extent to which teachers are adopting a communicative language teaching (CLT) approach in their teaching. A mixed-method approach incorporating systematic observation, stimulated recall and interviews…

  4. Impact of national context and culture on curriculum change: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jippes, Mariëlle; Driessen, Erik W; Majoor, Gerard D; Gijselaers, Wim H; Muijtjens, Arno M M; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

    2013-08-01

    Earlier studies suggested national culture to be a potential barrier to curriculum reform in medical schools. In particular, Hofstede's cultural dimension 'uncertainty avoidance' had a significant negative relationship with the implementation rate of integrated curricula. However, some schools succeeded to adopt curriculum changes despite their country's strong uncertainty avoidance. This raised the question: 'How did those schools overcome the barrier of uncertainty avoidance?' Austria offered the combination of a high uncertainty avoidance score and integrated curricula in all its medical schools. Twenty-seven key change agents in four medical universities were interviewed and transcripts analysed using thematic cross-case analysis. Initially, strict national laws and limited autonomy of schools inhibited innovation and fostered an 'excuse culture': 'It's not our fault. It is the ministry's'. A new law increasing university autonomy stimulated reforms. However, just this law would have been insufficient as many faculty still sought to avoid change. A strong need for change, supportive and continuous leadership, and visionary change agents were also deemed essential. In societies with strong uncertainty avoidance strict legislation may enforce resistance to curriculum change. In those countries opposition by faculty can be overcome if national legislation encourages change, provided additional internal factors support the change process.

  5. A triple innovation in The Netherlands : supporting a new curriculum with new technologies through a new kind of strategy for teacher support and stimulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Collis, Betty

    1994-01-01

    This article is about how one country, The Netherlands, is attempting to reform school curriculum, integrate information technology into the new curriculum, and implement new approaches to teacher support and inservice, all a t the same time. The article overviews the triple innovation in The

  6. 我国基础教育课程内容改革的特点、问题与发展方向%Characteristics of China’s Basic Education Curriculum Contents Reform

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    孙泽文

    2013-01-01

      我国新一轮基础教育课程内容改革表现出注重传统性与现代性、基础性与发展性、共同性与个性化、学术性与生活性统整的特点。但由于在一些方面的改革过于激进,采取了一种颠覆性的革命方式,导致课程内容存在与素质教育整体性目标相悖的问题。在信息化、全球化背景下,基础教育课程内容改革应按照时代精神和社会发展需求建构一个具有内在联系的文化整体,将一个完整的世界呈现给学习者,以推进基础教育课程内容体系的科学化建设。%The organization of course contents is no longer simply the subject-centric in the new round of basic education curricu-lum reform in China, which demonstrates a compatible focus of tradition and modernization, fundamentality and development, common-ality and personalization, technicality and life, and so on. However, too much radicalization and disruptive revolution in some aspects of the reform leads to the contrary from course contents to holistic training goals of quality education. In the context of information and globalization, basic education curriculum reform should organically integrate the knowledge of different disciplines, the practice of learners and the social problems and build a culture whole of intrinsic link in accordance with the spirit of the times and the needs of so-cial development, and present a complete world to the learner so as to achieve a holistic goal of quality education.

  7. Blueprint for an Undergraduate Primary Care Curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazio, Sara B; Demasi, Monica; Farren, Erin; Frankl, Susan; Gottlieb, Barbara; Hoy, Jessica; Johnson, Amanda; Kasper, Jill; Lee, Patrick; McCarthy, Claire; Miller, Kathe; Morris, Juliana; O'Hare, Kitty; Rosales, Rachael; Simmons, Leigh; Smith, Benjamin; Treadway, Katherine; Goodell, Kristen; Ogur, Barbara

    2016-12-01

    In light of the increasing demand for primary care services and the changing scope of health care, it is important to consider how the principles of primary care are taught in medical school. While the majority of schools have increased students' exposure to primary care, they have not developed a standardized primary care curriculum for undergraduate medical education. In 2013, the authors convened a group of educators from primary care internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, and medicine-pediatrics, as well as five medical students to create a blueprint for a primary care curriculum that could be integrated into a longitudinal primary care experience spanning undergraduate medical education and delivered to all students regardless of their eventual career choice.The authors organized this blueprint into three domains: care management, specific areas of content expertise, and understanding the role of primary care in the health care system. Within each domain, they described specific curriculum content, including longitudinality, generalism, central responsibility for managing care, therapeutic alliance/communication, approach to acute and chronic care, wellness and prevention, mental and behavioral health, systems improvement, interprofessional training, and population health, as well as competencies that all medical students should attain by graduation.The proposed curriculum incorporates important core features of doctoring, which are often affirmed by all disciplines but owned by none. The authors argue that primary care educators are natural stewards of this curriculum content and can ensure that it complements and strengthens all aspects of undergraduate medical education.

  8. Learning from the best: Overcoming barriers to reforms-based elementary science teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banchi, Heather May

    This study explored the characteristics of elementary science teachers who employ reforms-based practices. Particular attention was paid to the consistency of teachers' practices and their beliefs, the impact of professional development experiences on practices, and how teachers mitigated barriers to reforms-based instruction. Understanding how successful elementary science teachers develop fills a gap in the science reforms literature. Participants included 7 upper elementary science teachers from six different schools. All schools were located within two suburban school districts in the south-Atlantic United States and data was collected during the spring of 2008. Data collection included use of the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) to evaluate the level of reforms-based instruction, as well as 35 hours of classroom observation field notes and 21 hours of audio-taped teacher interviews. The variety of data sources allowed for triangulation of evidence. The RTOP was analyzed using descriptive statistics and classroom observations and interview data were analyzed using Erickson's (1986) guidelines for analytic induction. Findings indicated (a) reforms-based elementary science teaching was attainable, (b) beliefs and practices were consistent and both reflected reforms-based philosophies and practices, (c) formal professional development experiences were limited and did not foster reforms-based practices, (d) informal professional development pursued by teachers had a positive impact on practices, (e) barriers to reforms-based instruction were present but mitigated by strong beliefs and practical strategies like curriculum integration. These findings suggest that there are common, salient characteristics of reforms-based teachers' beliefs, practices, and professional development experiences. These commonalities contribute to an understanding of how reforms-based teachers develop, and inform efforts to move all elementary teachers in the direction of

  9. A prática docente no contexto da sala de aula frente às reformas curriculares Classroom teaching practice facing curriculum reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giseli Barreto da Cruz

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available No presente texto, busco refletir acerca da importante posição a ser assumida pelos professores nos processos que desencadeiam reformas curriculares. Tendo em vista que a implementação de propostas voltadas para o contexto da sala de aula depende diretamente do papel exercido pelo professor, chamo atenção para a necessidade do seu protagonismo desde a fase da concepção. Para tanto, organizo a argumentação em dois grandes pontos: no primeiro, discuto o lugar historicamente ocupado pelo docente no decorrer das reformas, recorrendo à perspectiva defendida e experimentada pelo inglês Lawrence Stenhouse, baseada na crença na capacidade de os professores se desenvolverem profissionalmente com base na pesquisa, desenvolvendo currículo. No segundo ponto, procuro evidenciar que a prática docente se constitui em um exercício que transcende a dimensão técnica, não podendo ser assumida tão-somente como o atendimento às prescrições curriculares desenvolvidas por outros. Recorro, nesse ponto, ao pensamento de autores como Gauthier e Mellouki, Giroux, Vorraber Costa e Moreira para demarcar o caráter de mediação que marca a prática docente em sala de aula.This text seeks to reflect on the central role teachers should play in processes leading to curriculum reform. Bearing in mind that the implementation of proposals focussing on the classroom context is directly dependent on the role played by the teacher, we would like to stress the need for this player to take on a leading role from the start of any such project. To this end, the text puts forward two major arguments: the first one discusses the place historically occupied by teachers in school reforms, taking as a starting point Lawrence Stenhouse's views on teachers' professional development based on research Carried out in the context of curriculum development. The second argument put forward the point that teaching practice transcends the technical dimension, often going beyond

  10. Do we need to change the medical curriculum: regarding the pain of others

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sundeep Mishra

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The current curriculum is behind its time and urgently requires to be reformed. The changes required are not only in the amount and type of desired information but also in the way this knowledge is acquired. Further, literature, art and philosophy require to be integrated in the curriculum so that a medical student can find his/her bearings in the society. Finally, but most importantly focus must be on developing empathy so that a prospective physician can correlate with the pain of patients and act towards relieving it rather than intellectualizing it.

  11. The use of innovation and practice profiles in the evaluation of curriculum implementation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Akker, Jan; Voogt, Joke

    1994-01-01

    Most generic curriculum reform efforts have to deal with a gap between the innovative aspirations of the initial designers and the daily reality of the intended audience of teachers. That tension is not alarming in itself. One might even say that without it no compelling reason for starting

  12. Developing a Competency-Based Curriculum for a Dental Hygiene Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeWald, Janice P.; McCann, Ann L.

    1999-01-01

    Describes the three-step process used to develop a competency-based curriculum at the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene (Texas A&M University). The process involved development of a competency document (detailing three domains, nine major competencies, and 54 supporting competencies), an evaluation plan, and a curriculum inventory which defined…

  13. Learning Not Borrowing from the Queensland Education System: Lessons on Curricular, Pedagogical and Assessment Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Martin; McGregor, Glenda

    2016-01-01

    This paper provides a detailed account of the Queensland education system's engagement with reforming curriculum, pedagogies and assessment. In so doing, it responds to the University College London's Institute of Education report on "high-performing" jurisdictions, of which Queensland, Australia, was identified as one. In this report,…

  14. The Impact of High School Science Teachers' Beliefs, Curricular Enactments and Experience on Student Learning during an Inquiry-Based Urban Ecology Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNeill, Katherine L.; Pimentel, Diane Silva; Strauss, Eric G.

    2013-01-01

    Inquiry-based curricula are an essential tool for reforming science education yet the role of the teacher is often overlooked in terms of the impact of the curriculum on student achievement. Our research focuses on 22 teachers' use of a year-long high school urban ecology curriculum and how teachers' self-efficacy, instructional practices,…

  15. Curriculum Orientations of Pre-Service Teachers in Jordan: A Required Reform Initiative for Professional Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashour, Rateb; Khasawneh, Samer; Abu-Alruz, Jamal; Alsharqawi, Subhi

    2012-01-01

    The primary purpose of this study was to determine the curriculum orientations of pre-service teachers at a university in Jordan. Rigorous translation procedures were utilized to validate an Arabic version of the Curriculum Orientation Inventory (COI) for use in Jordan. The validated COI was administered to a sample of 259 pre-service teachers who…

  16. Mapping Physical Sciences Teachers' Concerns Regarding the New Curriculum in South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gudyanga, Remeredzayi; Jita, Loyiso C.

    2018-01-01

    This article reports on a study investigating physical sciences teachers' stages of concern (SoC) profiles during the implementation of the curriculum and assessment policy statement (CAPS) in South Africa. Throughout reform implementation, it is conceivable that teachers go through different SoC, ranging from giving low priority to the reform…

  17. Defining a competency framework: the first step toward competency-based medical education.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azim Mirzazadeh

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Despite the existence of a large variety of competency frameworks for medical graduates, there is no agreement on a single set of outcomes. Different countries have attempted to define their own set of competencies to respond to their local situations. This article reports the process of developing medical graduates' competency framework as the first step in the curriculum reform in Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS. A participatory approach was applied to develop a competency framework in Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS. Following literature review, nominal group meetings with students and faculty members were held to generate the initial list of expectations, and 9 domains was proposed. Then, domains were reviewed, and one of the domains was removed. The competency framework was sent to Curriculum Reform Committee for consideration and approval, where it was decided to distribute electronic and paper forms among all faculty members and ask them for their comments. Following incorporating some of the modifications, the document was approved by the committee. The TUMS competency framework consists of 8 domains: Clinical skills; Communication skills; Patient management; Health promotion and disease prevention; Personal development; Professionalism, medical ethics and law; Decision making, reasoning and problem-solving; and Health system and the corresponding role of physicians. Development of a competency framework through a participatory approach was the first step towards curriculum reform in TUMS, aligned with local needs and conditions. The lessons learned through the process may be useful for similar projects in the future.

  18. Evaluation of health care system reform in Hubei Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sang, Shuping; Wang, Zhenkun; Yu, Chuanhua

    2014-02-21

    This study established a set of indicators for and evaluated the effects of health care system reform in Hubei Province (China) from 2009 to 2011 with the purpose of providing guidance to policy-makers regarding health care system reform. The resulting indicators are based on the "Result Chain" logic model and include the following four domains: Inputs and Processes, Outputs, Outcomes and Impact. Health care system reform was evaluated using the weighted TOPSIS and weighted Rank Sum Ratio methods. Ultimately, the study established a set of indicators including four grade-1 indicators, 16 grade-2 indicators and 76 grade-3 indicators. The effects of the reforms increased year by year from 2009 to 2011 in Hubei Province. The health status of urban and rural populations and the accessibility, equity and quality of health services in Hubei Province were improved after the reforms. This sub-national case can be considered an example of a useful approach to the evaluation of the effects of health care system reform, one that could potentially be applied in other provinces or nationally.

  19. Global curriculum in surgical oncology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Are, C; Berman, R S; Wyld, L; Cummings, C; Lecoq, C; Audisio, R A

    2016-06-01

    The significant global variations in surgical oncology training paradigms can have a detrimental effect on tackling the rising global cancer burden. While some variations in training are essential to account for the differences in types of cancer and biology, the fundamental principles of providing care to a cancer patient remain the same. The development of a global curriculum in surgical oncology with incorporated essential standards could be very useful in building an adequately trained surgical oncology workforce, which in turn could help in tackling the rising global cancer burden. The leaders of the Society of Surgical Oncology and European Society of Surgical Oncology convened a global curriculum committee to develop a global curriculum in surgical oncology. A global curriculum in surgical oncology was developed to incorporate the required domains considered to be essential in training a surgical oncologist. The curriculum was constructed in a modular fashion to permit flexibility to suit the needs of the different regions of the world. Similarly, recognizing the various sociocultural, financial and cultural influences across the world, the proposed curriculum is aspirational and not mandatory in intent. A global curriculum was developed which may be considered as a foundational scaffolding for training surgical oncologists worldwide. It is envisioned that this initial global curriculum will provide a flexible and modular scaffolding that can be tailored by individual countries or regions to train surgical oncologists in a way that is appropriate for practice in their local environment. Copyright © 2016 Society of Surgical Oncology, European Society of Surgical Oncology. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  20. A statistical analysis of the characteristics of the intended curriculum for Japanese primary science and its relationship to the attained curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenji Matsubara

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This study statistically investigates the characteristics of the intended curriculum for Japanese primary science, focusing on the learning content. The study used the TIMSS 2011 Grade 4 Curriculum Questionnaire data as a major source for the learning content prescribed at the national level. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the extent to which a topic area was covered, as compared to the average among the 59 TIMSS 2011 participating countries. The study revealed that the topic areas of “Human Health” and “Changes in Environments,” both in the life science domain, showed statistically less coverage in the Japanese primary science curriculum when compared to the international average. Furthermore, in discussion, the study relates the characteristics found in the intended curriculum to those in the attained curriculum, examining the percent correct statistics for relevant items from the science assessment. Based on these findings, the study proposes two recommendations for revision of the Japanese primary science curriculum.

  1. Expressions of agency within complex policy structures: science teachers' experiences of education policy reforms in Sweden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryder, Jim; Lidar, Malena; Lundqvist, Eva; Östman, Leif

    2018-03-01

    We explore the experiences of school science teachers as they enact three linked national curriculum and assessment policy reforms in Sweden. Our goal is to understand teachers' differing responses to these reforms. A sample of 13 teachers engaged in 2 interviews over a 6-9-month period. Interviews included exploration of professional background and school context, perceptions of the aims of the policy reforms and experiences of working with these reforms in the classroom. Analysis was guided by an individual-oriented sociocultural perspective on professional agency. Here teaching is conceptualised as an ongoing interplay between teachers' knowledge, skills and personal goals, and the characteristics of the social, institutional and policy settings in which they work. Our analysis shows that navigating the ensuing continuities and contradictions results in many different expressions of teacher agency, e.g. loss of autonomy and trust, pushing back, subversion, transfer of authority, and creative tensions. Typically, an individual teacher's enactment of these reforms involved several of these expressions of agency. We demonstrate that the sociocultural perspective provides insights into teachers' responses to education policy reform likely to be missed by studies that focus largely on individual teacher knowledge/beliefs about reform or skills in 'implementing' reform practices.

  2. The Curricular Reform of Art Education in Primary School in Slovenia in Terms of Certain Components of the European Competence of Cultural Awareness and Expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajka Bračun Sova

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the important positions of the last curricular reform in Slovenia, which included systemic issues of education (White Paper on Education, 2011 and curricula for compulsory subjects in primary school, is the fact that Slovenia has been integrated into Europe, and thus education should also include the development of core European competences. One such competence is cultural awareness and expression, which until now has been an issue more in the context of cultural policies than school policies in Slovenia. The purpose of the present article is to critically analyse the curricular reform of art education (i.e., visual art education, through which, in terms of certain components of the competence of cultural awareness and expression, it is foreseen that the student will gain a knowledge of art, develop an ability to experience works of art and develop a creative attitude towards art and heritage. Because the starting point and goal of curricular change is the curriculum, our analysis is derived from curriculum theories, and not from the art theories and pedagogical theories that have predominantly framed previous attempts at curriculum analysis. Critical consideration of the curricular reform of art education in primary school in terms of certain components of the competence of cultural awareness and expression was undertaken by comparing curricula in the field of aesthetic education. We compared art education with music education and literature within the Slovenian language curriculum. Qualitative analysis showed that, despite the reform, the curriculum for arts education does not realise selected components of the competence of cultural awareness and expression, largely due to the curriculum’s conceptual structure. Art education is centred principally on art-making activities, with an obvious neglect of appreciation. The integration of arts subjects at school, as proposed by the White Paper, is therefore not possible, due to the existing

  3. Didáctica y Curriculum: controversia inacabada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Luisa SEVILLANO GARCÍA

    2009-11-01

    derniéres années dans le domaine de la Didactique a été l'incorporation du curriculum a son domaine d'étude. Ceci permet de nouvelles formes de comprendre les phénoménes éducatifs, l'incorporation et nouvelles recherches qui enrichissent la perspective de l'éducation. Nous croyons que les nouvelles theories sur le curriculum sont indispensables pour la Didactique.Le fait que didactique et curriculum s'emploient dans des domaines professionnels comme concepts équivalents ne nous permet pas de les conceptualiser comme synonimes ou équivalents dans un processus évolutif. Ainsi, nous pensons que la conflictivité entre ees deux termes donnera lieu a de nouvelles visions de ees deux concepts et que, nous, les chercheurs, continuerons a travailler dans la ligne des diferentes démarcations et clarifications.

  4. Learner Autonomy as an Element in Chinese Education Reform: A Case of English Language Subject

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Jinjin; Liu, Yingliang

    2016-01-01

    Enhancing students' learning autonomy has been emphasized in the current round of English curriculum reforms by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in China. The initial aim of the new guidelines was developed to enhance students' English proficiency to better fulfil their basic education (Nine-year compulsory education). However, up until now, very…

  5. Using Assessment to Drive the Reform of Schooling: Time to Stop Pursuing the Chimera?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torrance, Harry

    2011-01-01

    Internationally, over the last 20-30 years, changing the procedures and processes of assessment has come to be seen, by many educators as well as policy-makers, as a way to frame the curriculum and drive the reform of schooling. Such developments have often been manifested in large scale, high stakes testing programmes. At the same time…

  6. Development and reform research of English teaching theory and practice

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Jie Guo

    2015-01-01

    The course is the core of education, which is the basic way to achieve educational goals, an educational content and value orientation are mainly expressed and implemented through the curriculum. English courses are the core of English education, which is a concrete manifestation of the value of English education, and it is basic carrier to achieve the goal of English education. This paper analyzes the development of English teaching practice, development and reform of English teaching methods.

  7. Interacting with a Suite of Educative Features: Elementary Science Teachers' Use of Educative Curriculum Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arias, Anna Maria; Bismack, Amber Schultz; Davis, Elizabeth A.; Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan

    2016-01-01

    New reform documents underscore the importance of learning both the practices and content of science. This integration of practices and content requires sophisticated teaching that does not often happen in elementary classrooms. Educative curriculum materials--materials explicitly designed to support teacher and student learning--have been posited…

  8. Knowledge that Counts in a Global Community: Exploring the Contribution of Integrated Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rennie, Leonie J.; Venville, Grady; Wallace, John

    2011-01-01

    As the third millennium progresses, we are faced with increasing pressures relating to climate change and the sustainability of life on Earth. Concerned citizens are realizing that the responsibility to respond is both local and global. There is an increasing sense of urgency about the need to reform the processes of schooling and curriculum to…

  9. (Re)Defining the Filipino: Notions of Citizenship in the New K+12 Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    de los Reyes, Elizer Jay

    2013-01-01

    In June 2012, the Philippine government implemented what it called the K+12 Curriculum which reformed its basic education system by adding two more years of schooling to the then existing 10-year structure. Complicated by the long experience and participation of the Filipinos in the diaspora, the constantly lingering thought of leaving for greener…

  10. Teacher change and professional development: A case study of teachers engaged in an innovative constructivist science curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akura, Okong'o. Gabriel

    This study examined both the changes that elementary school teachers experienced when they implemented a reform-based science curriculum and the impact of professional development on this transformation. The research involved a case study of three purposefully selected teachers implementing the Linking Food and the Environment (LIFE) program during the 2002--2003 school year. The LIFE program is a curriculum designed to enhance science literacy among learners from high poverty urban environments. While the study was grounded in the tradition of critical theory (Carspecken, 1996), the theoretical perspective of hermeneutic phenomenology (van Manen, 1990) guided data collection and analysis. Extensive observations of the teachers were made in order to capture and record the teacher change phenomenon. Data were recorded by means of field notes, audio and videotapes, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and video Stimulated Recall (SR) interviews. Emerging themes relating to teacher change, knowledge interests, constructivist pedagogy, and professional development illustrated how teachers grapple with various aspects of implementing a reform-based science curriculum. The teachers in this study were similar to those in earlier investigations, which found that sustained professional development programs involving mentoring and constant reflection enable elementary science teachers to change their instructional strategies from the technical-realist orientation towards the practical-hermeneutic and emancipatory-liberatory orientations. The study has implications for science curriculum developers and designers of professional development programs.

  11. The demand for private tutoring in Turkey: unintended consequences of curriculum reform

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Altinyelken, H.K.; Bray, M.; Mazawi, A.E.; Sultana, R.G.

    2013-01-01

    This chapter focuses on the private tutoring phenomenon in Turkey. It seeks to analyse the impact of the revision of primary school curriculum on the demand for private tutoring. It also outlines various academic, economic and social implications of private tutoring. Based on interviews with school

  12. EDUCATION POLICY AND EFL CURRICULUM IN INDONESIA: BETWEEN THE COMMITMENT TO COMPETENCE AND THE QUEST FOR HIGHER TEST SCORES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anita Lie

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Education policies and curricula provide the context and specific expectations that drive student learning and achievement towards a sustainable future. The underlying policies and practices in the EFL classrooms do not always match consistently. There is an emerging need to counterbalance the power of policymakers in ensuring that balanced, pedagogically sound education policies and EFL curriculum are produced, carried out, and monitored. As one of civil society organizations, TEFLIN is well positioned to serve that mission. TEFLIN may take the initiative to engage in the EFL curriculum review project, EFL curriculum design, and reform in EFL teacher education and certification.

  13. The Future Curriculum for School Science: What Can Be Learnt from the Past?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fensham, Peter J.

    2016-01-01

    In the 1960s, major reforms of the curriculum for school science education occurred that set a future for school science education that has been astonishingly robust at seeing off alternatives. This is not to say that there are not a number of good reasons for such alternative futures. The sciences, their relation to the socio-scientific context,…

  14. With Bologna in Mind and the Sword in the Hand: The German Bachelor/Master Reform Reconsidered

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mause, Karsten

    2013-01-01

    Since the late 1990s, many European countries have adapted their traditional one-cycle curriculum structure in higher education to the two-cycle structure employed in the Anglo-American world. In the large social science literature dealing with this reform phenomenon, the Bologna Process -- starting with the 1999 Declaration of Bologna -- is…

  15. [Considerations and ideas on teaching reform of stomatology for cultivating innovative talents of high quality].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Jia-wei; Cao, Xia; Feng, Xi-ping; Zhang, Zhi-yuan; Zhang, Jian-zhong

    2009-10-01

    The past decade has shown increasing demands for reforming dental education that would produce a graduate better equipped to work in the rapidly changing world of the twenty-first century. With the rapid development of social economy and more and more fierce competitive environment, teaching reform on stomatology is imperative nowadays. The existing curriculum of courses, teaching method, teaching medium, and mode of training must be improved and innovated based on cultivation of innovative talents with all-round development of moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetic education. All the teaching should be student-centered rather than teacher-centered, with the purpose of enhancing the students' research ability, English ability, and clinical skills.

  16. Learning Effectiveness and Satisfaction of International Medical Students: Introducing a Hybrid-PBL Curriculum in Biochemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Qiu; Ma, Li; Zhu, Lina; Zhang, Wenli

    2017-01-01

    A biochemistry course is a fundamental but important subject in medical education in China. In recent years, the number of international medical students has increased. Curriculum reform in biochemistry teaching is needed because of the knowledge limitations of students, a close linkage of biochemical content with clinics, the shortcomings of…

  17. Agents' Social Imagination: The "Invisible" Hand of Neoliberalism in Taiwan's Curriculum Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Teng

    2012-01-01

    Neoliberalism has become the most dominant ideology in current world and educational researchers thus may need to disclose the ways in which neoliberalism affects education and curriculum and propose new strategies to cope with them. Through literature review, however, the author argues that perhaps because of the social and theoretical scope in…

  18. The ASM Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology: A Case Study of the Advocacy Role of Societies in Reform Efforts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horak, Rachel E A; Merkel, Susan; Chang, Amy

    2015-05-01

    A number of national reports, including Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, have called for drastic changes in how undergraduate biology is taught. To that end, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has developed new Curriculum Guidelines for undergraduate microbiology that outline a comprehensive curriculum for any undergraduate introductory microbiology course or program of study. Designed to foster enduring understanding of core microbiology concepts, the Guidelines work synergistically with backwards course design to focus teaching on student-centered goals and priorities. In order to qualitatively assess how the ASM Curriculum Guidelines are used by educators and learn more about the needs of microbiology educators, the ASM Education Board distributed two surveys to the ASM education community. In this report, we discuss the results of these surveys (353 responses). We found that the ASM Curriculum Guidelines are being implemented in many different types of courses at all undergraduate levels. Educators indicated that the ASM Curriculum Guidelines were very helpful when planning courses and assessments. We discuss some specific ways in which the ASM Curriculum Guidelines have been used in undergraduate classrooms. The survey identified some barriers that microbiology educators faced when trying to adopt the ASM Curriculum Guidelines, including lack of time, lack of financial resources, and lack of supporting resources. Given the self-reported challenges to implementing the ASM Curriculum Guidelines in undergraduate classrooms, we identify here some activities related to the ASM Curriculum Guidelines that the ASM Education Board has initiated to assist educators in the implementation process.

  19. The ASM Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology: A Case Study of the Advocacy Role of Societies in Reform Efforts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel E.A. Horak

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available A number of national reports, including Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action, have called for drastic changes in how undergraduate biology is taught. To that end, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM developed new Curriculum Guidelines for undergraduate microbiology that outline a comprehensive curriculum for any undergraduate introductory microbiology course or program of study. Designed to foster enduring understanding of core microbiology concepts, the Guidelines work synergistically with backwards course design to focus teaching on student-centered goals and priorities.  In order to qualitatively assess how the ASM Curriculum Guidelines are used by educators and learn more about the needs of microbiology educators, the ASM Education Board distributed two surveys to the ASM education community. In this report, we discuss results of these surveys (353 responses. We found that the ASM Curriculum Guidelines are being implemented in many different types of courses at all undergraduate levels. Educators indicated that the ASM Curriculum Guidelines were very helpful when planning courses and assessments. We discuss some specific ways in which the ASM Curriculum Guidelines have been used in undergraduate classrooms. The survey identified some barriers that microbiology educators faced when trying to adopt the ASM Curriculum Guidelines, including lack of time, lack of financial resources, and lack of supporting resources. Given the self-reported challenges to implementing the ASM Curriculum Guidelines in undergraduate classrooms, we identify here some activities related to the ASM Curriculum Guidelines that the ASM Education Board has initiated to assist educators in the implementation process.

  20. Determining and prioritizing competencies in the undergraduate internal medicine curriculum in Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almoallim, H

    2011-08-01

    To determine knowledge and skills competencies in internal medicine for the undergraduate curriculum in Saudi Arabia, competencies were identified based on group work utilizing common textbooks. The Delphi Technique was used as a consensus method to determine and prioritize competencies in internal medicine. A group of 20 clinicians rated the identified competencies from 0-3 (0: no need to know, 1: interesting to know, 2: should know and 3: must know). After formulating the results, a second Delphi round was conducted with 5 experts in internal medicine. A total of 1513 knowledge competencies and 189 skills competencies were determined and prioritized. The competencies corresponded to the 12 systems in internal medicine. All competencies rated 2.2-3.0 were produced separately and considered core competencies for the undergraduate internal medicine curriculum. Determining and prioritizing competencies should influence the curriculum reform process.

  1. Community-oriented Curriculum Design for Medical Humanities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duu-Jian Tsai

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Various recent surveys in Taiwan show physicians' decreasing satisfaction and increasing frustration with their working environment. Their major complaints are stress, long hours, salary, management's disrespect, and lack of trust from patients and society. To move towards restoration of social trust, this paper proposes incorporating the concept of “doctor as mediator in the changing relationship with patients” into the medical curriculum, as will be described in detail. This paper argues that structured community service for medical students facilitates self-learning, and will not only motivate them to develop good clinical and communication skills, but will also lead them to realize that the essence of medicine must be social trust. These effects have been seen after several years of an experimental curriculum involving more than 800 students. A program using methodology for community empowerment has been realized in a two-stage curriculum design. Students' self-assessment of achievements in these courses included further improvement in communication skills, courage to express own position, appropriate planning in advance, management of human resources, ability to deal with limited space and time, and experience of a profoundly moving learning process. In conclusion, community-based curriculum designs that facilitate self-learning for medical students should be the key element of reformed humanities education in Taiwan medical schools. Moreover, medical humanities continues to be a key element contributing to ongoing intellectual movements in Taiwan for building civil society and rooting democracy in the community.

  2. Preparing residents for family practice: role of an integrated “Triple C” curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Lee

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: There is limited understanding of the impact of Triple C competency-based curriculums on the preparation of residents for family practice. This paper describes a competency-based curriculum within an integrated longitudinal block design and presents preliminary evaluation data on the impact of this curriculum on preparedness for family practice. Methods: First and second year family medicine residents were surveyed as a component of a year-end program evaluation to assess the extent to which the residency program is preparing them to engage in a variety of practice domains, the likelihood that they would engage in these domains, and the extent to which this residency program is comprehensive, relevant to their development as a family physician, and promotes interprofessional practice. Results: Residents perceived themselves as prepared to engage in most practice areas and their intentions to engage in various practice domains were positively correlated to their ratings of preparedness. Ratings reflected that residents perceived this program as comprehensive and relevant to their development as a family physician and they perceived a high degree of encouragement for interprofessional practice. Conclusions: This study provides some preliminary evidence that an integrated competency-based curriculum, with an emphasis on interprofessional practice has the potential to effectively prepare residents for practice in family medicine.

  3. Programas de Educacion Inicial en America Latina y los Curriculos Nacionales en el siglo XXI. [Latin American Early Childhood Educational Programs and National Curriculum in the 21st Century.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peralta, Maria Victoria

    2003-01-01

    Describes the history of early childhood education in Chile and recent educational reforms. Offers an overview of the Chilean Early Childhood Education program and discusses the new national curriculum and issues arising from its implementation. Describes methods taken to help implement the new curriculum nationwide and to assist teachers in…

  4. Environmentalization of the Physical Education Curriculum in Brazilian Universities: Culturally Comparative Lessons from Critical Outdoor Education in Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Cae; Payne, Phillip G.

    2017-01-01

    'Environmentalizing' curriculum in Brazil is a worthy goal of global educational reform for sustainability but is challenging given the limits to rational change thesis already argued in critical social science and post-structural deconstructionism. The federal government mandate to environmentalize undergraduate physical education programs poses…

  5. Social Change, Competition and Inequality: Macro Societal Patterns Reflected in Curriculum Practices of Turkish Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somel, Rahsan Nazli; Nohl, Arnd-Michael

    2015-01-01

    Curriculum reforms provide a unique opportunity to investigate how in times of social change education is not only influenced by, but also itself a driver of, competition and inequality. This article sheds light on a specific instance of how macro-societal patterns in education intermingle in twenty-first century Turkey by inquiring into a major…

  6. ‘Small is Beautiful’, Analysing the Democratising Effect of Localism, Greater Regional Autonomy, Decentralisation and Constitutional Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben DUKE

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper seeks to provide a critical theoretical comparative review of the effect upon democracy, constitutional reform could have on new smaller states. This paper posits that it is an untried, untested assumption that democratisation will follow, if nation states’ populations choose constitutional reform. This paper also posits that social, economic, political, historical and cultural generic domains influence the drive for constitutional reform in very different ways globally. This paper intends to discuss the pressure for constitutional reform, from a globalisation perspective. This paper will demonstrate how globalisation itself is a significant causal factor, increasing the propensity towards constitutional reform of smaller states. This paper will also demonstrate that the EU anti-globalisation sentiment, asking for constitutional reform, is globally replicated elsewhere.

  7. Teaching STEM through Horticulture: Implementing an Edible Plant Curriculum at a STEM-Centric Elementary School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graves, Leila A.; Hughes, Harrison; Balgopal, Meena M.

    2016-01-01

    School gardens are ideal places for students to ask and answer questions about science. This paper describes a case study of two 3rd grade teachers and two STEM coordinators who were recruited to implement and evaluate a horticultural-based curriculum developed for this study. Informed by the Teacher-Centered Systemic Reform model we conducted a…

  8. Evidence-Based Conclusions Concerning Practice, Curriculum Design and Curriculum Reform in a Civil Engineering Capstone Design Course in Hong Kong

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Cecilia K. Y.; Wong, George C. K.; Law, Ada K. H.; Zhang, T.; Au, Francis T. K.

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to provide evidence-based conclusions from students concerning a capstone-design course in a civil engineering programme in Hong Kong. The evidence was generated by designing a student-experience questionnaire. The questionnaire instrument was assessed for internal consistency in four scales (curriculum and structure changes;…

  9. [The 2010 curriculum of the faculty of medicine at the National University of Mexico].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Mendiola, Melchor; Durante-Montiel, Irene; Morales-López, Sara; Lozano-Sánchez, Rogelio; Martínez-González, Adrián; Graue Wiechers, Enrique

    2011-01-01

    The 2010 undergraduate medical degree curriculum at the faculty of medicine of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) constitutes an important curricular reform of medical education in our country. It is the result of an institutional reflective process and academic dialog, which culminated in its approval by UNAM’s Academic Council for the Biology, Chemistry, and Health Sciences areas on February 2nd, 2010. Some distinguishing characteristics of the new academic curriculum are: organization by courses with a focus on outcome competencies; three curricular axes that link three knowledge areas; four educational phases with achievement profiles; new courses (biomedical informatics, basic-clinical and clinical-basic integration, among others); and core curriculum. The aforementioned curriculum was decided within a framework of effective teaching strategies, competency oriented learning assessment methods, restructuring of the training of teaching staff, and establishment of a curriculum committee follow-up and evaluation of the program. Curricular change in medical education is a complex process through which the institution can achieve its mission and vision. This change process faces challenges and opportunities, and requires strategic planning with long-term foresight to guarantee a successful dynamic transition for students, teachers, and for the institution itself.

  10. Writing Across the Curriculum -- An Online Course in Computer Security

    OpenAIRE

    Neelu Sinha

    2006-01-01

    Writing fosters both critical thinking and student learning, serving as one of the most effective ways to understand a topic. Writing across the Curriculum (WAC) began in the late 1970’s, as a pedagogical reform movement in response to a perceived deficiency in literacy among college students. Over the past two decades universities have worked to broaden the scope of student writing from composition classes to classes in the students’ major. This paper chronicles the application of WAC into t...

  11. Deconstructing Engineering Education Programmes: The DEEP Project to Reform the Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busch-Vishniac, Ilene; Kibler, Tom; Campbell, Patricia B.; Patterson, Eann; Guillaume, Darrell; Jarosz, Jeffrey; Chassapis, Constantin; Emery, Ashley; Ellis, Glenn; Whitworth, Horace; Metz, Susan; Brainard, Suzanne; Ray, Pradosh

    2011-01-01

    The goal of the Deconstructing Engineering Education Programmes project is to revise the mechanical engineering undergraduate curriculum to make the discipline more able to attract and retain a diverse community of students. The project seeks to reduce and reorder the prerequisite structure linking courses to offer greater flexibility for…

  12. Novel Dissection of the Central Nervous System to Bridge Gross Anatomy and Neuroscience for an Integrated Medical Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hlavac, Rebecca J.; Klaus, Rachel; Betts, Kourtney; Smith, Shilo M.; Stabio, Maureen E.

    2018-01-01

    Medical schools in the United States continue to undergo curricular change, reorganization, and reformation as more schools transition to an integrated curriculum. Anatomy educators must find novel approaches to teach in a way that will bridge multiple disciplines. The cadaveric extraction of the central nervous system (CNS) provides an…

  13. Key Aspects of Current Educational Reforms in Islamic Educational Schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ibrahim Hashim

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper is based on the premise that Islamic education plays a significant role in producing an integrated personality of young generation in order to fulfil the needs of present society. This study is important to address the key educational changes in pedagogy, curricular and teaching approach that relate directly to the effectiveness of the implementation of Islamic Education in Islamic schools. Questions raised in this writing is whether and how Muslim schools have transformed to meet the changes and challenges of the globalizing world and what should be done to ensure Islamic schools meet current needs. Thus, it argues that there is a need for reform in contemporary Islamic schools with particular reference to the changes in the curriculum, teaching style, role of Islamic schools and gender participation. The paper considers the possibility of integrating new perspectives across the curriculum and outlines the integrated approach to ensure the quality and excellence of their graduates.

  14. Using Michael Young's Analysis on Curriculum Studies to Examine the Effects of Neoliberalism on Curricula in Mozambique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zavale, Nelson Casimiro

    2013-01-01

    In this article, the author seeks to examine the effects of neoliberalism on curricula in Mozambique. Despite the fact that the introduction of neoliberal policies in Mozambique has affected the whole system of education, the focus in this article is only on curriculum reforms in secondary and technical/vocational education. The description and…

  15. Empowerment evaluation: a collaborative approach to evaluating and transforming a medical school curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fetterman, David M; Deitz, Jennifer; Gesundheit, Neil

    2010-05-01

    Medical schools continually evolve their curricula to keep students abreast of advances in basic, translational, and clinical sciences. To provide feedback to educators, critical evaluation of the effectiveness of these curricular changes is necessary. This article describes a method of curriculum evaluation, called "empowerment evaluation," that is new to medical education. It mirrors the increasingly collaborative culture of medical education and offers tools to enhance the faculty's teaching experience and students' learning environments. Empowerment evaluation provides a method for gathering, analyzing, and sharing data about a program and its outcomes and encourages faculty, students, and support personnel to actively participate in system changes. It assumes that the more closely stakeholders are involved in reflecting on evaluation findings, the more likely they are to take ownership of the results and to guide curricular decision making and reform. The steps of empowerment evaluation include collecting evaluation data, designating a "critical friend" to communicate areas of potential improvement, establishing a culture of evidence, encouraging a cycle of reflection and action, cultivating a community of learners, and developing reflective educational practitioners. This article illustrates how stakeholders used the principles of empowerment evaluation to facilitate yearly cycles of improvement at the Stanford University School of Medicine, which implemented a major curriculum reform in 2003-2004. The use of empowerment evaluation concepts and tools fostered greater institutional self-reflection, led to an evidence-based model of decision making, and expanded opportunities for students, faculty, and support staff to work collaboratively to improve and refine the medical school's curriculum.

  16. If reform of science education is the answer - what were the questions?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2003-01-01

    questions remain open: What is the aim of modern natural science education? How can the teaching methods and curriculum structure best support all this? How are changes of teaching practices best initiated? How does the university teacher improve his or her own teaching? These questions were addressed......At most Danish universities dramatic changes of the natural science programmes are under way. These changes are carried out both in response to external forces, and to internal ones, such as the need to rethink curriculum and pedagogy. But while the answer - structural reforms - is clear, the major...... at the third May Conference of the Centre for Educational Development in University Science (Dansk Center for Naturvidenskabsdidaktik, DCN), 22 -23 May, 2003, in Korsør, Denmark. This publication contains presentations given at the conference by keynote speakers. Further, it includes extensive reports from...

  17. A Call for Curriculum Reform to Combat Refugees Crisis: The Case of Lebanon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awada, Ghada; Diab, Hassan; Faour, Kawthar

    2018-01-01

    The study was set to elicit teachers' perceptions of adopting a new curriculum integrating Human Rights Education (HRE) into most school subjects and developing textbooks which could address the mainstreaming of the Syrian children into the Lebanese schools especially after the influx of more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees who migrated to…

  18. Study of graduate curriculum in the radiological science: problems and suggestions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, Seong Jin; Kim, Hwa Gon; Kang, Se Sik; Park, Byeong Rae; Kim, Chang Soo

    2006-01-01

    Currently, Educational program of radiological science is developed in enormous growth, our educational environments leading allied health science education program in the number of super high speed medical industry. Radiological science may be the fastest growing technologies in our medical department today. In this way, Medical industry fields converged in the daily quick, the fact that department of radiological science didn't discharged ones duties on current educational environments. The curriculum of radiological technologists that play an important part between skill and occupation's education as major and personality didn't performed one's part most effectively on current medical environments and digital radiological equipment interface. We expect improvement and suggestion to grow natural disposition as studies in the graduate of radiological science. Therefore, in this paper, current curriculum of radiological science are catched hold of trend and problems on digital radiology environments, on fact the present state of problems, for Graduate program of radiological science, graduate courses of MS and ph.D. are suggested a reform measure of major education curriculum introduction

  19. Los docentes y la política curricular Argentina en los años '90 Teachers and curriculum policy in Argentina in the nineties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Ziegler

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Este trabajo presenta los resultados de un proyecto de investigación sobre las recepciones de los docentes de la propuesta curricular efectuada en Argentina, durante la reforma educativa de los años '90. Dado que ésta se ha difundido a través de documentos impresos, el análisis de las recepciones considera a los docentes como lectores de dichos textos que, en tanto herramienta de normatización, limitan lo posible y lo cotidiano en el quehacer escolar. A partir de los aportes de la teoría de la recepción de la crítica literaria, se indagan las orientaciones asumidas por los docentes ante la dinámica de cambio curricular y algunos efectos que producen en el trabajo de los maestros los dispositivos estatales diseñados para el cambio del curriculum.This work presents the results of a research project on teacher's reception of the curriculum change carried out in Argentina, as part of the educational reform of the 1990's. Since the reform was communicated through printed documents, the analysis of reception considers teachers as readers of texts that, being tools of standardization, delimit the possible and the daily actions that take place in the school environment. Based on the contribution of reception theory to literary criticism, the article analyzes the ways the teachers have read the reform related documents. Questions are raised about the positions assumed by teachers in face of curriculum change, as well as the effects produced in the teaching work by the state devices designed for the curriculum change.

  20. Eating the curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, K M

    1997-03-01

    The alimentary metaphor--learning as ingestion--is well established in medical education: students are spoonfed, forcefed; they cram, digest, and metabolize information; and they regurgitate it on tests. In the author's experience, these metaphors are inextricably bound with the attitudes and information they describe, organize, and sometimes generate in medical education. Alimentary imagery shapes discussions of the curriculum, and its perversities characterize and help perpetuate much that needs changing in North American medical education. Medical school teachers speak of their life's work as feeding students, not as chiefs but as the anxious caretakers of problem eaters, and the images used most often to describe the teacher-learner relationship suggest an underlying infantilization of medical students. Alimentary metaphors are not in themselves evil. A closer look at medicine's uses of the metaphor of learning as eating suggests a healthier educational philosophy. Despite the "full plate" that students are served, they are metaphorically starving. Fundamental curriculum reform should help them learn to be healthy eaters-using lessons from parents, pediatricians, and child psychologists about how to do this, which are discussed in detail. The difficult-to-achieve but imperative goal of medical education should be to put students in charge of their own "eating" and thereby produce intellectually curious, self-motivated, active, and "well-nourished" physicians who know how to feed themselves in the right amounts and at reasonable levels, maintain a healthy skepticism about the information they consume, and periodically check that information for freshness.

  1. Analysis under the new curriculum in primary school Chinese Teaching%浅析新课改下的小学语文教学

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    陈立锋

    2012-01-01

    The new curriculum reform for Chinese teaching in primary school is taking on a new look, the traditional teaching mode to modern edu- cation close. Primary school language teaching of new curriculum reform is not only the content of teaching material, teaching form change, is more im- portant to Chinese teaching idea turning, like a breeze, make Chinese education old appearance is changed new colour. In the process of teaching teach- ers continue to feel the new curriculum reform brings his ability, in students' quality education more handy, productive.%新课程改革给小学语文课堂教学带来了全新的面貌,传统的教学模式在向现代教育靠拢。小学语文教学论文新课改不仅是教材内容、教学形式的变化,更重要的是语文教学理念的转折,犹如一股春风,让语文教育旧貌换新颜。教师在教学中不断感受到新课改带给自己能力的提升,在学生素质教育的培养上更加得心应手,富有成效。

  2. Mathematics achievement of Serbian eighth grade students and characteristics of mathematics curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonijević Radovan M.

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers the main results and some educational implications of the TIMSS 2003 assessment conducted in Serbia, in the fields of mathematics achievement of Serbian eighth grade students and the mathematics curriculum context of their achievement. It was confirmed that Serbian eighth graders have made average scale score of 477 points, and with this achievement they are placed in the zone of intermediate international benchmarking level. The average mathematics achievement of the Serbian eighth graders is somewhat above the average international mathematics achievement. The best result was achieved in the content domain of "algebra", and the lower result in the content domains of "measurement" and "data". In the defined cognitive domains the Serbian students have achieved the best results in "solving routine problems" and "knowing facts and procedures", and the weaker result in "reasoning". Statistically significant difference was found in the mathematics achievement between girls and boys in the Serbian TIMSS 2003 sample, so the girls’ average scale score was 480 points and the same value for the boys was 473 points. The achieved results raise many questions about the contents of mathematics curriculum in Serbia, its quality and basic characteristics of its implementation. These results can be eligibly used to improve the mathematics curriculum and teaching in Serbian primary school.

  3. Factors at Play in Tertiary Curriculum Gamification

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Byl, Penny

    2013-01-01

    The compulsion to include games and game related mechanism in education is great among educators who want to engage and motivate today's students and the latest buzzword in this domain is gamification. However, without a thorough understanding of what a gamified curriculum looks like, how it can best be applied and why it might engross students,…

  4. Curriculum reform in the context of massification in China : a case study of BIPT, Foreign language department

    OpenAIRE

    Xu, De Hui

    2009-01-01

    As early as 1971, the collection of papers which make up the book Knowledge and Control (Young, 1971) had a remarkable impact on an enormous numbers of teachers and students of education in the 10 years or more after its appearance (David Halpin, 1990). Moreover, Knowledge and Control played a crucial role in encouraging a wave of innovative and analytical thinking about the school curriculum (Whitty & Young, 1976; Young and Whitty, 1977). Nowadays, curriculum is undertaking numerous chan...

  5. Engineering the curriculum: Towards an adaptive curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johns-Boast, Lynette Frances

    The curriculum is one of the most important artefacts produced by higher education institutions, yet it is one of the least studied. Additionally, little is known about the decision-making of academics when designing and developing their curricula, nor how they make use of them. This research investigates how 22 Australian higher education engineering, software engineering, computer science, and information systems academics conceive of curriculum, what approaches they take when designing, and developing course and program curricula, and what use they make of the curriculum. It also considers the implications of these conceptions and behaviour upon their curricula. Data were collected through a series of one-to-one, in-depth, qualitative interviews as well as small focus group sessions and were analysed following Charmaz’ (2006) approach to grounded theory. In this thesis, I argue that the development of curricula for new higher degree programs and courses and / or the updating and innovating of an existing curriculum is a design problem. I also argue that curriculum is a complex adaptive system. Surrounding the design and development of a curriculum is a process of design that leads to the creation of a designed object - the official-curriculum. The official-curriculum provides the guiding principles for its implementation, which involves the design and development of the curriculum-in-use, its delivery, and evaluation. Data show that while the participants conceive of curriculum as a problem of design involving a design process leading to the development of the official-curriculum, surprisingly, their behaviour does not match their conceptions. Over a very short period, their behaviour leads to a process I have called curriculum drift where the official-curriculum and the curriculum-in-use drift away from each other causing the curriculum to lose its integrity. Curricular integrity is characterised through the attributes of alignment, coherence, and

  6. Mathematics training for the teaching of basic knowledge in times of teaching school reform of Parana (Year 1920

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iara da Silva França

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The article discusses the mathematical training of primary teachers in Paraná and aims to understand how elementary mathematical knowledge was included in the reform carried out by Lysimaco Ferreira da Costa, in the 1920’s and directed by Prieto Martinez for the modernization of the state’s primary education. Supported by theoretical and methodological framework of cultural history, this study is guided by the question: Considering the Reform of teaching school and thinking about the mathematics education of Paraná teachers, what has changed, why has it changed and what for? With the reform subjects more focused on practical teaching in primary school were introduced, and that favored the renewal of teaching methods and teaching resources, curriculum reorganization which reflected in the quality of Math education of future teachers in the state’s primary education. Keywords: Mathematics Teaching. Primary Education Teacher. History of Education.

  7. Investigating stakeholders' perceptions of the link between high STD rates and the current Baltimore City Public Schools' sex education curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolden, Shenell L. T.

    The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine key stakeholders' perceptions of the current Baltimore City Public Schools' (BCPS) sex education curriculum and to gain insight into how they believe the curriculum could be modified to be more effective. A mixed methods approach using qualitative and quantitative data collection consisting of a survey, focus group interview, and individual interviews was conducted to gather information on stakeholders' perceptions. The stakeholders included: (1) former students who received their sex education courses in the Baltimore City Public School system (BCPS); (2) teachers in BCPS who were affiliated with the sex education curriculum; (3) health care professionals who screened and/or treated East Baltimore City residents for a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and; (4) one policy maker who was responsible for creating sex education curriculum at the national level. Analysis of the quantitative data from former Baltimore City Public School students revealed a general satisfaction with the current sex education curriculum. However, qualitative data from the same group of stakeholders revealed several changes they thought should be implemented into the program in an effort to improve the current curriculum. Findings from the other groups after qualitative analysis of the interviews suggest three major themes in support of curriculum change: (1) a blended curriculum that integrates both the cognitive and affective learning domains; (2) knowledge of prevention of STD's and pregnancy; and (3) authentic teaching and learning. Results from this study strongly suggest that the Baltimore City Public School system is apathetic to the sexual health needs of students and, therefore, is inadvertently contributing to the high rate of sexually transmitted diseases among young people. Keywords: Abstinence, Affective domain, Indoctrination, Behavior Modification, Cognitive domain, Sex education curriculum, Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

  8. The Knowledge Society and the Reform of Creative Writing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina-Emanuela DASCĂLU

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This article deals with how major top-down reforms in the Romanian higher education system have affected and will continue to affect student writing and have forever challenged and changed teachers’ and students’ traditional roles. The reform of student writing in Romania is initially due to the implementation in the Romanian education system of the Bologna Declaration of 2002 and continues ever stronger due to the extraordinary new Education Law passed by the Romanian Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation in 2011. One of the initial outcomes of the adherence of the Romanian education system to Bologna Declaration was that, while previously to this change Romanian universities demanded very little undergraduate writing especially the original, research-oriented one and, thus, grades relied heavily on the results of the traditional sit-down final examinations, most courses now in the Romanian higher education system include student essay writing and other types of writing and systematic teacher feedback. Creative writing has started to appear here and there, too in the university curriculum especially at private universities. As a result of Romania’s adherence to Bologna Declaration of 2002, Portfolio Assessment, which demands extended writing, has been also introduced in Romania, both at state universities and private ones. As a result of the new 2011 Education Law, even more emphasis will be placed on writing, research, competences and abilities, included practical ones, and creativity at all levels of education, higher education included therefore. The article presents some results from an evaluation of the educational reforms in Romania, mostly of the initial reforms following Romania’s adherence to Bologna Declaration of 2002, but the study considers some of the reforms that follow from the newly passed Romanian Education Law. Mainly the following questions are addressed in this research study (1 Why did the initial reforms

  9. Founders' Weekend. North Country Workshop on Science, Technology and the Undergraduate Curriculum. Proceedings (Potsdam, New York, November 9-10, 1984).

    Science.gov (United States)

    State Univ. of New York, Potsdam. Coll. at Potsdam.

    Proceedings of the North Country Workshop on Science, Technology, and the Undergraduate Curriculum are presented. The Sloan Foundation's call for reform of the liberal arts and coverage of mathematics, science, and technology is noted in welcoming remarks by State University of New York, Potsdam, President Humphrey Tonkin. Stephen H. Cutcliffe…

  10. A Discourse On Broadband Technologies And Curriculum Access In Elective Home Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew MCAVOY

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The extent, to which broadband technologies are being considered, when accessing the curriculum, is increasingly evident in traditional learning environments such as schools and colleges. This article explores the impact that these technologies are having on the home schooling community by offering enhanced access and opportunities. It suggests that they have generated improved choices and greater freedoms for learning communities. They have shone a light on the curriculum and removed it from the shadows. The curriculum is no longer the preserve of the educational establishment. The secret garden has been breached by technologies such as broadband and the democratisation of the curriculum is progressively evident as more diverse learning communities are given increased access and control over the curriculum. The author asks how this is being reflected in policy and translated into practice by the home schooling community whilst acknowledging the contemporary nature of broadband technologies and how they are influencing the decision making process of potential home schoolers. Looking to the future, the author suggests that the political agenda is not providing clear direction and that this is being determined by social reform outside the political sphere and largely driven by the consumer. In this case the learner. The relatively current nature of this debate is in itself justification for further research if we are to develop a clearer understanding of how new technologies such as broadband are influencing policy and practice in the home schooling community.

  11. The hidden curriculum in undergraduate medical education: qualitative study of medical students' perceptions of teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lempp, Heidi; Seale, Clive

    2004-10-02

    To study medical students' views about the quality of the teaching they receive during their undergraduate training, especially in terms of the hidden curriculum. Semistructured interviews with individual students. One medical school in the United Kingdom. 36 undergraduate medical students, across all stages of their training, selected by random and quota sampling, stratified by sex and ethnicity, with the whole medical school population as a sampling frame. Medical students' experiences and perceptions of the quality of teaching received during their undergraduate training. Students reported many examples of positive role models and effective, approachable teachers, with valued characteristics perceived according to traditional gendered stereotypes. They also described a hierarchical and competitive atmosphere in the medical school, in which haphazard instruction and teaching by humiliation occur, especially during the clinical training years. Following on from the recent reforms of the manifest curriculum, the hidden curriculum now needs attention to produce the necessary fundamental changes in the culture of undergraduate medical education.

  12. Teaching medicine and allied disciplines in the 21st century--lessons from Ireland on the continuing need for reform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McMahon, Tim

    2005-01-01

    This article identifies the imperatives behind the need to move away from teaching based on the transmission of a lot of facts to teaching that enables students to become lifelong learners. It reminds us that the over-riding goal is an education process that maximizes the ability of teachers to teach well and of students to learn effectively. It argues that the necessary reform process can only be successful if the three components of an education programme--the curriculum, teaching strategies and assessment--are reformed simultaneously to ensure that each is designed to produce more effective teaching and learning. It points to the literature that tells us what we know about factors affecting student behaviour and, in particular, notes the crucial factor of student perception of the requirement of the assessment regime. It recommends that Biggs' model of constructive alignment is used as the organizing principle of continuing reform

  13. A structured self-directed basic skills curriculum results in improved technical performance in the absence of expert faculty teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Andrew S; McKenzie, Jill; Tsigonis, Abraham; Jensen, Aaron R; Figueredo, Edgar J; Kim, Sara; Horvath, Karen

    2012-06-01

    We developed a novel curriculum teaching 20 open surgical skills in 5 general domains (instrument handling, knot tying, simple wound closure, advanced wound closure, and hemostasis). The curriculum includes online didactics, skills practice, and defined performance metrics, but is entirely self-guided with no expert oversight or teaching. Subjects included first- and second-year medical students (n = 9). Subjects first viewed a demonstration video depicting proper technique. The pretest was video-recorded performance of each skill. Subjects then completed the self-guided skills curriculum at their own pace, returning for posttesting once they met defined self-assessment criteria. Performance was evaluated through both self-assessment and blinded video review by 2 expert reviewers using previously validated scales. After completion of the curriculum, performance improved significantly by both self-assessment (3,754 ± 1,742 to 6,496 ± 1,337; P performance was significantly better for all domains by self-assessment (P instrument handling). Completion of a self-guided basic surgical skills curriculum allows novice learners to significantly improve performance in basic open surgical skills, without traditional expert teaching. This curriculum is useful for medical students and incoming junior residents. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Teacher enactment of an inquiry-based science curriculum and its relationship to student interest and achievement in science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimichino, Daniela C.

    This mixed-methods case study, influenced by aspects of grounded theory, aims to explore the relationships among a teacher's attitude toward inquiry-based middle school reform, their enactment of such a curriculum, and student interest and achievement in science. A solid theoretical basis was constructed from the literature on the benefits of inquiry-based science over traditional science education, the benefits of using constructivist learning techniques in the classroom, the importance of motivating teachers to change their teaching practices to be more constructive, and the importance of motivating and exciting students in order to boost achievement in science. Data was collected using qualitative documents such as teacher and student interviews, classroom observations, and curriculum development meetings, in addition to quantitative documents such as student science interest surveys and science skills tests. The qualitative analysis focused on examining teacher attitudes toward curricular reform efforts, and the enactments of three science teachers during the initial year of an inquiry-based middle school curriculum adoption using a fidelity of implementation tool constructed from themes that emerged from the data documents utilized in this study. In addition, both qualitative and quantitative tools were used to measure an increase or decrease in student interest and student achievement over the study year, and their resulting relationships to their teachers' attitudes and enactments of the curriculum. Results from data analysis revealed a positive relationship between the teachers' attitude toward curricular change and their fidelity of implementation to the developers' intentions, or curricular enactment. In addition, strong positive relationships were also discovered among teacher attitude, student interest, and student achievement. Variations in teacher enactment also related to variations in student interest and achievement, with considerable positive

  15. Telecom Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Telecom Reform: Principles, Policies and Regulatory Practices, provides a comprehensive and definitive review and assessment of the unfolding telecom reform process, and its implications for information society development. It is an invaluable resource and authoritative reference on telecom reform...... and information infrastructure issues - for people in government, academia, industry and the consulting community. This book addresses the process of policy and regulatory reform in telecom that is now in its formative stage. It draws on detailed knowledge of industry development and regulatory experience......, as well as expertise in the new technologies, industries, economics, policy development, and law to present and critique the principles, policies and regulatory practices associated with telecom reform. Twenty six international experts address thirty two topics that are essential to successful telecom...

  16. Integrating Sustainability into the Curriculum: Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pushnik, J.

    2012-12-01

    The next generation will confront an increased number of global issues that interface the complexities of socioeconomic perspectives, environmental stability, poverty and development. Recently California State University Chico undertook a general education reform, providing a unique opportunity to craft a general education pathway to prepare students for these challenges by focusing a curriculum on sustainability. The Sustainability Pathway emphasizes a system thinking approach to help students understand and be able to address a set of problems involving the biosphere processes, human institutions and the economic vitality. The curriculum intentionally integrates courses from across the disciplines of natural sciences, social sciences, agriculture, engineering, economics, arts and humanities into a central focused theme of sustainability. The diverse backgrounds and academic focus of the participating faculty has necessitate the development of a common language and a cohesion within the curriculum. To address these needs a faculty learning community (FLC) was established to build on a common set of case studies. Three regional environmental water related issues were selected that had demonstrable socioeconomic, equity/ethical dimensions and environmental consequences. These case studies are Klamath River basin in northern California, the Bay-Delta project in the central part of the state and the Sultan Sea in southern California. Members of the FLC has contributed a perspective from their academic discipline which includes proposed reading lists, web based resources and PowerPoint presentations which are housed in common web- based resource repository. The pedagogical rational is to create linkages and cohesion among the courses in the curriculum by iteratively examining these case studies as basis for development of a multidisciplinary perspective as students progress through their general education.

  17. Evolution across the Curriculum: Microbiology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alita R. Burmeister

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available An integrated understanding of microbiology and evolutionary biology is essential for students pursuing careers in microbiology and healthcare fields. In this Perspective, we discuss the usefulness of evolutionary concepts and an overall evolutionary framework for students enrolled in microbiology courses. Further, we propose a set of learning goals for students studying microbial evolution concepts. We then describe some barriers to microbial evolution teaching and learning and encourage the continued incorporation of evidence-based teaching practices into microbiology courses at all levels. Next, we review the current status of microbial evolution assessment tools and describe some education resources available for teaching microbial evolution. Successful microbial evolution education will require that evolution be taught across the undergraduate biology curriculum, with a continued focus on applications and applied careers, while aligning with national biology education reform initiatives.

  18. Evolution across the Curriculum: Microbiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burmeister, Alita R.; Smith, James J.

    2016-01-01

    An integrated understanding of microbiology and evolutionary biology is essential for students pursuing careers in microbiology and healthcare fields. In this Perspective, we discuss the usefulness of evolutionary concepts and an overall evolutionary framework for students enrolled in microbiology courses. Further, we propose a set of learning goals for students studying microbial evolution concepts. We then describe some barriers to microbial evolution teaching and learning and encourage the continued incorporation of evidence-based teaching practices into microbiology courses at all levels. Next, we review the current status of microbial evolution assessment tools and describe some education resources available for teaching microbial evolution. Successful microbial evolution education will require that evolution be taught across the undergraduate biology curriculum, with a continued focus on applications and applied careers, while aligning with national biology education reform initiatives. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education PMID:27158306

  19. Steepest Ascent Tariff Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis; Woodland, Alan

    2014-01-01

    . In undertaking this task, and by focusing on tariff reforms, we introduce the concept of a steepest ascent policy reform, which is a locally optimal reform in the sense that it achieves the highest marginal gain in utility of any feasible local reform. We argue that this reform presents itself as a natural......The policy reform literature is primarily concerned with the construction of reforms that yield welfare gains. By contrast, this paper’s contribution is to develop a theoretical concept for which the focus is upon the sizes of welfare gains accruing from policy reforms rather than upon their signs...... benchmark for the evaluation of the welfare effectiveness of other popular tariff reforms such as the proportional tariff reduction and the concertina rules, since it provides the maximal welfare gain of all possible local reforms. We derive properties of the steepest ascent tariff reform, construct...

  20. Flood Rescue: A Gender-Inclusive Integrated STEM Curriculum Unit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily A. Dare

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available As national reform documents and movements in the United States, such as Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013, push K-12 educators to begin to include engineering and integration of the STEM disciplines, there is a need to create curricula that meet a multitude of different standards. Additionally, there is a need to engage a more diverse population of students to pursue STEM careers. The 6th grade curriculum presented here focuses on an example of a teacher-created integrated STEM curriculum that combines girl-friendly instructional strategies (Häussler et al., 1998; Newbill & Cennamo, 2008 with an integrated STEM framework (Moore et al., 2014. An engineering design challenge that asks students to create a prototype of a watercraft used by the National Guard to rescue people during floods engages students in learning various physics concepts (forces, buoyancy, volume, and maximum capacity. In this article, we describe the lessons of the unit with respect to the frameworks, as well as key areas that particularly impacted 6th grade girls and boys.

  1. Non-catalytic recuperative reformer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khinkis, Mark J.; Kozlov, Aleksandr P.; Kurek, Harry

    2015-12-22

    A non-catalytic recuperative reformer has a flue gas flow path for conducting hot flue gas from a thermal process and a reforming mixture flow path for conducting a reforming mixture. At least a portion of the reforming mixture flow path is embedded in the flue gas flow path to permit heat transfer from the hot flue gas to the reforming mixture. The reforming mixture flow path contains substantially no material commonly used as a catalyst for reforming hydrocarbon fuel (e.g., nickel oxide, platinum group elements or rhenium), but instead the reforming mixture is reformed into a higher calorific fuel via reactions due to the heat transfer and residence time. In a preferred embodiment, extended surfaces of metal material such as stainless steel or metal alloy that are high in nickel content are included within at least a portion of the reforming mixture flow path.

  2. California teachers' perceptions of standards-based reform in middle school science: A mixed-methods study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leggett, Allison Gail Wilson

    The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 presented one of the most significant and comprehensive literacy reforms in many years (McDonnell, 2005; U.S. Department of Education, 2006). The era of school accountability and standards based reform has brought many challenges and changes to public schools. Increasingly, public officials and educational administrators are asked to use standards based assessments to make high-stakes decisions, such as whether a student will move on to the next grade level or receive a diploma (American Psychological Association, 2005). It is important to understand any shifts in teachers' perceptions and to identify the changes teachers are making as they implement standards-based reform. This mixed-methods study was designed to assess teachers' perceptions of changes related to standards-based reform as supported by Fullan's (2001) change theory and transformational leadership theory. Survey questions sought to identify teacher perceptions of changes in curriculum, instruction and daily practice as schools documented and incorporated standards-based reform and began focusing on preparing students for the California Standards Test in Science (CSTS). Using descriptive statistical analysis and in-depth interviews, results show favorable insight towards standards-based reform. The survey was distributed to 30 middle school science teachers from 10 low-performing schools in Los Angeles, California. Results were analyzed using Spearman rank-ordered correlations. Interviews were conducted on middle school teachers represented by each grade level. Teachers who receive more support from administrators have more positive attitudes toward all aspects of SBR and the CSTS as measured in this study. No school should overlook the potential of a supportive administration in its effort to improve school programs.

  3. Patient-centered medical home transformation with payment reform: patient experience outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heyworth, Leonie; Bitton, Asaf; Lipsitz, Stuart R; Schilling, Thad; Schiff, Gordon D; Bates, David W; Simon, Steven R

    2014-01-01

    To examine changes in patient experience across key domains of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) following practice transformation with Lean quality improvement methodology inclusive of payment reform. Pre-intervention/post-intervention analysis of intervention with a comparison group, a quasi-experimental design. We surveyed patients following office visits at the intervention (n = 2502) and control (n = 1622) practices during the 15-month period before and 14-month period after PCMH Lean transformation (April-October 2009). We measured and compared pre-intervention and post-intervention levels of patient satisfaction and other indicators of patient-centered care. Propensity weights adjusted for potential case-mix differences in intervention and control groups; propensity-adjusted proportions accounted for physician-level clustering. More intervention patients were very satisfied with their care after the PCMH Lean intervention (68%) compared with pre-intervention (62%). Among control patients, there was no corresponding increase in satisfaction (63% very satisfied pre-intervention vs 64% very satisfied post-intervention). This comparison resulted in a statistical trend (P = .10) toward greater overall satisfaction attributable to the intervention. Post-intervention, patients in the intervention practice consistently rated indicators of patient-centered care higher than patients in the control practice, particularly in the personal physician and communication domain. In this domain, intervention patients reported superior provider explanations, time spent, provider concern, and follow-up instructions compared with control participants, whereas control group ratings fell in the post-intervention period (P for difference Lean enhancement with payment reform, patient experience was sustained or improved across key PCMH domains.

  4. Teaching mathematics in the context of curriculum change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nico Molefe

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the practices of two Grade 10 mathematics teachers as they implemented the new FET curriculum. As we analysed their practices we found that current descriptions of reform and traditional practices were inadequate to describe the similarities and differences between them. We therefore developed a set of elaborated categories, which distinguish reform‐oriented from traditionally‐oriented practices. We use these categories to analyse the two teachers’ practices and we use the teachers’ practices to illuminate the categories. We show that although some of the teachers’ practices may seem similar on the surface, in fact one teacher employed these in a more strongly reform‐oriented way than the other.

  5. Professional Development in a Reform Context: Understanding the Design and Enactment of Learning Experiences Created by Teacher Leaders for Science Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafer, Laura

    Teacher in-service learning about education reforms like NGSS often begin with professional development (PD) as a foundational component (Supovitz & Turner, 2000). Teacher Leaders, who are early implementers of education reform, are positioned to play a contributing role to the design of PD. As early implementers of reforms, Teacher Leaders are responsible for interpreting the purposes of reform, enacting reforms with fidelity to meet those intended goals, and are positioned to share their expertise with others. However, Teacher Leader knowledge is rarely accessed as a resource for the design of professional development programs. This study is unique in that I analyze the knowledge Teacher Leaders, who are positioned as developers of PD, bring to the design of PD around science education reform. I use the extended interconnected model of professional growth (Clarke & Hollingsworth, 2002; Coenders & Terlouw, 2015) to analyze the knowledge pathways Teacher Leaders' access as PD developers. I found that Teacher Leaders accessed knowledge pathways that cycled through their personal domain, domain of practice and domain of consequence. Additionally the findings indicated when Teacher Leaders did not have access to these knowledge domains they were unwilling to continue with PD design. These findings point to how Teacher Leaders prioritize their classroom experience to ground PD design and use their perceptions of student learning outcomes as an indicator of the success of the reform. Because professional development (PD) is viewed as an important resource for influencing teachers' knowledge and beliefs around the implementation of education reform efforts (Garet, et al., 2001; Suppovitz & Turner, 2000), I offer that Teacher Leaders, who are early implementers of reform measures, can contribute to the professional development system. The second part of this dissertation documents the instantiation of the knowledge of Teacher Leaders, who are positioned as designers and

  6. What do school principals do to overcome the challenges of implementing a new senior secondary curriculum in Hong Kong?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edith Lai

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper attempts to identify the challenges facing school principals as they engaged in implementing a curriculum reform in Hong Kong. Based on interview data of school principals, this paper shows three major types of implementation challenges facing school principals, namely curriculum planning, catering for learner diversity, and managing change. Drawing on the concept of ‘exploiting situated possibilities’, this paper further shows how these school principals explored and exploited possibilities in and around the school contexts to overcome the implementation challenges, as one way to strengthen the schools’ capacity for change. Implications for developing efficacious principal leadership in school capacity building are discussed.

  7. Up Bloom's pyramid with slices of Fink's pie: Mapping an occupational therapy curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan C. Burwash

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Curriculum design is a complex task. One tool used in the design process is curriculum mapping. A mandated transition from a quarter to a semester academic calendar, alongside preparation of accreditation self-study materials, provided an opportunity for faculty teaching in an entry-level occupational therapy program to review the underlying basis of the curriculum. Two taxonomies of learning (Bloom’s cognitive domain and Fink’s taxonomy of significant learning experiences were used to examine existing courses and to consider how learning outcomes and experiences varied over the sequence of courses in the curriculum. This led to the creation of a series of course maps that have been useful in informing current curriculum design and guiding future work. In this article, the authors describe the context under which this review took place, briefly review the pertinent literature relating to curriculum design and mapping in occupational therapy education, discuss the mapping process, and provide examples of course maps. The authors reflect on the process and plans for using what was learned in future curricular design projects.

  8. Systemic Changes in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum Program Awards

    Science.gov (United States)

    1995-07-01

    The National Science Foundation has awarded over 10 million in awards to four coalitions in the first round of full awards in the Systemic Changes in the Undergraduate Chemistry Curriculum program. Overall, more than 50 institutions, ranging from large universities to four-year and community colleges, are formally involved in these projects. Each of the projects will involve five years of curricular development and evaluation and dissemination of the results by the participating institutions, as described in the abstracts below. We encourage faculty who are interested in becoming involved in any of these projects to contact the appropriate coalition. In addition, we expect to begin offering an emphasis in 1997 under the Course and Curriculum Development program in which faculty can request funds to assist them in adapting and adopting at their own institutions curricular innovations that have been developed by these coalitions. Another round of proposals for full awards was accepted in June of 1995, and we expect to make one more award in the program during FY1996. We do not expect to accept proposals for either planning or full grants in this program in June of 1996. However, the regular Course and Curriculum Development program will continue to accept and fund proposals requesting support for smaller-scale changes in the chemistry curriculum. ChemLinks Coalition: Making Chemical Connections Brock Spencer Beloit College, Beloit, WI 53511 DUE 9455918: FY1995, 705,000; FY 1996, 655,000; FY1997, 655,000; FY1998, 350,00; FY1999, 350,000 The ChemLinks Coalition is undertaking a five-year project to change the way students learn chemistry, increase scientific literacy for all students taking chemistry, and promote the process of educational reform. In collaboration with the ModularChem Consortium, faculty are developing, testing, and disseminating modular course materials that use active and collaborative approaches to learning. These materials, focused on the first two

  9. Mapping the Future: Towards Oncology Curriculum Reform in Undergraduate Medical Education at a Canadian Medical School

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kwan, Jennifer Y.Y. [School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen' s University, Kingston, Ontario (Canada); Nyhof-Young, Joyce [Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Catton, Pamela [Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Giuliani, Meredith E., E-mail: Meredith.Giuliani@rmp.uhn.on.ca [Department of Radiation Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

    2015-03-01

    Purpose: To evaluate (1) the quantity and quality of current undergraduate oncology teaching at a major Canadian medical school; and (2) curricular changes over the past decade, to enhance local oncology education and provide insight for other educators. Methods and Materials: Relevant 2011-2012 undergraduate curricular sessions were extracted from the University of Toronto curriculum mapping database using keywords and database identifiers. Educational sessions were analyzed according to Medical Council of Canada objectives, discussion topics, instructor qualifications, teaching format, program year, and course subject. Course-related oncology research projects performed by students during 2000 to 2012 were extracted from another internal database. Elective choices of clerks during 2008-2014 were retrieved from the institution. The 2011-2012 and 2000-2001 curricula were compared using common criteria. Results: The 2011-2012 curriculum covers 5 major themes (public health, cancer biology, diagnosis, principles of care, and therapy), which highlight 286 oncology teaching topics within 80 sessions. Genitourinary (10, 12.5%), gynecologic (8, 10.0%), and gastrointestinal cancers (7.9, 9.8%) were the most commonly taught cancers. A minority of sessions were taught by surgical oncologists (6.5, 8.1%), medical oncologists (2.5, 3.1%), and radiation oncologists (1, 1.2%). During 2000-2012, 9.0% of students (233 of 2578) opted to complete an oncology research project. During 2008-2014, oncology electives constituted 2.2% of all clerkship elective choices (209 of 9596). Compared with pre-2001 curricula, the 2012 oncology curriculum shows notable expansion in the coverage of epidemiology (6:1 increase), prevention (4:1), screening (3:1), and molecular biology (6:1). Conclusions: The scope of the oncology curriculum has grown over the past decade. Nevertheless, further work is needed to improve medical student knowledge of cancers, particularly those relevant to public health

  10. Mapping the Future: Towards Oncology Curriculum Reform in Undergraduate Medical Education at a Canadian Medical School

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwan, Jennifer Y.Y.; Nyhof-Young, Joyce; Catton, Pamela; Giuliani, Meredith E.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate (1) the quantity and quality of current undergraduate oncology teaching at a major Canadian medical school; and (2) curricular changes over the past decade, to enhance local oncology education and provide insight for other educators. Methods and Materials: Relevant 2011-2012 undergraduate curricular sessions were extracted from the University of Toronto curriculum mapping database using keywords and database identifiers. Educational sessions were analyzed according to Medical Council of Canada objectives, discussion topics, instructor qualifications, teaching format, program year, and course subject. Course-related oncology research projects performed by students during 2000 to 2012 were extracted from another internal database. Elective choices of clerks during 2008-2014 were retrieved from the institution. The 2011-2012 and 2000-2001 curricula were compared using common criteria. Results: The 2011-2012 curriculum covers 5 major themes (public health, cancer biology, diagnosis, principles of care, and therapy), which highlight 286 oncology teaching topics within 80 sessions. Genitourinary (10, 12.5%), gynecologic (8, 10.0%), and gastrointestinal cancers (7.9, 9.8%) were the most commonly taught cancers. A minority of sessions were taught by surgical oncologists (6.5, 8.1%), medical oncologists (2.5, 3.1%), and radiation oncologists (1, 1.2%). During 2000-2012, 9.0% of students (233 of 2578) opted to complete an oncology research project. During 2008-2014, oncology electives constituted 2.2% of all clerkship elective choices (209 of 9596). Compared with pre-2001 curricula, the 2012 oncology curriculum shows notable expansion in the coverage of epidemiology (6:1 increase), prevention (4:1), screening (3:1), and molecular biology (6:1). Conclusions: The scope of the oncology curriculum has grown over the past decade. Nevertheless, further work is needed to improve medical student knowledge of cancers, particularly those relevant to public health

  11. Integrating geriatrics into medical school: student journaling as an innovative strategy for evaluating curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shield, Renée R; Farrell, Timothy W; Nanda, Aman; Campbell, Susan E; Wetle, Terrie

    2012-02-01

    The Alpert Medical School of Brown University began to integrate geriatrics content into all preclerkship courses and key clerkship cases as part of a major medical school curriculum redesign in 2006. This study evaluates students' responses to geriatrics integration within the curriculum using journals kept by volunteer preclerkship and clerkship students between 2007 and 2010. The journals were used to assess the quality of curricular integration of geriatrics didactic and clinical content, to gather information for shaping the evolving curriculum, and to elicit students' responses about their professional development and caring for older adults. Student "journalers" wrote narrative reactions to and evaluations of aging-related content and exposure to older patients in response to written semistructured questions. An interdisciplinary team (including a health services researcher, gerontologist, medical anthropologist, and 2 geriatricians) used qualitative analysis to code the 405 journal entries. The team identified 10 themes within the following domains: (a) evaluation of efforts to integrate geriatrics within the medical school curriculum, (b) recognition and application of geriatrics principles, (c) student attitudes and cultural experiences regarding aging and the care of older patients, and (d) personal and professional development over time. Themes emerging within these domains reflect the effectiveness of geriatrics integration within the new curriculum as well as students' professional development. Journaling provides a novel and effective method for capturing medical students' responses to curricular content in real time, allowing for midcourse corrections and identifying key components of their professional development.

  12. Horizontal integration of the basic sciences in the chiropractic curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Kevin P

    2010-01-01

    Basic science curricula at most chiropractic colleges consist of courses (eg, general anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, etc) that are taught as stand-alone content domains. The lack of integration between basic science disciplines causes difficulties for students who need to understand how the parts function together as an integrated whole and apply this understanding to solving clinical problems. More horizontally integrated basic science curricula could be achieved by several means: integrated Part I National Board of Chiropractic Examiners questions, a broader education for future professors, an increased emphasis on integration within the current model, linked courses, and an integrated, thematic basic science curriculum. Horizontally integrating basic science curricula would require significant efforts from administrators, curriculum committees, and instructional faculty. Once in place this curriculum would promote more clinically relevant learning, improved learning outcomes, and superior vertical integration.

  13. Horizontal Integration of the Basic Sciences in the Chiropractic Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Kevin P.

    2010-01-01

    Basic science curricula at most chiropractic colleges consist of courses (eg, general anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, etc) that are taught as stand-alone content domains. The lack of integration between basic science disciplines causes difficulties for students who need to understand how the parts function together as an integrated whole and apply this understanding to solving clinical problems. More horizontally integrated basic science curricula could be achieved by several means: integrated Part I National Board of Chiropractic Examiners questions, a broader education for future professors, an increased emphasis on integration within the current model, linked courses, and an integrated, thematic basic science curriculum. Horizontally integrating basic science curricula would require significant efforts from administrators, curriculum committees, and instructional faculty. Once in place this curriculum would promote more clinically relevant learning, improved learning outcomes, and superior vertical integration. PMID:21048882

  14. The Rise and Fall of the Social Science Curriculum Project in Iceland, 1974-1984: Reflections on Reason and Power in Educational Progress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edelstein, Wolfgang

    1987-01-01

    Examines the demise of the Icelandic Social Science Curriculum Project (SSCP) as an example of progressive educational reform thwarted by neofundamentalist ideologies. States that the paper goes beyond Jerome Bruner's 1984 account of the rise and fall of "Man: A Course of Study" to provide a deeper analysis of the politics of…

  15. EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND TEACHERS’ WORKING CONDITIONS: EMOTIONS EXPERIENCED BY AN IN-SERVICE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neide Nunes RODRIGUES

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we analyze the relation among educational reforms and teachers’ work, and emotions. This study was conducted with a public school English teacher, in Minas Gerais. The aim was to verify the role that contextual factors play in the production of emotions, and detect the emotions that influence her practice with students, colleagues, and school managers. The theoretical framework was based on studies about educational reforms and teachers’ work (AUGUSTO, 2005; HYPOLITO; VIEIRA; PIZZI, 2009; DUARTE; AUGUSTO, [s.d.], the relationship between emotions and the process of teaching and learning languages (HARGREAVES, 2000; ZEMBYLAS, 2002, 2003; ARAGÃO, 2008; DAY; QING, 2009; SHUTZ; ZEMBYLAS, 2009; COWIE, 2011; RIBEIRO, 2012. We used a semistructured questionnaire and a narrative interview as data collection instruments. The analysis has pointed out poor work condition, crowded classrooms, poor physical and technological structures, strict school curriculum, students’ indiscipline, and the institution pessimistic atmosphere as frustrating, stressful, and de-motivating factors. These results indicate the need to create alternative ways of school workplaces organization, and to modify the way people interact in schools. They also suggest the need of educators to participate in the design and implementation of educational reforms.

  16. Meeting the Demands of Science Reforms: A Comprehensive Professional Development for Practicing Middle School Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pringle, Rose M.; Mesa, Jennifer; Hayes, Lynda

    2018-03-01

    Preparing teachers to teach science consistent with current reforms in science education is a daunting enterprise given a lack of high-quality science professional development (PD) adaptable across various contexts (Wilson 2013). This study examines the impact of a comprehensive professional development program on middle school teachers' disciplinary content knowledge and instructional practices. In this mixed methods investigation, data sources included classroom observations, content knowledge assessments, surveys, and a range of interviews. The teachers in the program showed significant improvements in their disciplinary content knowledge and demonstrated through their enactment of a reform-based curriculum, a range of ability levels to translate their knowledge into instructional practices consistent with the principles espoused in the PD. We conclude that programs that attend to elements of effective PD identified in the literature can positively impact middle school science teachers' enactment of reform-based science teaching. Our findings extend these elements to include the strategic engagement of school and district leadership and the provision of a safe learning space for teachers to collectively engage in reciprocal learning and critical practice. This study has worldwide implications for designing PD for science teachers and for extending our understanding of the impact of each element.

  17. Reforming Organizational Structures

    OpenAIRE

    Van de Walle, Steven

    2016-01-01

    textabstractPublic sectors have undergone major transformations. Public sector reform touches upon the core building blocks of the public sector: organizational structures, people and finances. These are objects of reform. This chapter presents and discusses a set of major transformations with regard to organizational structures. It provides readers a fairly comprehensive overview of the key reforms that have taken place in Western public sectors. Structural reforms in the public sector show ...

  18. Teacher Beliefs and Intentions regarding the Instruction of English Grammar under National Curriculum Reforms: A Theory of Planned Behaviour Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underwood, Paul R.

    2012-01-01

    While numerous studies in mainstream education have drawn on the Theory of Planned Behaviour to investigate curriculum impact, in English Language Teaching contexts such research is scant. This study applies the theory to anticipate the impact of the Japanese national curriculum for English, by exploring the beliefs of senior high school teachers…

  19. Sequence Matching Analysis for Curriculum Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liem Yenny Bendatu

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Many organizations apply information technologies to support their business processes. Using the information technologies, the actual events are recorded and utilized to conform with predefined model. Conformance checking is an approach to measure the fitness and appropriateness between process model and actual events. However, when there are multiple events with the same timestamp, the traditional approach unfit to result such measures. This study attempts to develop a sequence matching analysis. Considering conformance checking as the basis of this approach, this proposed approach utilizes the current control flow technique in process mining domain. A case study in the field of educational process has been conducted. This study also proposes a curriculum analysis framework to test the proposed approach. By considering the learning sequence of students, it results some measurements for curriculum development. Finally, the result of the proposed approach has been verified by relevant instructors for further development.

  20. A Study of Curriculum Development and Reform in Residential Schools for the Blind in the United States: Three Case Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holiday, Jeremiah

    2013-01-01

    This study was conducted to understand curriculum development in residential schools for the blind after the enactment of NCLB and was guided by the research question, "How do residential schools for the blind and visually impaired develop their curriculum to meet the unique needs of students who are blind and visually impaired?" In the…

  1. Curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robi Kroflič

    1997-12-01

    Full Text Available Modern curriculum theories emphasize that if we understand the curriculum as a real core substance of education. We have to bear in mind, when planning the curriculum, the whole multitude of factors (curricula which have an influence on the educational impact. In the field of andragogy, we especially have to consider educational needs, and linking the strategies of instruction with those of learning. The best way of realizing this principle is the open strategy of planning the national curriculum and process-developmental strategy of planning with the microandragogic situation. This planning strategy is S1m1lar to the system-integration strategy and Jarvis's model of negotiated curriculum, which derive from the basic andragogic principle: that the interests and capacities of adults for education increase if we enable them to cooperate in the planning and production of the curriculum.

  2. Critique of the „official critique” of neoliberal reforms in higher education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oskar Szwabowski

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In this article I criticise theoretical structure which is employed in critiquesof higher education reforms within the domain of pedagogy. I argue thatcritique of neoliberalism in education doesn’t recognise the dynamics of change and„necessity” of transformation. Both critique and defense of neoliberal reforms donot transcend capitalist „separation” and institutionalization typical of particularorders. In practical terms, it results in reactive resistance, either in the form of defenseof privileges of „leisure class or attempt to brink back the period of „class compromise”.In this way, it is not able to develop a radical practice, transcend „ideologicalstate apparatus” and produce a radical practice as well as education based on democracyand equality.

  3. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as a Means for School-Based Science Curriculum Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Browne, Christi L.

    The challenge of school-based science curriculum change and educational reform is often presented to science teachers and departments who are not necessarily prepared for the complexity of considerations that change movements require. The development of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) focused on a science department's curriculum change efforts, may provide the necessary tools to foster sustainable school-based curriculum science changes. This research presents a case study of an evolving science department PLC consisting of 10 middle school science teachers from the same middle school and their efforts of school-based science curriculum change. A transformative mixed model case study with qualitative data and deepened by quantitative analysis, was chosen to guide the investigation. Collected data worked to document the essential developmental steps, the occurrence and frequency of the five essential dimensions of successful PLCs, and the influences the science department PLC had on the middle school science department's progression through school-based science curriculum change, and the barriers, struggles and inhibiting actions of the science department PLC. Findings indicated that a science department PLC was unique in that it allowed for a focal science departmental lens of science curriculum change to be applied to the structure and function of the PLC and therefore the process, proceedings, and results were directly aligned to and driven by the science department. The science PLC, while logically difficult to set-up and maintain, became a professional science forum where the middle school science teachers were exposed to new science teaching and learning knowledge, explored new science standards, discussed effects on student science learning, designed and critically analyzed science curriculum change application. Conclusions resulted in the science department PLC as an identified tool providing the ability for science departmental actions to lead to

  4. [Issue of population quality under economic reform].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, G

    1991-02-01

    Under the current economic reform program, various problems about the quality of the population have emerged; dropping out of school is one such problem. In recent years, dropping out of school, has become a prevalent phenomenon. It was estimated that between 1980 and 1987, 40 million primary and middle school students dropped out of school. Drop-outs occurred mostly in primary and middle schools and in rural areas. The reasons for dropping out can be summarized as follows: 1) families could not afford to pay for tuition, 2) students were not able to keep up with school work, and 3) families or students were influenced by other students who had dropped out. In weighing the cost and benefit of attending school, parents would decide whether or not and for how many years to send their children to school. The costs included both direct costs and opportunity costs. Children in urban areas have practically no opportunity costs, while those in rural areas do. Dropping out has been more prevalent among girls than boys. Since girls marry into other families, parents were less willing to invest in their education. On the other hand, the school curriculum gave more emphasis to preparing students for advanced studies than to relaying practical knowledge. Parents did not feel there was any advantage for their children to spend more time in school. Rural economic reform had strengthened the decision-making function of the family in the area of investment. It has also widened the gap between the rich and the poor. For less affluent families, it has become more and more difficult to bear the increasing cost of education. To deal with this problem, the author made several suggestions: 1) persuade parents to continue sending children to school 2) set regulations forbidding the employment of school age children 3) forbid schools to collect unauthorized feeds and establish scholarships to help economically disadvantaged students, 4) develop more vocational schools and change the

  5. Engaging students in community health: a public health advocacy curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curran, Nell; Ned, Judith; Winkleby, Marilyn

    2014-03-01

    Individual risk assessment and behavior change dominate the content of high school health education instruction whereas broader social, political, and economic factors that influence health-known as upstream causes-are less commonly considered. With input from instructors and students, we developed a 10-lesson experiential Public Health Advocacy Curriculum that uses classroom-based activities to teach high school students about the upstream causes of health and engages them in community-based health advocacy. The Curriculum, most suitable for health- or advocacy-related elective classes or after-school programs, may be taught in its entirety or as single lessons integrated into existing coursework. Although students at many schools are using the Curriculum, it has been formally evaluated with 110 predominantly Latino students at one urban and one semirural public high school in Northern California (six classes). In pre-post surveys, students showed highly significant and positive changes in the nine questions that covered the three main Curriculum domains (Upstream Causes, Community Exploration, and Public Health Advocacy), p values .02 to Curriculum is being widely disseminated without charge to local, national, and international audiences, with the objective of grooming a generation of youth who are committed to the public health perspective to health.

  6. Gap analysis: a method to assess core competency development in the curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fater, Kerry H

    2013-01-01

    To determine the extent to which safety and quality improvement core competency development occurs in an undergraduate nursing program. Rapid change and increased complexity of health care environments demands that health care professionals are adequately prepared to provide high quality, safe care. A gap analysis compared the present state of competency development to a desirable (ideal) state. The core competencies, Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competencies, reflect the ideal state and represent minimal expectations for entry into practice from pre-licensure programs. Findings from the gap analysis suggest significant strengths in numerous competency domains, deficiencies in two competency domains, and areas of redundancy in the curriculum. Gap analysis provides valuable data to direct curriculum revision. Opportunities for competency development were identified, and strategies were created jointly with the practice partner, thereby enhancing relevant knowledge, attitudes, and skills nurses need for clinical practice currently and in the future.

  7.  Railway Reforms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Asmild, Mette; Holvad, Torben; Hougaard, Jens Leth

    This paper considers railway operations in 23 European countries during 1995-2001, where a series of reform initiatives were launched by the European Commission, and analyses whether these reform initiatives improved the operating efficiency of the railways. Efficiency is measured using Multi......-directional Efficiency Analysis, which enables investigation of how railway reforms affect the inefficiencies of specific cost drivers. The main findings are that the reform initiatives generally improve operating efficiency but potentially differently for different cost drivers. Specifically, the paper provides clear...

  8. Improvements of reforming performance of a nuclear heated steam reforming process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hada, Kazuhiko

    1996-10-01

    Performance of an energy production process by utilizing high temperature nuclear process heat was not competitive to that by utilizing non-nuclear process heat, especially fossil-fired process heat due to its less favorable chemical reaction conditions. Less favorable conditions are because a temperature of the nuclear generated heat is around 950degC and the heat transferring fluid is the helium gas pressurized at around 4 MPa. Improvements of reforming performance of nuclear heated steam reforming process were proposed in the present report. The steam reforming process, one of hydrogen production processes, has the possibility to be industrialized as a nuclear heated process as early as expected, and technical solutions to resolve issues for coupling an HTGR with the steam reforming system are applicable to other nuclear-heated hydrogen production systems. The improvements are as follows: As for the steam reformer, (1) increase in heat input to process gas by applying a bayonet type of reformer tubes and so on, (2) increase in reforming temperature by enhancing heat transfer rate by the use of combined promoters of orifice baffles, cylindrical thermal radiation pipes and other proposal, and (3) increase in conversion rate of methane to hydrogen by optimizing chemical compositions of feed process gas. Regarding system arrangement, a steam generator and superheater are set in the helium loop as downstream coolers of the steam reformer, so as to effectively utilize the residual nuclear heat for generating feed steam. The improvements are estimated to achieve the hydrogen production rate of approximately 3800 STP-m 3 /h for the heat source of 10 MW and therefore will provide the potential competitiveness to a fossil-fired steam reforming process. Those improvements also provide the compactness of reformer tubes, giving the applicability of seamless tubes. (J.P.N.)

  9. 從家課的質與量看香港課程改革的實施 The Quality and Quantity of Homework in Hong Kong Primary Schools: An Indicator of Curriculum Reform Implementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    林智中 Chi-Chung Lam

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available 華人地區深受傳統儒家文化影響,不少家長及教師都認同「勤有功、戲無益」、「有志者、事竟成」和「鐵柱磨成針」等傳統觀念。因此長期以來,香港學童都面對家課量多、家課深、長時間做家課的問題。2001年,香港特區政府推行教育改革,建議學校適當編排學生家課的數量,從而提升教與學的質素。為求了解香港學童家課的質與量是否因家課政策的實施而得以改善,本研究在香港10所小學進行調查,邀請各所學校其中一班五年級學生填寫問卷,統計完成家課的時間和家課類型,並訪問教師了解他們在家課設計、家課類型、家課功能等方面的考量。研究顯示,相對於課程改革之前,學生每天花在家課的時間的確減少;然而,大部分家課仍是紙筆練習,以鞏固課堂所學為主,較少有發展性的家課。分析這些研究結果背後的成因,有助於了解香港課程改革實施的狀況。Parents and teachers across Chinese societies mostly uphold the traditional belief of Confucianism that “hard work is the key to success.” As such, Hong Kong students have long been using much of their time doing lots of difficult homework. In 2001, curriculum reform was launched in Hong Kong, requesting schools and teachers to adjust the quantity and quality of homework assigned to students for the improvement of teaching and learning. The present study attempts to reveal the level of implementation of this homework policy. Ten primary schools participated in this study. One class of Grade 5 students in each school was chosen to complete a questionnaire for identifying the amount of time students spent on homework and the types of homework. Teachers of these classes were interviewed to find out how schools and teachers design and plan homework for their students. The study reveals that the time students spent on homework has decreased

  10. The Politics of Naming Reform in the Gendered Spheres of Home and Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauwels, Anne; Winter, Joanne

    2007-01-01

    Naming has been a central focus of feminist language planning. The initial emphasis was on reforming naming practices for women in public spheres (work, education, media). More recently public discourses about work/life balance have drawn together the public and private, shaping the naming practices for women and men in these domains. This paper…

  11. The development of proficiency in the fraction domain : affordances and constraints in the curriculum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bruin - Muurling, G.

    2010-01-01

    Proficiency in basic mathematical skills is a topic of heated discussions in many countries. International comparative studies on mathematical skills such as PISA and TIMMS have lead to concerns about the mathematics curriculum especially in countries with a relatively low rating in the summary

  12. Land reform in Russia in 1990-2000-ies, or how land reform was "reformed" during the departmental reorganization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barsukova Svetlana, Yu.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper provides an overview of the land reform in Russia's recent history. Analysis of land reform, which started in 1990, shows what actions and what logic led the land sector in the state in which it was at the finish line of the quarter-century reform marathon. The reform process was not linear, it highlighted the steps differing objectives and strategies to achieve them. Land reform is presented as a struggle of different political forces, which were reflected in the redistribution of functions between agencies in lobbying for appointment to senior positions promoted various commands. The authors conclude about the gradual displacement of state regulation of land relations, the deliberate destruction of the land management as a basis for the development of land resources.

  13. Radiant non-catalytic recuperative reformer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khinkis, Mark J.; Kozlov, Aleksandr P.

    2017-10-31

    A radiant, non-catalytic recuperative reformer has a flue gas flow path for conducting hot exhaust gas from a thermal process and a reforming mixture flow path for conducting a reforming mixture. At least a portion of the reforming mixture flow path is positioned adjacent to the flue gas flow path to permit heat transfer from the hot exhaust gas to the reforming mixture. The reforming mixture flow path contains substantially no material commonly used as a catalyst for reforming hydrocarbon fuel (e.g., nickel oxide, platinum group elements or rhenium), but instead the reforming mixture is reformed into a higher calorific fuel via reactions due to the heat transfer and residence time. In a preferred embodiment, a portion of the reforming mixture flow path is positioned outside of flue gas flow path for a relatively large residence time.

  14. Reduction of the anxiety of medical students after curricular reform Redução da ansiedade de estudantes de medicina após reforma curricular

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Waldo Zuardi

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Curricular structure may interfere in students' anxiety level at medical schools. The objective of this study was to assess anxiety levels in medical students before and after a curriculum reform at the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto and to compare them with students at other courses that had no curricular changes in the same university campus. METHOD: Study samples were obtained in two moments: 1 two years before the reform; 2 after the reform when the reformed curriculum completed its fourth year. The pre-sample (former curriculum consisted of 307 medical students and 217 students from psychology and biology courses. The post-sample (new curriculum was composed of 330 medical students and 194 students from psychology and biology courses. Anxiety was assessed by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI. RESULTS: Comparing the pre with the post sample, we found STAI-T scores of the students under the former curriculum were significantly higher in the first (42.9 + 1.08 and second (41.9 + 1.1 years than the STAI-T scores of the medical students under the new curriculum (38.1 + 1.0 and 37.9 + 1.06, respectively. Students from other courses and 5th year medical students, who followed the same curriculum, did not show any significant differences between different samples. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that changes to medical school curricula may reduce the medical student' levels of anxiety in the first two years of the course.OBJETIVOS: Características da estrutura curricular podem interferir no nível de ansiedade dos alunos do curso médico. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o nível de ansiedade nos alunos do curso médico, antes e depois de uma reforma no currículo da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, comparando com outros cursos, do mesmo campus da universidade, que não tiveram mudanças curriculares. MÉTODO: As amostras do estudo foram obtidas em dois tempos distintos: 1 dois anos antes da reforma; 2 pós a

  15. Global curriculum in research literacy for the surgical oncologist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Are, C; Yanala, U; Malhotra, G; Hall, B; Smith, L; Cummings, C; Lecoq, C; Wyld, L; Audisio, R A; Berman, R S

    2018-01-01

    The ability to provide optimal care to cancer patients depends on awareness of current evidence-based practices emanating from research or involvement in research where circumstances permit. The significant global variations in cancer-related research activity and its correlation to cancer-specific outcomes may have an influence on the care provided to cancer patients and their outcomes. The aim of this project is to develop a global curriculum in research literacy for the surgical oncologist. The leadership of the Society of Surgical Oncology and European Society of Surgical Oncology convened a global curriculum committee to develop a global curriculum in research literacy for the Surgical Oncologist. A global curriculum in research literacy is developed to incorporate the required domains considered to be essential to interpret the published research or become involved in research activity where circumstances permit. The purpose of this curriculum is to promote research literacy for the surgical oncologist, wherever they are based. It does not mandate direct research participation which may not be feasible due to restrictions within the local health-care delivery environment, socio-economic priorities and the educational environment of the individual institution where they work. A global curriculum in research literacy is proposed which may promote research literacy or encourage involvement in research activity where circumstances permit. It is hoped that this will enhance cancer-related research activity, promote awareness of optimal evidence-based practices and improve outcomes for cancer patients globally. Copyright © 2017 Society of Surgical Oncology, European Society of Surgical Oncology. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  16. Utilising a construct of teacher capacity to examine national curriculum reform in mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qinqiong; Stephens, Max

    2013-12-01

    This study involving 120 Australian and Chinese teachers introduces a construct of teacher capacity to analyse how teachers help students connect arithmetic learning and emerging algebraic thinking. Four criteria formed the basis of our construct of teacher capacity: knowledge of mathematics, interpretation of the intentions of official curriculum documents, understanding of students' thinking, and design of teaching. While these key elements connect to what other researchers refer to as mathematical knowledge for teaching, several differences are made clear. Qualitative and quantitative analyses show that our construct was robust and effective in distinguishing between different levels of teacher capacity.

  17. Thermodynamic evaluation of hydrogen production via bioethanol steam reforming

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tasnadi-Asztalos, Zsolt; Cormos, Ana-Maria; Imre-Lucaci, Árpád; Cormos, Călin C. [Babes-Bolyai University, Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Arany Janos 11, RO-400028, Cluj-Napoca (Romania)

    2013-11-13

    In this article, a thermodynamic analysis for bioethanol steam reforming for hydrogen production is presented. Bioethanol is a newly proposed renewable energy carrier mainly produced from biomass fermentation. Reforming of bioethanol provides a promising method for hydrogen production from renewable resources. Steam reforming of ethanol (SRE) takes place under the action of a metal catalyst capable of breaking C-C bonds into smaller molecules. A large domain for the water/bioethanol molar ratio as well as the temperature and average pressure has been used in the present work. The interval of investigated temperature was 100-800°C, the pressure was in the range of 1-10 bar and the molar ratio was between 3-25. The variations of gaseous species concentration e.g. H{sub 2}, CO, CO{sub 2}, CH{sub 4} were analyzed. The concentrations of the main products (H{sub 2} and CO) at lower temperature are smaller than the ones at higher temperature due to by-products formation (methane, carbon dioxide, acetylene etc.). The concentration of H2 obtained in the process using high molar ratio (>20) is higher than the one at small molar ratio (near stoichiometric). When the pressure is increased the hydrogen concentration decreases. The results were compared with literature data for validation purposes.

  18. Curriculum Mapping with Academic Analytics in Medical and Healthcare Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komenda, Martin; Víta, Martin; Vaitsis, Christos; Schwarz, Daniel; Pokorná, Andrea; Zary, Nabil; Dušek, Ladislav

    2015-01-01

    No universal solution, based on an approved pedagogical approach, exists to parametrically describe, effectively manage, and clearly visualize a higher education institution's curriculum, including tools for unveiling relationships inside curricular datasets. We aim to solve the issue of medical curriculum mapping to improve understanding of the complex structure and content of medical education programs. Our effort is based on the long-term development and implementation of an original web-based platform, which supports an outcomes-based approach to medical and healthcare education and is suitable for repeated updates and adoption to curriculum innovations. We adopted data exploration and visualization approaches in the context of medical curriculum innovations in higher education institutions domain. We have developed a robust platform, covering detailed formal metadata specifications down to the level of learning units, interconnections, and learning outcomes, in accordance with Bloom's taxonomy and direct links to a particular biomedical nomenclature. Furthermore, we used selected modeling techniques and data mining methods to generate academic analytics reports from medical curriculum mapping datasets. We present a solution that allows users to effectively optimize a curriculum structure that is described with appropriate metadata, such as course attributes, learning units and outcomes, a standardized vocabulary nomenclature, and a tree structure of essential terms. We present a case study implementation that includes effective support for curriculum reengineering efforts of academics through a comprehensive overview of the General Medicine study program. Moreover, we introduce deep content analysis of a dataset that was captured with the use of the curriculum mapping platform; this may assist in detecting any potentially problematic areas, and hence it may help to construct a comprehensive overview for the subsequent global in-depth medical curriculum

  19. Steepest Ascent Tariff Reforms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis; Woodland, Alan D.

    2006-01-01

    a theoretical concept where the focus is upon the size of welfare gains accruing from tariff reforms rather than simply with the direction of welfare effects that has been the concern of theliterature.JEL code: F15.Keywords: Steepest ascent tariff reforms; piecemeal tariff policy; welfare; market access; small......This paper introduces the concept of a steepest ascent tariff reform for a small open economy. By construction, it is locally optimal in that it yields the highest gain in utility of any feasible tariff reform vector of the same length. Accordingly, it provides a convenient benchmark...... for the evaluation of the welfare effectiveness of other well known tariff reform rules, as e.g. the proportional and the concertina rules. We develop the properties of this tariff reform, characterize the sources of the potential welfare gains from tariff reform, use it to establish conditions under which some...

  20. Teachers' Sensemaking about Implementation of an Innovative Science Curriculum Across the Settings of Professional Development and Classroom Enactment

    Science.gov (United States)

    de los Santos, Xeng

    Designing professional development that effectively supports teachers in learning new and often challenging practices remains a dilemma for teacher educators. Within the context of current reform efforts in science education, such as the Next Generation Science Standards, teacher educators are faced with managing the dilemma of how to support a large number of teachers in learning new practices while also considering factors such as time, cost, and effectiveness. Implementation of educative, reform-aligned curricula is one way to reach many teachers at once. However, one question is whether large-scale curriculum implementation can effectively support teachers in learning and sustaining new teaching practices. To address this dilemma, this study used a comparative, multiple case study design to investigate how secondary science teachers engaged in sensemaking about implementation of an innovative science curriculum across the settings of professional development and classroom enactment. In using the concept of sensemaking from organizational theory, I focused specifically on how teachers' roles in social organizations influenced their decisions to implement the curriculum in particular ways, with differing outcomes for their own learning and students' engagement in three-dimensional learning. My research questions explored: (1) patterns in teachers' occasions of sensemaking, including critical noticing of interactions among themselves, the curriculum, and their students; (2) how teachers' social commitments to different communities influenced their sensemaking; and, (3) how sustained sensemaking over time could facilitate teacher learning of rigorous and responsive science teaching practices. In privileging teachers' experiences in the classroom using the curriculum with their students, I used data generated primarily from teacher interviews with their case study coaches about implementation over the course of one school year. Secondary sources of data included

  1. Health system reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortolon, Ken

    2009-06-01

    A vote on reforming the nation's health care system seems likely this summer as President Obama makes good on a campaign pledge. Although the Democratic leadership in Congress appears ready to push through reform legislation before the next election, TMA and AMA leaders say very little is known about what that "reform" likely will look like.

  2. Resident learning across the full range of core competencies through a transitions of care curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavon, Juliessa M; Pinheiro, Sandro O; Buhr, Gwendolen T

    2018-01-01

    The authors developed a Transitions of Care (TOC) curriculum to teach and measure learner competence in performing TOC tasks for older adults. Internal medicine interns at an academic residency program received the curriculum, which consisted of experiential learning, self-study, and small group discussion. Interns completed retrospective pre/post surveys rating their confidence in performing five TOC tasks, qualitative open-ended survey questions, and a self-reflection essay. A subset of interns also completed follow-up assessments. For all five TOC tasks, the interns' confidence improved following completion of the TOC curriculum. Self-confidence persisted for up to 3 months later for some but not all tasks. According to the qualitative responses, the TOC curriculum provided interns with learning experiences and skills integral to performing safe care transitions. The TOC curriculum and a mixed-method assessment approach effectively teaches and measures learner competency in TOC across all six Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competency domains.

  3. Reform despite politics? The political economy of power sector reform in Fiji, 1996–2013

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dornan, Matthew

    2014-01-01

    Attempts to reform the electricity sector in developing countries have achieved mixed results, despite the implementation of similar reforms in many developed countries, and concerted effort by donors to transfer reform models. In many cases, political obstacles have prevented full and effective implementation of donor-promoted reforms. This paper examines the political economy of power sector reform in Fiji from 1996 to 2013. Reform has been pursued with political motives in a context of clientelism. Policy inconsistency and reversal is explained by the political instability of ethnic-based politics in Fiji. Modest success has been achieved in recent years despite these challenges, with Fiji now considered a model of power sector reform for other Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific. The experience demonstrates that reform is possible within difficult political environments, but it is challenging, takes time and is not guaranteed. The way in which political motives have driven and shaped reform efforts also highlights the need for studies of power sector reform to direct greater attention toward political drivers behind reform. - Highlights: • This is the first study of power sector reform in Fiji or other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Pacific. • The clientelist nature of politics in Fiji is found to have both driven and shaped reform efforts. • There has been modest success in recent years despite these obstacles, with Fiji now considered a model for other SIDS. • The experience demonstrates that reform is possible within difficult political environments, but it is challenging, takes time and is not guaranteed

  4. Pension reform in the European periphery: the role of EU reform advocacy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stepan, M.; Anderson, K.A.

    2014-01-01

    SUMMARY: This paper analyzes the impact of international reform advocacy on national pension reforms. We analyze European Union (EU) reform advocacy in two EU member states: Greece and Hungary. Although the EU has articulated a fairly coherent template for sustainable pensions, its use of soft

  5. Effectiveness of a quality improvement curriculum for medical students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimberly M. Tartaglia

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: As health systems find ways to improve quality of care, medical training programs are finding opportunities to prepare learners on principles of quality improvement (QI. The impact of QI curricula for medical students as measured by student learning is not well delineated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a QI curriculum for senior medical students as measured by student knowledge and skills. Methods: This study was an observational study that involved a self-assessment and post-test Quality Improvement Knowledge Application Tool (QIKAT for intervention and control students. A QI curriculum consisting of online modules, live discussions, independent readings and reflective writing, and participation in a mentored QI project was offered to fourth-year medical students completing an honor's elective (intervention group. Senior medical students who received the standard QI curriculum only were recruited as controls. Results: A total of 22 intervention students and 12 control students completed the self-assessment and QIKAT. At baseline, there was no difference between groups in self-reported prior exposure to QI principles. Students in the intervention group reported more comfort with their skills in QI overall and in 9 of the 12 domains (p<0.05. Additionally, intervention students performed better in each of the three case scenarios (p<0.01. Discussion: A brief QI curriculum for senior medical students results in improved comfort and knowledge with QI principles. The strengths of our curriculum include effective use of classroom time and faculty mentorship with reliance on pre-existing online modules and written resources. Additionally, the curriculum is easily expandable to larger groups of students and transferable to other institutions.

  6. Reforming Romanian energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perkins, S.

    1993-01-01

    Success in reforming energy sector depends on the implementation of the programme of economic reform agreed in February 1993. The difficulty of the negotiations between the International Monetary Fund and the Romanian government reflects the wider difficulties faced by the economy as a whole. They can be blamed in part on the legacy of uneconomic and inflexible industrial development and in part on opposition from interest groups which stand to lose from reform. Nonetheless, in spite of hesitant approach, the government does appear committed to the economic reform necessary to establish a market-oriented economy. But as the danger of a financial crisis engendered by the inadequately supported short-term borrowing of foreign exchange becomes urgent, the question is whether economic reform can be now implemented fast enough to protect economic enterprises and saving from a debt crisis. The scope for further delay in implementing the 1993 economic reform programme is fast disappearing. Procrastination should not be allowed to threaten the success of the reforms achieved in the energy and other sectors of the economy. 8 refs., 2 figs

  7. A statewide consortium's adoption of a unified nursing curriculum: evaluation of the first two years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tse, Alice M; Niederhauser, Victoria; Steffen, John J; Magnussen, Lois; Morrisette, Nova; Polokoff, Rachael; Chock, Johnelle

    2014-01-01

    This article provides an evaluation of the first two years of implementation of a statewide nursing consortium (SNC) curriculum on nursing faculty work life, teaching productivity, and quality of education. In response to the call for nursing education reform, the SNC incorporated new approaches to competency-based, student-centered learning and clinical education. Faculty and two cohorts of students were measured at three points over the first two years of the curriculum implementation. The expected positive impact of the SNC was documented at the start of the first year, but not sustained. Students reported having more confidence in their clinical skills at the start of the first year, yet demonstrated significantly less confidence in their ability after two years. Faculty indicated that the SNC allowed greater opportunity for collaboration, but that the experience did not alter their classroom performance or satisfaction beyond the first year.

  8. 美国多元文化教育课程改革之核心问题%Key Issues in the Curriculum Transformation of American Multicultural Education

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    朱姝

    2016-01-01

    知识建构是美国多元文化教育课程改革的核心。五种知识类型综合发挥作用促进美国多元文化教育的课程改革。提出权力共享模式可作为美国多元文化教育课程知识选择的途径。%This article makes a review of the Canon debate on the curriculum transformation in the United States and points out that knowledge construction is the key issue in the curriculum transformation in American multicultural education. American multicultural curriculum has been transformed to comprehensively integrate five types of knowledge. It also gives a summary of the approach to transforming American multicultural education and makes a discussion on its implication for our curriculum reform.

  9. 課程史研究,此其時矣It’s Time for the Curriculum History Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    白亦方Yi-Fong Pai

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available 課程議題近年來成為各界耳熟能詳、津津樂道的議題與現象。對於這樣的發展,固然九年一貫課程改革扮演要角,但是對於諸多的課程名詞、隱喻、政策、概念、實務或理論,學界與實務界始終缺乏一種歷史觀,無法從過去課程改革之社會脈絡、學界主張與基層心聲,和當前面臨之情境與類似現象,加以交融沉澱;衍生的明顯後果之一,就是亟於追求新穎的名詞術語、口號、組織、標籤、符號、與改革措施。本文將先探討課程史的意義,說明其性質與特色;另外,文中亦探討課程史研究的範疇類型,透過個人從事課程史研究之心得與臺灣相關研究簡介,提出從事研究題材之建議。一方面讓課程的歷史研究,得到應有的重視與地位,一方面對於層出不窮的課程改革落實與課程本質釐清,有所助益。 For the past few years, curriculum issues have been familiar for Taiwanese audience. The so-called “1-9 consistent curriculum reform” played a key role along with such phenomena. It is regretful that we can’t shed light on the historical perspective to treat those curriculum terms, concepts, metaphors, policies, practices, and theories properly, including academic and practical fields. It is a pity that we lack of interweaving the social contexts, intellectual proposals, and practitioners’ voices when curriculum reforms were implemented. One of the significant consequences for such treatment is to pursuit brand new slogans, terminologies, organizations, labels, symbols, and behaviors without any reflection. This article begins with the meaning of curriculum history, and then various forms of curriculum history researches are discussed. By ways of personal experience in dealing with related topics, by reviewing critical research literature, and by recommending appropriate study topics, this article emphasizes the importance

  10. Plasma-catalytic reforming of ethanol: influence of air activation rate and reforming temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nedybaliuk, O.A.; Chernyak, V.Ya.; Fedirchuk, I.I.; Demchina, V.P.; Bortyshevsky, V.A.; Korzh, R.V.

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents the study of the influence that air activation rate and reforming temperature have on the gaseous products composition and conversion efficiency during the plasma-catalytic reforming of ethanol. The analysis of product composition showed that the conversion efficiency of ethanol has a maximum in the studied range of reforming temperatures. Researched system provided high reforming efficiency and high hydrogen energy yield at the lower temperatures than traditional conversion technologies

  11. Emergency in the clinic: a simulation curriculum to improve outpatient safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espey, Eve; Baty, Gillian; Rask, John; Chungtuyco, Michelle; Pereda, Brenda; Leeman, Lawrence

    2017-12-01

    Emergency response skills are essential when events such as seizure, anaphylaxis, or hemorrhage occur in the outpatient setting. As services and procedures increasingly move outside the hospital, training to manage complications may improve outcomes. The objective of this study was to evaluate a simulation-based curriculum in outpatient emergency management skills with the outcome measures of graded objective performance and learner self-efficacy. This pre- and postcurriculum study enrolled residents and fellows in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Family Medicine in a simulation-based, outpatient emergency management curriculum. Learners completed self-efficacy questionnaires and were videotaped managing 3 medical emergency scenarios (seizure, over-sedation/cardiopulmonary arrest, and hemorrhage) in the simulation laboratory both before and after completion of the curriculum. Evaluators who were blinded to training level scored the simulation performance videotapes using a graded rubric with critical action checklists. Scenario scores were assigned in 5 domains and globally. Paired t-tests were used to determine differences pre- and postcurriculum. Thirty residents completed the curriculum and pre- and postcurriculum testing. Subjects' objective performance scores improved in all 5 domains (Pimprovement. When scores were stratified by previous outpatient simulation experience, subjects with previous experience improved in all but management of excess sedation. Pre- and postcurriculum self-efficacy evaluations demonstrated improvement in all 7 measured areas: confidence, use of appropriate resources, communication skills, complex airway management, bag mask ventilation, resuscitation, and hemorrhage management. Self-efficacy assessment showed improvement in confidence managing outpatient emergencies (P=.001) and ability to communicate well in emergency situations (Pimproved both self-efficacy and objectively rated performance scores in management of outpatient medical

  12. Phenomenon-Based Teaching and Learning through the Pedagogical Lenses of Phenomenology: The Recent Curriculum Reform in Finland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasileios Symeonidis

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to explore the phenomenon-based approach in teaching and learning, through the pedagogical lenses of phenomenology, the philosophy of phenomena. The phenomenon-based approach has informed the new core curriculum for basic education in Finland, which has officially introduced multidisciplinary learning modules as periods of phenomenon-based project studies. In this paper, we discuss how the specific approach is integrated into the curriculum, its theoretical grounding and its connections to constructivism. We also explore its implications for teaching and learning from a phenomenological perspective. The paper concludes that the responsive relation between teaching and learning is essential when our purpose is educational. Students are part of the learning process, but they do not necessarily initiate it; similarly, teachers cannot fully instruct it. Thus, we need to make meaning of the space between teaching and learning, in an effort to reclaim learning for pedagogy.

  13. Teachers' Views about Technical Education: Implications for Reforms towards a Broad Based Technology Curriculum in Malawi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chikasanda, Vanwyk Khobidi; Otrel-Cass, Kathrin; Jones, Alister

    2011-01-01

    Internationally there has been concern about the direction of technical education and how it is positioned in schools. This has also been the case in Malawi where the curriculum has had a strong focus on skills development. However, lately there has been a call for enhancing technological literacy of students, yet little support has been provided…

  14. Curriculum, Curriculum Development, Curriculum Studies? Problematising Theoretical Ambiguities in Doctoral Theses in the Education Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    du Preez, Petro; Simmonds, Shan

    2014-01-01

    Theoretical ambiguities in curriculum studies result in conceptual mayhem. Accordingly, they hinder the development of the complicated conversation on curriculum as a verb. This article aims to contribute to reconceptualizing curriculum studies as a dynamic social practice that aspires to thinking and acting with intelligences and sensitivity so…

  15. Exploring student preferences with a Q-sort: the development of an individualized renal physiology curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, John K; Hargett, Charles W; Nagler, Alisa; Jakoi, Emma; Lehrich, Ruediger W

    2015-09-01

    Medical education reform is underway, but the optimal course for change has yet to be seen. While planning for the redesign of a renal physiology course at the Duke School of Medicine, the authors used a Q-sort survey to assess students' attitudes and learning preferences to inform curricular change. The authors invited first-year medical students at the Duke School of Medicine to take a Q-sort survey on the first day of renal physiology. Students prioritized statements related to their understanding of renal physiology, learning preferences, preferred course characteristics, perceived clinical relevance of renal physiology, and interest in nephrology as a career. By-person factor analysis was performed using the centroid method. Three dominant factors were strongly defined by learning preferences: "readers" prefer using notes, a textbook, and avoid lectures; "social-auditory learners" prefer attending lectures, interactivity, and working with peers; and "visual learners" prefer studying images, diagrams, and viewing materials online. A smaller, fourth factor represented a small group of students with a strong predisposition against renal physiology and nephrology. In conclusion, the Q-sort survey identified and then described in detail the dominant viewpoints of our students. Learning style preferences better classified first-year students rather than any of the other domains. A more individualized curriculum would simultaneously cater to the different types of learners in the classroom. Copyright © 2015 The American Physiological Society.

  16. How teen girls think about fertility and the reproductive lifespan. Possible implications for curriculum reform and public health policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Littleton, Fiona Kisby

    2014-09-01

    Despite an 'epidemic' of delayed childbirth in England and Wales beyond a woman's optimally fertile years, research shows that young adults are unaware of or misunderstand the risks regarding starting or extending families that such behaviour entails. Currently, sex education syllabi in British schools neglect these issues, rendering school leavers ignorant of them.These curricula cannot be improved until more is known about adolescents' knowledge of relevant topics. In the light of this, this article describes exploratory research on how teenage girls in one English school think about the reproductive lifespan. Going beyond recent 'scientific' investigations which have mostly only tested the extent of ignorance of young adults, this qualitative enquiry used theories of the life course and emerging adulthood to analyse data gathered in interviews. It sought to understand not only what girls know, but how they apply their knowledge in relation to their assumptions about aging, motherhood, pregnancy, parenting and employment. One finding is highlighted here: that whilst "correct" knowledge about the reproductive lifespan does appear to be held by teenage girls, the ability to apply that knowledge and connect the socio-cultural with the biological domain, may not always be in place. This is relevant for curriculum developers aiming to prepare future citizens to take full control of their reproductive health, and policy makers responsible for ensuring an appropriate public health message about these concerns is available after formal schooling ends.

  17. Reforming science: methodological and cultural reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casadevall, Arturo; Fang, Ferric C

    2012-03-01

    Contemporary science has brought about technological advances and an unprecedented understanding of the natural world. However, there are signs of dysfunction in the scientific community as well as threats from diverse antiscience and political forces. Incentives in the current system place scientists under tremendous stress, discourage cooperation, encourage poor scientific practices, and deter new talent from entering the field. It is time for a discussion of how the scientific enterprise can be reformed to become more effective and robust. Serious reform will require more consistent methodological rigor and a transformation of the current hypercompetitive scientific culture.

  18. European Master's Program in Gerontology (EuMaG): Goals, Curriculum, and Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aartsen, Marja

    2011-01-01

    The European Master's Program in Gerontology (EuMaG) started in September 2003 with support from the European Commission. The EuMaG is a modular, 2-year, part-time international training program about the aging process and its societal implications. The multidisciplinary curriculum comprises four domains of gerontology (i.e., social gerontology,…

  19. The Origins of Diverse Domains of Mathematics: Generalist Genes but Specialist Environments

    OpenAIRE

    Kovas, Y.; Petrill, S. A.; Plomin, R.

    2007-01-01

    The authors assessed 2,502 ten-year-old children, members of 1,251 pairs of twins, on a Web-based battery of problems from 5 diverse aspects of mathematics assessed as part of the U.K. national curriculum. This 1st genetic study into the etiology of variation in different domains of mathematics showed that the heritability estimates were moderate and highly similar across domains and that these genetic influences were mostly general. Environmental factors unique to each twin in a family (rath...

  20. Integrated Curriculum and Subject-based Curriculum: Achievement and Attitudes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casady, Victoria

    The research conducted for this mixed-method study, qualitative and quantitative, analyzed the results of an academic year-long study to determine whether the use of an integrated fourth grade curriculum would benefit student achievement in the areas of English language arts, social studies, and science more than a subject-based traditional curriculum. The research was conducted based on the international, national, and state test scores, which show a slowing or lack of growth. Through pre- and post-assessments, student questionnaires, and administrative interviews, the researcher analyzed the phenomenological experiences of the students to determine if the integrated curriculum was a beneficial restructuring of the curriculum. The research questions for this study focused on the achievement and attitudes of the students in the study and whether the curriculum they were taught impacted their achievement and attitudes over the course of one school year. The curricula for the study were organized to cover the current standards, where the integrated curriculum focused on connections between subject areas to help students make connections to what they are learning and the world beyond the classroom. The findings of this study indicated that utilizing the integrated curriculum could increase achievement as well as students' attitudes toward specific content areas. The ANOVA analysis for English language arts was not determined to be significant; although, greater growth in the students from the integrated curriculum setting was recorded. The ANOVA for social studies (0.05) and the paired t-tests (0.001) for science both determined significant positive differences. The qualitative analysis led to the discovery that the experiences of the students from the integrated curriculum setting were more positive. The evaluation of the data from this study led the researcher to determine that the integrated curriculum was a worthwhile endeavor to increase achievement and attitudes

  1. Representing and Practising Meaningful Differences in a Well-Structured but Complex Art Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunliffe, Leslie

    2010-01-01

    This paper conceptualizes the secondary art curriculum as a well-structured but complex knowledge-domain, with the aim of emphasizing meaningful differences in the way creative grammar operates in the following gatherings of art practices: Pre-historic and non-European cultures; Ancient and European cultures before c. 1800; Romantic and Modern…

  2. Reform Drivers and Reform Obstacles in Natural Resource Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gezelius, Stig S.; Raakjær, Jesper; Hegland, Troels Jacob

    2010-01-01

    ABSTRACT: The ability to transform historical learning into institutional reform is a key to success in the management of common pool natural resources. Based on a model of institutional inertia and a comparative analysis of Northeast Atlantic fisheries management from 1945 to the present....... Institutional inertia entails that large-scale management reform tends to be crisis driven....

  3. The indonesia’s Police Reform Police in the Reform Era New Institutionalism Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ACHMAD NURMAND

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Since the reformation and democratization movement in 1998, Indonesians have faced a chronic corruption problem. At the beginning of reformation era in 1998 to fight against corruption, the Indonesian government reforms the organization structure of the Indonesia Police to be an independent body separated from the Military organization. The police reforms begun in 1999 and got legal foundation with Act No. 2/2002. However, since fourteen years, the level of police reform has not yet succeed because of low community satisfaction on police service and the intense conflicts always occur whenever ACA investigates the case of corruptions conducted by police leaders. Three conflicts between police institution and ACA have taken placed. By using institutionalism approach, this research focus on the reform in police themselves are major actors on how reforms are organized and managed. This study is interpretative in nature gained only through social constructions such as language, consciousness, shared meanings, documents, tools, and other artefacts’. This finding revealed that this unsuccessful institutionalization process took place in a context of the main task of police for communicty service. Second, the study has demonstrated that three concepts from institutional theory as aforementioned provided vocabularies and insights to explain the phenomenon under study.

  4. The Origins of Diverse Domains of Mathematics: Generalist Genes but Specialist Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovas, Y; Petrill, S A; Plomin, R

    2007-02-01

    The authors assessed 2,502 ten-year-old children, members of 1,251 pairs of twins, on a Web-based battery of problems from 5 diverse aspects of mathematics assessed as part of the U.K. national curriculum. This 1st genetic study into the etiology of variation in different domains of mathematics showed that the heritability estimates were moderate and highly similar across domains and that these genetic influences were mostly general. Environmental factors unique to each twin in a family (rather than shared by the 2 twins) explained most of the remaining variance, and these factors were mostly specific to each domain.

  5. The Origins of Diverse Domains of Mathematics: Generalist Genes but Specialist Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovas, Y.; Petrill, S. A.; Plomin, R.

    2009-01-01

    The authors assessed 2,502 ten-year-old children, members of 1,251 pairs of twins, on a Web-based battery of problems from 5 diverse aspects of mathematics assessed as part of the U.K. national curriculum. This 1st genetic study into the etiology of variation in different domains of mathematics showed that the heritability estimates were moderate and highly similar across domains and that these genetic influences were mostly general. Environmental factors unique to each twin in a family (rather than shared by the 2 twins) explained most of the remaining variance, and these factors were mostly specific to each domain. PMID:19756208

  6. Common morality and moral reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, K A

    2009-01-01

    The idea of moral reform requires that morality be more than a description of what people do value, for there has to be some measure against which to assess progress. Otherwise, any change is not reform, but simply difference. Therefore, I discuss moral reform in relation to two prescriptive approaches to common morality, which I distinguish as the foundational and the pragmatic. A foundational approach to common morality (e.g., Bernard Gert's) suggests that there is no reform of morality, but of beliefs, values, customs, and practices so as to conform with an unchanging, foundational morality. If, however, there were revision in its foundation (e.g., in rationality), then reform in morality itself would be possible. On a pragmatic view, on the other hand, common morality is relative to human flourishing, and its justification consists in its effectiveness in promoting flourishing. Morality is dependent on what in fact does promote human flourishing and therefore, could be reformed. However, a pragmatic approach, which appears more open to the possibility of moral reform, would need a more robust account of norms by which reform is measured.

  7. The practice of problem-based investigative teaching reform in semiconductor physics course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Aiping; Wu, Gaojian; Gu, Dawei; Jiang, Hongying; Wang, Lei

    2017-08-01

    Semiconductor physics is an important basic course for the students of the majors of applied physics, optoelectronics, and microelectronics. The authors have been carrying out investigative-teaching reform in semiconductor physics teaching. Firstly, the teaching content was re-structured based on scientific problems. Secondly, the students were placed in groups to discuss different scientific problems and to present a few short science-reports. Thirdly, micro-lesson videos were produced for the students to study and analyze before or after class. With comparative analysis, we find out that the semiconductor-physics curriculum content was greatly enriched. In addition, the students' learning motivation and scientific thinking ability increased, and their innovation ability was improved. Overall, the teaching quality of the semiconductor physics course could be significantly improved.

  8. Evaluation of a national process of reforming curricula in postgraduate medical education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lillevang, Gunver; Bugge, Lasse; Beck, Henning

    2009-01-01

    CONTEXT: A national reform of the postgraduate medical education in Denmark introduced (1) Outcome-based education, (2) The CanMEDS framework of competence related to seven roles of the doctor, and (3) In-training assessment. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the process...... of developing new curricula for 38 specialist training programmes. The research question was: which conditions promote and which conditions impede the process? METHODS: Evaluation of the process was conducted among 76 contact-persons, who were chairing the curriculum development process within the specialties...... and motivation in faculty and support from written guidelines and seminars. Identified impeding factors included insufficient pedagogical support, poor introduction to the task, changing and inconsistent information from authorities, replacement of advisors, and stressful deadlines. CONCLUSIONS: This study...

  9. 從PISA與TIMSS國際學測檢視 課程改革與評量機制From PISA and TIMSS to Curriculum Reform and Assessment Reconstruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    戴維揚Wei-Yang Dai

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available 依「成敗究因」理論,成功者選擇進步的改革策略,失敗者尋找掩飾的藉口。OECD每年研擬國際標準與策略,因應瞬息萬變的挑戰與轉換。PISA國際學測評量結果公布以後,芬蘭、英、美、德、澳等國都經深入廣泛嚴肅地研究檢討,並制定、實施課程改革方案及重新調整評量機制。另就IEA 2003年TIMSS學測成績公布:新加坡取代臺灣,榮獲四冠王,成績最亮麗,全球皆矚目,值得深思、檢討。 教育改革成功要訣,首先要求教師專業成長,教師以身作則,重新啟動良好閱讀習慣,才能帶動學生、學校、家庭親子共讀,建構一個書香社會。芬蘭由於全民享受閱讀、紮實學習,因此2000年PISA三科學測皆排前四名,2003年的PISA四項評量成績皆升為前三名,其中「閱讀」與「科學」皆獲第一,成為全球最優秀的教育改革楷模。德國學測成績並不理想,「知恥近乎勇」,全國總動員,嚴管勤教,果然PISA及TIMSS成績都大幅度提升。美國教改也全面提升TIMSS的成績。相對地,日本、臺灣國際評量名次雖然曾經名列第一,然而近年都連續全面下滑。香港各界知所驚惕,引以為鑑,於2003年公布提升法案,期盼往後成績依然亮麗。臺灣將於2006年首次參與PISA全面評量,並於2006年首次參與IEA的PIRLS國際閱讀素養評比,以及2007年第三次參加TIMSS的評量。本文論述上述8國(地區)一些教改成功的模式,供教育改革與評量機制的方家參考。In this age of standards and assessments, a curriculum designed for primary and secondary schools is the most significant foundation for educational reform. We should start to strengthen strategies and guidances to align standards, curricula, and assessments. OECD issues yearly educational indicators, benchmarks and standards for policy planning and also indicates

  10. Catalytic reforming methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tadd, Andrew R; Schwank, Johannes

    2013-05-14

    A catalytic reforming method is disclosed herein. The method includes sequentially supplying a plurality of feedstocks of variable compositions to a reformer. The method further includes adding a respective predetermined co-reactant to each of the plurality of feedstocks to obtain a substantially constant output from the reformer for the plurality of feedstocks. The respective predetermined co-reactant is based on a C/H/O atomic composition for a respective one of the plurality of feedstocks and a predetermined C/H/O atomic composition for the substantially constant output.

  11. The GenDev Curriculum Development Workshop.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'cunha, J

    1997-01-01

    This article describes the second Curriculum Development Workshop held in May 1997 at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop aimed to review critically and restructure the Gender and Development Studies (GenDev) curriculum and to assess AIT's role in training gender experts for the region. Participants included 22 people from 16 countries in Asia, Europe, and the US who were teaching graduate students about gender issues and who were activists with nongovernmental organizations working on gender issues. It was determined that the following were required courses: Culture, Knowledge and Gender Relations; Gender, Technology, and Development; Principles of Gender Research and Methodology in Science and Technology; and Gender Analysis and Field Methods. Other suggested core courses included: Gender and Natural Resource Management; Enterprise Management, Technology, and Gender; Gender and Agrarian Reform; Urbanization: A Gender Perspective; Gender-Responsive Development Planning; and Gender and Economic Change: Past and Present Concerns. Participants distinguished between GenDev courses offered to anyone attending AIT and training courses designed to produce gender experts in the region. The aim of training courses for AIT graduate students was to sensitize potential managers, technologists, and others on gender issues and to create awareness of the importance of including gender perspectives within decision-making, policy formation, and implementation. Training courses to produce gender experts should be directed to those with a prior background in gender studies and include gender analysis in field methods. Participants agreed that there should be an independent and autonomous field of gender and development studies. Participants made six recommendations for such a field of study.

  12. Frontiers in Microbiology: Envisioning a Curriculum Unit for High School Biology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mark Bloom

    2004-06-18

    Microbiology is undergoing a quiet revolution. Techniques such as polymerase chain reaction, high throughput DNA sequencing, whole genome shotgun sequencing, DNA microarrays, and bioinformatics analyses are greatly aiding our understanding of the estimated one billion species of microbes that inhabit the Earth. Unfortunately, the rapid pace of research in microbiology stands in contrast to the much slower pace of change in educational reform. Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) hosted a two-day planning meeting to discuss whether or not a new curriculum unit on microbiology is desirable for the high school audience. Attending the meeting were microbiologists, high school biology teachers, and science educators. The consensus of the participants was that an inquiry-based unit dealing with advances in microbiology should be developed for a high school biology audience. Participants established content priorities for the unit, discussed the unit's conceptual flow, brainstormed potential student activities, and discussed the role of educational technology for the unit. As a result of the planning meeting discussions, BSCS staff sought additional funding to develop, disseminate, and evaluate the Frontiers in Microbiology curriculum unit. This unit was intended to be developed as a replacement unit suitable for an introductory biology course. The unit would feature inquiry-based student activities and provide approximately four weeks of instruction. As appropriate, activities would make use of multimedia. The development and production processes would require about two years for completion. Unfortunately, BSCS staff was not able to attract sufficient funding to develop the proposed curriculum unit. Since there were some unexpended funds left over from the planning meeting, BSCS requested and received permission from DOE to use the balance of the funds to prepare background materials about advances in microbiology that would be useful to teachers. These

  13. Reforming Organizational Structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S.G.J. Van de Walle (Steven)

    2016-01-01

    textabstractPublic sectors have undergone major transformations. Public sector reform touches upon the core building blocks of the public sector: organizational structures, people and finances. These are objects of reform. This chapter presents and discusses a set of major transformations with

  14. Multi-fuel reformers for fuel cells used in transportation. Phase 1: Multi-fuel reformers

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-05-01

    DOE has established the goal, through the Fuel Cells in Transportation Program, of fostering the rapid development and commercialization of fuel cells as economic competitors for the internal combustion engine. Central to this goal is a safe feasible means of supplying hydrogen of the required purity to the vehicular fuel cell system. Two basic strategies are being considered: (1) on-board fuel processing whereby alternative fuels such as methanol, ethanol or natural gas stored on the vehicle undergo reformation and subsequent processing to produce hydrogen, and (2) on-board storage of pure hydrogen provided by stationary fuel processing plants. This report analyzes fuel processor technologies, types of fuel and fuel cell options for on-board reformation. As the Phase 1 of a multi-phased program to develop a prototype multi-fuel reformer system for a fuel cell powered vehicle, the objective of this program was to evaluate the feasibility of a multi-fuel reformer concept and to select a reforming technology for further development in the Phase 2 program, with the ultimate goal of integration with a DOE-designated fuel cell and vehicle configuration. The basic reformer processes examined in this study included catalytic steam reforming (SR), non-catalytic partial oxidation (POX) and catalytic partial oxidation (also known as Autothermal Reforming, or ATR). Fuels under consideration in this study included methanol, ethanol, and natural gas. A systematic evaluation of reforming technologies, fuels, and transportation fuel cell applications was conducted for the purpose of selecting a suitable multi-fuel processor for further development and demonstration in a transportation application.

  15. Information Systems Security Job Advertisement Analysis: Skills Review and Implications for Information Systems Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooks, Nita G.; Greer, Timothy H.; Morris, Steven A.

    2018-01-01

    The authors' focus was the assessment of skill requirements for information systems security positions to understand expectations for security jobs and to highlight issues relevant to curriculum management. The analysis of 798 job advertisements involved the exploration of domain-related and soft skills as well as degree and certification…

  16. Integrating computation into the undergraduate curriculum: A vision and guidelines for future developments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chonacky, Norman; Winch, David

    2008-04-01

    There is substantial evidence of a need to make computation an integral part of the undergraduate physics curriculum. This need is consistent with data from surveys in both the academy and the workplace, and has been reinforced by two years of exploratory efforts by a group of physics faculty for whom computation is a special interest. We have examined past and current efforts at reform and a variety of strategic, organizational, and institutional issues involved in any attempt to broadly transform existing practice. We propose a set of guidelines for development based on this past work and discuss our vision of computationally integrated physics.

  17. Relationship of pass/fail grading and curriculum structure with well-being among preclinical medical students: a multi-institutional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, Darcy A; Shanafelt, Tait D; Satele, Daniel W; Power, David V; Eacker, Anne; Harper, William; Moutier, Christine; Durning, Steven; Massie, F Stanford; Thomas, Matthew R; Sloan, Jeff A; Dyrbye, Liselotte N

    2011-11-01

    Psychological distress is common among medical students. Curriculum structure and grading scales are modifiable learning environment factors that may influence student well-being. The authors sought to examine relationships among curriculum structures, grading scales, and student well-being. The authors surveyed 2,056 first- and second-year medical students at seven U.S. medical schools in 2007. They used the Perceived Stress Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-8) to measure stress, burnout, and quality of life, respectively. They measured curriculum structure using hours spent in didactic, clinical, and testing experiences. Grading scales were categorized as two categories (pass/fail) versus three or more categories (e.g., honors/pass/fail). Of the 2,056 students, 1,192 (58%) responded. In multivariate analyses, students in schools using grading scales with three or more categories had higher levels of stress (beta 2.65; 95% CI 1.54-3.76, Pstudents in schools using pass/fail grading. There were no relationships between time spent in didactic and clinical experiences and well-being. How students are evaluated has a greater impact than other aspects of curriculum structure on their well-being. Curricular reform intended to enhance student well-being should incorporate pass/fail grading.

  18. Culture Matters in Successful Curriculum Change: An International Study of the Influence of National and Organizational Culture Tested With Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jippes, Mariëlle; Driessen, Erik W; Broers, Nick J; Majoor, Gerard D; Gijselaers, Wim H; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

    2015-07-01

    National culture has been shown to play a role in curriculum change in medical schools, and business literature has described a similar influence of organizational culture on change processes in organizations. This study investigated the impact of both national and organizational culture on successful curriculum change in medical schools internationally. The authors tested a literature-based conceptual model using multilevel structural equation modeling. For the operationalization of national and organizational culture, the authors used Hofstede's dimensions of culture and Quinn and Spreitzer's competing values framework, respectively. To operationalize successful curriculum change, the authors used two derivates: medical schools' organizational readiness for curriculum change developed by Jippes and colleagues, and change-related behavior developed by Herscovitch and Meyer. The authors administered a questionnaire in 2012 measuring the described operationalizations to medical schools in the process of changing their curriculum. Nine hundred ninety-one of 1,073 invited staff members from 131 of 345 medical schools in 56 of 80 countries completed the questionnaire. An initial poor fit of the model improved to a reasonable fit by two suggested modifications which seemed theoretically plausible. In sum, characteristics of national culture and organizational culture, such as a certain level of risk taking, flexible policies and procedures, and strong leadership, affected successful curriculum change. National and organizational culture influence readiness for change in medical schools. Therefore, medical schools considering curriculum reform should anticipate the potential impact of national and organizational culture.

  19. Envisioning Curriculum as Six Simultaneities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Hanin; Conner, Lindsey; Mayo, Elaine

    2014-01-01

    This paper uses the discourse of complexity thinking to envision curriculum as six partial and coupled facets that exist simultaneously: curriculum as structure, curriculum as process, curriculum as content, curriculum as teaching, curriculum as learning and curriculum as activity. Such a curriculum is emergent and self-organising. It is emergent…

  20. Improvement of resident perceptions of nurse practitioners after the introduction of a collaborative care model: a benefit of work hour reform?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellini, Lisa M; Shea, Judy A

    2006-01-01

    Nurse practitioners (NPs) are assuming larger roles in many residency programs as a result of work hour reform, which is creating the potential for collaboration with interns and residents. To assess housestaff perceptions of NPs. We used a 17-item survey before and after the implementation of a collaborative care model in a university-based medicine residency. The majority of residents held favorable attitudes about NPs before the introduction of the collaborative care model. After 1 year, more interns and residents appreciated NPs' clinical judgment (effect size [ES] = .26, p =.02), thought they should be able to order laboratory tests (ES = .23, p = .05) and perform basic procedures (ES = .67, p collaborative care can be an unintended consequence of work hour reform. Educators are encouraged to think about how changes in the curriculum structure can provide opportunities for positive collaborative care experiences.

  1. The role of environmental and individual characteristics in the development of student achievement: a comparison between a traditional and a problem-based-learning curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schauber, Stefan K; Hecht, Martin; Nouns, Zineb M; Kuhlmey, Adelheid; Dettmer, Susanne

    2015-10-01

    In medical education, the effect of the educational environment on student achievement has primarily been investigated in comparisons between traditional and problem-based learning (PBL) curricula. As many of these studies have reached no clear conclusions on the superiority of the PBL approach, the effect of curricular reform on student performance remains an issue. We employed a theoretical framework that integrates antecedents of student achievement from various psychosocial domains to examine how students interact with their curricular environment. In a longitudinal study with N = 1,646 participants, we assessed students in a traditional and a PBL-centered curriculum. The measures administered included students' perception of the learning environment, self-efficacy beliefs, positive study-related affect, social support, indicators of self-regulated learning, and academic achievement assessed through progress tests. We compared the relations between these characteristics in the two curricular environments. The results are two-fold. First, substantial relations of various psychosocial domains and their associations with achievement were identified. Second, our analyses indicated that there are no substantial differences between traditional and PBL-based curricula concerning the relational structure of psychosocial variables and achievement. Drawing definite conclusions on the role of curricular-level interventions in the development of student's academic achievement is constrained by the quasi-experimental design as wells as the selection of variables included. However, in the specific context described here, our results may still support the view of student activity as the key ingredient in the acquisition of achievement and performance.

  2. Public Administration reforms and results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Research on administrative reforms during the past thirty years indicates that reform efforts of countries differ. The Anglo Saxon states were at the forefront of the New Public Management movement while countries on mainland Europe were more hesitant and moved further towards the Neo-Weberian state. Academics have tried to explain different reform efforts within countries by looking at political, historical and cultural issues, values and economic factors to name just a few. Three hypotheses are put forward to explain reform efforts in different states. This research involves analysing the implementation of two different reform trends, New Public Management and the Neo-Weberian tradition. The analysis indicates that countries vary in their commitment to reform rather than in the emphasis on either New Public Management or the Neo-Weberian State. Decentralization, clear objectives and consultation with communities and experts are closely related to national reform efforts. However, Iceland does distinguish itself from Europe and the Nordic countries. The analysis reveals that although decentralization is high in the Icelandic system, autonomy of agencies does not have a strong relation to a varied use of administrative instruments. The second part of the article focuses on the results and achievements of reform programmes. The achievement of reform programmes are examined in relation to theories of bounded rationality, street level bureaucracy (bottom up and consensus decision making. Three hypotheses are presented and tested to explain what causes reforms programmes to be successful in some countries and not in others. The analysis reveals that countries are more likely to succeed if bounded rationality is applied with careful preparation and when stakeholders are consulted.

  3. Development of a Comprehensive Communication Skills Curriculum for Pediatrics Residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Eleanor B; Boland, Kimberly A; Bryant, Kristina A; McKinley, Tara F; Porter, Melissa B; Potter, Katherine E; Calhoun, Aaron W

    2016-12-01

    Effective communication is an essential element of medical care and a priority of medical education. Specific interventions to teach communication skills are at the discretion of individual residency programs. We developed the Resident Communication Skills Curriculum (RCSC), a formal curriculum designed to teach trainees the communication skills essential for high-quality practice. A multidisciplinary working group contributed to the development of the RCSC, guided by an institutional needs assessment, literature review, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies. The result was a cohesive curriculum that incorporates didactic, role play, and real-life experiences over the course of the entire training period. Methods to assess curricular outcomes included self-reporting, surveys, and periodic faculty evaluations of the residents. Curricular components have been highly rated by residents (3.95-3.97 based on a 4-point Likert scale), and residents' self-reported communication skills demonstrated an improvement over the course of residency in the domains of requesting a consultation, providing effective handoffs, handling conflict, and having difficult conversations (intern median 3.0, graduate median 4.0 based on a 5-point Likert scale, P  ≤ .002). Faculty evaluations of residents have also demonstrated improvement over time (intern median 3.0, graduate median 4.5 based on a 5-point Likert scale, P  communication skills curriculum for pediatrics residents was implemented, with a multistep evaluative process showing improvement in skills over the course of the residency program. Positive resident evaluations and informal comments from faculty support its general acceptance. The use of existing resources makes this curriculum feasible.

  4. Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation

    KAUST Repository

    Cha, Min Suk

    2017-02-16

    Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation are provided. Methods of using the devices for hydrocarbon reformation are also provided. The devices can include a liquid container to receive a hydrocarbon source, and a plasma torch configured to be submerged in the liquid. The plasma plume from the plasma torch can cause reformation of the hydrocarbon. The device can use a variety of plasma torches that can be arranged in a variety of positions in the liquid container. The devices can be used for the reformation of gaseous hydrocarbons and/or liquid hydrocarbons. The reformation can produce methane, lower hydrocarbons, higher hydrocarbons, hydrogen gas, water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or a combination thereof.

  5. Four proposals for market-based health care system reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumner, W

    1994-08-01

    A perfectly free, competitive medical market would not meet many social goals, such as universal access to health care. Micromanagement of interactions between patients and providers does not guarantee quality care and frequently undermines that relationship, to the frustration of all involved. Furthermore, while some North American health care plans are less expensive than others, none have reduced the medical inflation rate to equal the general inflation rate. Markets have always fixed uneven inflation rates in other domains. The suggested reforms could make elective interactions between patients and providers work more like a free market than did any preceding system. The health and life insurance plan creates cost-sensitive consumers, informed by a corporation with significant research incentives and abilities. The FFEB proposal encourages context-sensitive pricing, established by negotiation processes that weigh labor and benefit. Publication of providers' expected outcomes further enriches the information available to consumers and may reduce defensive medicine incentives. A medical career ladder would ease entry and exit from medical professions. These and complementary reforms do not specifically cap spending yet could have a deflationary impact on elective health care prices, while providing incentives to maintain quality. They accomplish these ends by giving more responsibility, information, incentives, and choice to citizens. We could provide most health care in a marketlike environment. We can incorporate these reforms in any convenient order and allow them to compete with alternative schemes. Our next challenge is to design, implement, and evaluate marketlike health care systems.

  6. Shaping the tax agenda: Public engagement, lobbying and tax reform in Tanzania

    OpenAIRE

    Fjeldstad, Odd-Helge; Ngowi, Prosper; Rakner, Lise

    2015-01-01

    Tax reforms are no longer the exclusive domain of the International Monetary Fund, external experts, and the Ministry of Finance. Increasingly, interest groups across Africa shape the tax agenda. Business associations and other lobbying groups join in alliance with multinational companies to get tax exemptions even though they admit that tax incentives are not of major importance for their decision to invest or not.A high occurrence of tax exemptions reduces the tax base, creates room for bri...

  7. The Acculturation of Russian-Speaking Adolescents in Latvia: Language Issues Three Years after the 2004 Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cara, Olga

    2010-01-01

    This article presents research findings on acculturation strategies (attitudes and behaviors) in the language domain of Russian-speaking adolescents in Latvia in the context of the education reform. Data comes from a longitudinal study of adolescents from schools with Russian as the language of instruction in Riga; the same schools were invited to…

  8. How Can Teacher Trainers Address Inequalities in the Curriculum and in Society? The Lessons (in Theory and in Practice From Tthe South East Europe Case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aida McLeod

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The curriculum should pay particular attention to ethnic, gender, and other forms of social difference and inequality. At the same time, it should stress the importance of studying, ideals and experiences of what it means to be a teacher. Courses should be designed to explore these issues in both historical and contemporary settings. Although the concentration needs to be on the content, a good curriculum needs to be designed to foster a community of learning among people and at the same time to offer considerable flexibility and intellectual diversity (J. Yalden, Long, Micheal H., Richards, Jack C. 2001. In this paper we will analyze key aspects of, and changes in, the curriculum, social and economic development in South Eastern Europe in the last twenty years. Major issues covered in this paper will be: the impact of communism on society; political and education reform; the problems of people with special needs; the changing role and status of minority groups and the  introduction of a service learning project in the curriculum.

  9. Reconceptualised life skills in secondary education in the African context: Lessons learnt from reforms in Ghana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akyeampong, Kwame

    2014-04-01

    Early notions of life skills in Africa did not take into account the importance of a flexible and portable set of skills that would enable youth to adapt to changes in the world of work and lay the foundations for productive well-being and behaviour. Rather, life skills education in many secondary education curricula in Africa started with an emphasis on developing specific technical vocational skills considered essential for employability or self-employment. Using Ghana as an example, this paper shows how secondary education curriculum reformers recommended shifts that embraced a new interpretation of life skills focused on 21st-century skills. This gradual move also reflected the difficulty that secondary education in general has had in networking with the world of work to provide work experience that would lead to the development of work-related skills and enhance employability. The author's main argument is that although the reconceptualisation of life skills in secondary education to reflect 21st-century skills is a welcome shift in the African context, this needs to be accompanied by reforms in teacher education. Classroom teaching and learning need to be adapted in a fundamental way in order to ensure that youth fully benefit from the inclusion of 21st-century life skills in secondary education curricula. Such reforms must include pedagogical practices which nurture communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking skills.

  10. Application of flexible micro temperature sensor in oxidative steam reforming by a methanol micro reformer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Shuo-Jen; Shen, Chia-Chieh; Yeh, Chuin-Tih; Chang, Chi-Chung; Lo, Yi-Man

    2011-01-01

    Advances in fuel cell applications reflect the ability of reformers to produce hydrogen. This work presents a flexible micro temperature sensor that is fabricated based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology and integrated into a flat micro methanol reformer to observe the conditions inside that reformer. The micro temperature sensor has higher accuracy and sensitivity than a conventionally adopted thermocouple. Despite various micro temperature sensor applications, integrated micro reformers are still relatively new. This work proposes a novel method for integrating micro methanol reformers and micro temperature sensors, subsequently increasing the methanol conversion rate and the hydrogen production rate by varying the fuel supply rate and the water/methanol ratio. Importantly, the proposed micro temperature sensor adequately controls the interior temperature during oxidative steam reforming of methanol (OSRM), with the relevant parameters optimized as well.

  11. Application of Flexible Micro Temperature Sensor in Oxidative Steam Reforming by a Methanol Micro Reformer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Man Lo

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Advances in fuel cell applications reflect the ability of reformers to produce hydrogen. This work presents a flexible micro temperature sensor that is fabricated based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS technology and integrated into a flat micro methanol reformer to observe the conditions inside that reformer. The micro temperature sensor has higher accuracy and sensitivity than a conventionally adopted thermocouple. Despite various micro temperature sensor applications, integrated micro reformers are still relatively new. This work proposes a novel method for integrating micro methanol reformers and micro temperature sensors, subsequently increasing the methanol conversion rate and the hydrogen production rate by varying the fuel supply rate and the water/methanol ratio. Importantly, the proposed micro temperature sensor adequately controls the interior temperature during oxidative steam reforming of methanol (OSRM, with the relevant parameters optimized as well.

  12. Sociology of Hidden Curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alireza Moradi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews the concept of hidden curriculum in the sociological theories and wants to explain sociological aspects of formation of hidden curriculum. The main question concentrates on the theoretical approaches in which hidden curriculum is explained sociologically.For this purpose it was applied qualitative research methodology. The relevant data include various sociological concepts and theories of hidden curriculum collected by the documentary method. The study showed a set of rules, procedures, relationships and social structure of education have decisive role in the formation of hidden curriculum. A hidden curriculum reinforces by existed inequalities among learners (based on their social classes or statues. There is, in fact, a balance between the learner's "knowledge receptions" with their "inequality proportion".The hidden curriculum studies from different major sociological theories such as Functionalism, Marxism and critical theory, Symbolic internationalism and Feminism. According to the functionalist perspective a hidden curriculum has a social function because it transmits social values. Marxists and critical thinkers correlate between hidden curriculum and the totality of social structure. They depicts that curriculum prepares learners for the exploitation in the work markets. Symbolic internationalism rejects absolute hegemony of hidden curriculum on education and looks to the socialization as a result of interaction between learner and instructor. Feminism theory also considers hidden curriculum as a vehicle which legitimates gender stereotypes.

  13. Constitutional reform as process

    OpenAIRE

    Schultze, Rainer-Olaf (Prof.)

    2000-01-01

    Constitutional reform as process. - In: The politics of constitutional reform in North America / Rainer-Olaf Schultze ... (eds.). - Opladen : Leske + Budrich, 2000. - S. 11-31. - (Politikwissenschaftliche paperbacks ; 30)

  14. Reforming Technical and Technological Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, David N.

    1993-01-01

    Review of technical and technological educational reform in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sweden shows that reform takes time to complete effectively, long-term approaches are needed, and reform is linked to industrial development, regional cooperation, and decentralized decision making. (SK)

  15. An Examination of the Implementation of Mathematics Lessons in a Chinese Kindergarten Classroom in the Setting of Standards Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Bi Ying; Quebec Fuentes, Sarah; Ma, Jingjing; Ye, Feiwei; Roberts, Sherron Killingsworth

    2017-01-01

    In China, the "2001 Kindergarten Education Guidelines (Trial)", or "New Outline", delineates what constitutes high-quality, developmentally appropriate practices in all early childhood education curriculum domains, including mathematics. The "New Outline" is known for advocating a child-centered, play-based approach…

  16. Free transfer, limited mobility: A decade of higher education reform in Egypt and Morocco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Kohstall

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to demonstrate how countries with a relative low performance in higher education like Egypt and Morocco, are informed and worked by the forces of internationalization in this domain. It compares the path of university reforms in both countries over the last decade, from their emergence on the agenda to their implementation. Through the lenses of a public policy approach it illustrates how higher education is subject to a complex negotiation process between international organizations and domestic policy-makers. The transfer of international models like grant-based funding and the Bologna process has become the driving force of these reforms. But when imposed through a top-down approach these models do not necessarily bring about the outcome they might have promised. They rather illustrate an example of distorted internationalization.

  17. High temperature ceramic-tubed reformer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Joseph J.; Rosenberg, Robert A.; McDonough, Lane J.

    1990-03-01

    The overall objective of the HiPHES project is to develop an advanced high-pressure heat exchanger for a convective steam/methane reformer. The HiPHES steam/methane reformer is a convective, shell and tube type, catalytic reactor. The use of ceramic tubes will allow reaction temperature higher than the current state-of-the-art outlet temperatures of about 1600 F using metal tubes. Higher reaction temperatures increase feedstock conversion to synthesis gas and reduce energy requirements compared to currently available radiant-box type reformers using metal tubes. Reforming of natural gas is the principal method used to produce synthesis gas (primarily hydrogen and carbon monoxide, H2 and CO) which is used to produce hydrogen (for refinery upgrading), methanol, as well as several other important materials. The HiPHES reformer development is an extension of Stone and Webster's efforts to develop a metal-tubed convective reformer integrated with a gas turbine cycle.

  18. Determining the effectiveness of an Elder Abuse Nurse Examiner Curriculum: A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du Mont, Janice; Kosa, Daisy; Yang, Rebecca; Solomon, Shirley; Macdonald, Sheila

    2017-08-01

    To pilot and evaluate a novel Elder Abuse Nurse Examiner Curriculum and its associated training materials for their efficacy in improving Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE)s' knowledge of elder abuse and competence in delivering care to abused older adults. Pilot training was held with 18 SANEs from across Ontario, Canada. A 52-item pre- and post-training questionnaire was administered that assessed participants' self-reported knowledge and perceived skills-based competence related to elder abuse care. A curriculum training evaluation survey was also delivered following the training. Qualitative non-participant observational data were collected throughout the training. There were statistically significant improvements in self-reported knowledge and perceived skills-based competence from pre-training to post-training for all content domains of the curriculum: older adults and abuse (pElder Abuse Nurse Examiner Curriculum and associated training materials were efficacious in improving SANEs' self-reported knowledge of and perceived competence in delivering elder abuse care. Future steps will further evaluate these materials as a component of a pilot of a larger comprehensive Elder Abuse Intervention at multiple sites across Ontario. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Curriculum for neurogastroenterology and motility training: A report from the joint ANMS-ESNM task force.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gyawali, C P; Savarino, E; Lazarescu, A; Bor, S; Patel, A; Dickman, R; Pressman, A; Drewes, A M; Rosen, J; Drug, V; Saps, M; Novais, L; Vazquez-Roque, M; Pohl, D; van Tilburg, M A L; Smout, A; Yoon, S; Pandolfino, J; Farrugia, G; Barbara, G; Roman, S

    2018-03-25

    Although neurogastroenterology and motility (NGM) disorders are some of the most frequent disorders encountered by practicing gastroenterologists, a structured competency-based training curriculum developed by NGM experts is lacking. The American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society (ANMS) and the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM) jointly evaluated the components of NGM training in North America and Europe. Eleven training domains were identified within NGM, consisting of functional gastrointestinal disorders, visceral hypersensitivity and pain pathways, motor disorders within anatomic areas (esophagus, stomach, small bowel and colon, anorectum), mucosal disorders (gastro-esophageal reflux disease, other mucosal disorders), consequences of systemic disease, consequences of therapy (surgery, endoscopic intervention, medications, other therapy), and transition of pediatric patients into adult practice. A 3-tiered training curriculum covering these domains is proposed here and endorsed by all NGM societies. Tier 1 NGM knowledge and training is expected of all gastroenterology trainees and practicing gastroenterologists. Tier 2 knowledge and training is appropriate for trainees who anticipate NGM disorder management and NGM function test interpretation being an important part of their careers, which may require competency assessment and credentialing of test interpretation skills. Tier 3 knowledge and training is undertaken by trainees interested in a dedicated NGM career and may be restricted to specific domains within the broad NGM field. The joint ANMS and ESNM task force anticipates that the NGM curriculum will streamline NGM training in North America and Europe and will lead to better identification of centers of excellence where Tier 2 and Tier 3 training can be accomplished. © 2018 The Authors. Neurogastroenterology & Motility Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Contrasting two models of academic self-efficacy--domain-specific versus cross-domain--in children receiving and not receiving special instruction in mathematics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jungert, Tomas; Hesser, Hugo; Träff, Ulf

    2014-10-01

    In social cognitive theory, self-efficacy is domain-specific. An alternative model, the cross-domain influence model, would predict that self-efficacy beliefs in one domain might influence performance in other domains. Research has also found that children who receive special instruction are not good at estimating their performance. The aim was to test two models of how self-efficacy beliefs influence achievement, and to contrast children receiving special instruction in mathematics with normally-achieving children. The participants were 73 fifth-grade children who receive special instruction and 70 children who do not receive any special instruction. In year four and five, the children's skills in mathematics and reading were assessed by national curriculum tests, and in their fifth year, self-efficacy in mathematics and reading were measured. Structural equation modeling showed that in domains where children do not receive special instruction in mathematics, self-efficacy is a mediating variable between earlier and later achievement in the same domain. Achievement in mathematics was not mediated by self-efficacy in mathematics for children who receive special instruction. For normal achieving children, earlier achievement in the language domain had an influence on later self-efficacy in the mathematics domain, and self-efficacy beliefs in different domains were correlated. Self-efficacy is mostly domain specific, but may play a different role in academic performance depending on whether children receive special instruction. The results of the present study provided some support of the Cross-Domain Influence Model for normal achieving children. © 2014 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. The single most important education reform in developing country

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orija, O.

    2007-05-01

    I deciding teaching as peer educator and working with NGOs in my country, as method to need to consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals as well as standardized curriculum as determined by their school district. Strengthening relationships among students and adults, Improving engagement, alignment and rigor of teaching and learning in every classroom, every day. My single most reform achieves is the rural school and community trust is a national non-profit organization addressing the crucial relationship between good schools and thriving communities. Our mission is to help rural schools and communities get better together. Working in some of the poorest, most challenging places, the rural trust involves young people in learning linked to their communities, improves the quality of teaching and school leadership, and advocates in a variety of ways for appropriate state educational policies, including the key issue of equitable and national agenda (serve Peer Educator) where rural people and their issues are visible and credible for rural schools.

  2. Negotiating the Teaching of History in Times of Curriculum Reform: The Narrative Accounts of Four Australian Primary Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reitano, Paul; Winter, Satine

    2017-01-01

    This research investigates the understandings of four teachers who teach history in primary and early childhood settings. Data were gathered from participants through semi-structured interviews. The participants were experienced teachers who were in the process of curriculum change--from teachers of studies of society and environment to teachers…

  3. EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL COHESION ATTEMPTS IN LEBANON: REFLECTIONS ON THE 1994 AND 2010 EDUCATION REFORMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maha Shuayb

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Following the end of the Lebanese civil war, education was put forward as a major means for rebuilding Lebanon and promoting social cohesion and unity. A huge education development plan was launched in 1994 culminating in a new national curriculum in 1997 and the production of new textbooks.  Although the quality of education improved in public schools, dropout rates continued to be high, particularly amongst the most disadvantaged groups. As education inequality soared, a new education reform strategy was launched in 2010. This paper investigates how social cohesion has been tackled in the two reforms (1994 and 2010. In defining social cohesion, the study adopts Nancy Fraser’s framework of social justice which includes redistribution, recognition, and participation. In addition, Novelli, Lopes Cardozo and Smith’s (2014 fourth component of social justice ‘reconciliation’ is added to the analytical framework. Findings revealed an emphasis on distributive justice by widening access to education including during early years and tackling causes of dropout, specifically in the 2010 reform. Reconciliation, in particular nationalism and promoting one narrative of the past, is given a major priority. Conflict is reduced to religious intolerance while structured barriers to social justice, including the use of languages that are considered foreign as mediums of instruction, the marginalisation of disadvantaged groups, a lack of participation, and sectarian nepotism, were downplayed. Critical reflections on the past has been suppressed in favour of building a national memory.  

  4. Budget reform in Ukraine and the OECD countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Puchko Anna

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the fiscal reforms in Ukraine and the OECD countries. It has been proved that the main areas which should undergo changes are the tax reform, regulatory reform and restructuring policies to encourage entrepreneurship, reform of social protection and social security, reform of social sphere constituents, administrative reform, reform of the army and law enforcement, administrative and territorial reform. According to the analysis results, there has been drawn the conclusion about the need to introduce in Ukraine the successful experience of the OECD countries in implementing budget reforms.

  5. Automotive Mechanics Curriculum Outline for Secondary Schools. Vocational Education Curriculum Guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louisiana State Dept. of Education, Baton Rouge. Div. of Vocational Education.

    This curriculum outline for secondary automotive mechanics is structured around Louisiana's Vocational-Technical Automotive Mechanics Curriculum. The curriculum is composed of 16 units of instruction, covering the following topics: benchwork, fundamentals of automotive engines, preventive maintenance, automotive brakes, steering and front…

  6. Collective inquiry in the context of school-wide reform: Exploring science curriculum and instruction through team-based professional development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eddy Spicer, David Henning

    Teacher collaboration and joint reflective inquiry have been viewed as central elements of progressive educational reform for more than two decades. More recently, researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners have heralded "blended" or "hybrid" approaches that combine online and on-site environments for collaborative learning as especially promising for "scaling up" instructional improvement. Yet, relatively little is known about how teachers working together navigate organizational and interpersonal constraints to develop and sustain conditions essential to collective inquiry. This in-depth study of meaning making about curriculum and instruction among a group of 11 physics teachers in a public, urban secondary school in the U.S. is an effort to explore collective inquiry as a resource for teacher learning and innovations in teaching practice. Through extended observations, multiple interviews, and close analyses of interaction, the study followed teachers for 7 months as they worked together across 3 settings organized in fundamentally different ways to promote joint inquiry into teaching practice. The explanatory framework of the study rests on the mutually-reinforcing conceptual underpinnings of sociocultural theory and systemic functional linguistics to establish connections between micro-social interactions and macro-social processes. Drawing on systemic functional linguistics, the study explores interpersonal meaning making through close analyses of speech function and speech role in 6 extended sequences of generative interaction. Concepts from activity theory elucidate those features of settings and school that directly impinged on or advanced teachers' collaborative work. Findings run counter to prevailing congenial views of teacher collegiality by identifying ways in which collective inquiry is inherently unstable. That instability makes itself apparent at two levels: (a) the dynamics of authority within the group, and (b) middle-level features of

  7. Working on reform. How workers' compensation medical care is affected by health care reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Himmelstein, J; Rest, K

    1996-01-01

    The medical component of workers' compensation programs-now costing over $24 billion annually-and the rest of the nation's medical care system are linked. They share the same patients and providers. They provide similar benefits and services. And they struggle over who should pay for what. Clearly, health care reform and restructuring will have a major impact on the operation and expenditures of the workers' compensation system. For a brief period, during the 1994 national health care reform debate, these two systems were part of the same federal policy development and legislative process. With comprehensive health care reform no longer on the horizon, states now are tackling both workers' compensation and medical system reforms on their own. This paper reviews the major issues federal and state policy makers face as they consider reforms affecting the relationship between workers' compensation and traditional health insurance. What is the relationship of the workers' compensation cost crisis to that in general health care? What strategies are being considered by states involved in reforming the medical component of workers compensation? What are the major policy implications of these strategies?

  8. Administrative Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plum, Maja

    Through the example of a Danish reform of educational plans in early childhood education, the paper critically addresses administrative educational reforms promoting accountability, visibility and documentation. Drawing on Foucaultian perspectives, the relation between knowledge and governing...... of administrative technology, tracing how the humanistic values of education embed and are embedded within ‘the professional nursery teacher' as an object and subject of administrative practice. Rather than undermining the humanistic potential of education, it is argued that the technology of accounting...

  9. Health care reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marušič, Dorjan; Prevolnik Rupel, Valentina

    2016-09-01

    In large systems, such as health care, reforms are underway constantly. The article presents a definition of health care reform and factors that influence its success. The factors being discussed range from knowledgeable personnel, the role of involvement of international experts and all stakeholders in the country, the importance of electoral mandate and governmental support, leadership and clear and transparent communication. The goals set need to be clear, and it is helpful to have good data and analytical support in the process. Despite all debates and experiences, it is impossible to clearly define the best approach to tackle health care reform due to a different configuration of governance structure, political will and state of the economy in a country.

  10. [Chicano Counselor Training: Curriculum and Beyond Curriculum].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleman, Ramon

    The particulars of the evolved curriculum and how the training has evolved around the change-agent concept are stressed in this presentation. The measure of success achieved in attempting to influence the staff and course of studies of the regular guidance department is also emphasized. The curriculum of this counselor training institute has, from…

  11. Curriculum Differential Enactment: The Interplay of Teacher, Class, and Curriculum Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenmann, Tammy

    2011-01-01

    Curriculum materials' developers typically assume the existence of certain general social-educational classroom practices and norms. Conversely, the current study addresses the effects of context on curriculum enactment, focusing on the interrelations between teacher, class and curriculum materials. Each of the two case studies presented herein…

  12. Impact of reform and privatization on consumers: A case study of power sector reform in Orissa, India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kundu, Goutam Kumar; Mishra, Bidhu Bhusan

    2011-01-01

    Orissa is the first state in India to have undergone reform in the power sector, with the government withdrawing its control. The model of this reform is known as the WB-Orissa model. The goal of this paper is to examine the impact of this reform on consumers of electricity, which has been measured using multiple regression models. The variables represent the parameters that consumers are most interested in, and the regression coefficients represent the weights of the corresponding variables. The data were collected using a survey methodology. The impact of reform was found to be mixed. Some groups of consumers saw benefits, while others felt a negative impact. A focus group study was conducted to identify the variables of interest to consumers of electricity. The model was used to estimate consumer benefit and was validated using primary data and structural equation modeling. The study revealed beneficial aspects of reform and areas with no benefits. - Highlights: → Linear regression model with seven variables explains consumer benefit. → Governance issue exists after power sector reform of Orissa. → Reform benefited most consumers with a few exceptions. → Reform affected agricultural consumers.

  13. The effects of the design and development of a chemistry curriculum reform on teachers' professional growth, a case study.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coenders, Ferdinand G.M.; Terlouw, C.; Pieters, Julius Marie; Dijkstra, S.

    2009-01-01

    A curriculum innovation requires new learning material for students and a preparation program for teachers, in which teacher learning is a key ingredient. In this paper we describe how three experienced teachers, involved in the development and subsequent classroom enactment of student learning

  14. Engendering Curriculum History. Studies in Curriculum Theory Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendry, Petra

    2011-01-01

    How can curriculum history be re-envisioned from a feminist, poststructuralist perspective? "Engendering Curriculum History" disrupts dominant notions of history as linear, as inevitable progress, and as embedded in the individual. This conversation requires a history that seeks "rememberance" not representation, "reflexivity" not linearity, and…

  15. Health care reforms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marušič Dorjan

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In large systems, such as health care, reforms are underway constantly. The article presents a definition of health care reform and factors that influence its success. The factors being discussed range from knowledgeable personnel, the role of involvement of international experts and all stakeholders in the country, the importance of electoral mandate and governmental support, leadership and clear and transparent communication. The goals set need to be clear, and it is helpful to have good data and analytical support in the process. Despite all debates and experiences, it is impossible to clearly define the best approach to tackle health care reform due to a different configuration of governance structure, political will and state of the economy in a country.

  16. Curriculum Design and Implementation of the Emergency Medicine Chief Resident Incubator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gisondi, Michael A; Chou, Adaira; Joshi, Nikita; Sheehy, Margaret K; Zaver, Fareen; Chan, Teresa M; Riddell, Jeffrey; Sifford, Derek P; Lin, Michelle

    2018-02-24

    Background Chief residents receive minimal formal training in preparation for their administrative responsibilities. There is a lack of professional development programs specifically designed for chief residents. Objective In 2015, Academic Life in Emergency Medicine designed and implemented an annual, year-long, training program and virtual community of practice for chief residents in emergency medicine (EM). This study describes the curriculum design process and reports measures of learner engagement during the first two cycles of the curriculum. Methods Kern's Six-Step Approach for curriculum development informed key decisions in the design and implementation of the Chief Resident Incubator. The resultant curriculum was created using constructivist social learning theory, with specific objectives that emphasized the needs for a virtual community of practice, longitudinal content delivery, mentorship for participants, and the facilitation of multicenter digital scholarship. The 12-month curriculum included 11 key administrative or professional development domains, delivered using a combination of digital communications platforms. Primary outcomes measures included markers of learner engagement with the online curriculum, recognized as modified Kirkpatrick Level One outcomes for digital learning. Results An average of 206 chief residents annually enrolled in the first two years of the curriculum, with an overall participation by 33% (75/227) of the allopathic EM residency programs in the United States (U.S.). There was a high level of learner engagement, with an average 13,414 messages posted per year. There were also 42 small group teaching sessions held online, which included 39 faculty and 149 chief residents. The monthly e-newsletter had a 50.7% open rate. Digital scholarship totaled 23 online publications in two years, with 67 chief resident co-authors and 21 faculty co-authors. Conclusions The Chief Resident Incubator is a virtual community of practice that

  17. Reform and Backlash to Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hougaard Jensen, Svend E.; Hagen Jørgensen, Ole

    Using a stochastic general equilibrium model with overlapping generations, this paper studies (i) the effects on both extensive and intensive labor supply responses to changes in fertility rates, and (ii) the potential of a retirement reform to mitigate the effects of fertility changes on labor s...

  18. The core content of the undergraduate curriculum in Manchester.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, P A; Metcalfe, D; David, T J

    1999-02-01

    To identify the core content for the new undergraduate medical curriculum in Manchester. The initial step was to produce a list of 'index clinical situations' (ICSs), for which a newly graduated doctor must have a required level of competence. Using repeated consultation with consultants and general practitioners involved in medical education in the North-West of England, a list of 215 ICSs was agreed. Specialists and generalists were then asked to identify the components of the knowledge base and the performance (skills) base for each ICS. The knowledge base was divided into technical (biomedical facts/concepts) and contextual (effect/management of disease within the individual, family and society) domains. The performance base was divided into intellectual (problem solving and decision making) and interpersonal (history, examination, communication and procedural skills) domains. Forty specialties were consulted and 11,021 items (defined as a piece of knowledge, a concept or a skill) were identified. There was considerable overlap in the items listed, such that when the returns for each ICS were amalgamated, the 215 ICSs contained 6434 items with a mean of 34 +/- 14.2 per situation (range 6-85). UTILISATION: We have used the defined ICSs in the design of the trigger material used in the weekly problem-based learning sessions. Over 4 years almost all (207/215, 96%) of the ICS are covered, with many being revisited at several points in the curriculum.

  19. INSTITUTIONAL THEORY OF ECONOMIC REFORMS: BASIC IMPERATIVES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleg Sergeevich SUKHAREV

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The ability of institutional economic theory to explain various kinds of economic reforms (changes on the basis of theoretical ideas about the dysfunction of institutions and systems are investigated. A number of classifications of reforms and dysfunctions is introduced and kinds of institutional efficiency of economic systems are defined. Qualitative regularities of various reforms of the twentieth century in different countries are generalized. A number of criteria of effective institutional reforms, capable to lower the depth and the scale of dysfunctions of the functioning economic subsystems is formed. System approach to the analysis of economic systems reforming with underlining the importance of reform “management” factor which defines productivity of economic development is elaborated. Life cycle of institution and economic system in the process of its reforming is presented and correction of J. Hellmann’s model, describing the reforming logic of economy is made.

  20. Cross-cultural comparison of the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum between a Saudi Arabian and 9 US medical schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Bawardy, Rasha; Blatt, Benjamin; Al-Shohaib, Saad; Simmens, Samuel J

    2009-12-18

    The implicit "hidden curriculum" strongly influences medical students' perceptions of the importance of patient-centeredness. A new instrument, the Communication, Curriculum, and Culture Survey (C3), already used to assess this hard-to- access part of the curriculum in the US, has potential for use in cross-cultural comparisons. To use the C3 to perform a pilot cross-cultural comparison of the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum between a Saudi medical school and 9 U.S. medical schools. Senior Saudi medical students completed the C3 and a second instrument, the Patient-Provider Orientation Scale (PPOS), which measured their attitudes toward patient-centered behavior. Senior Saudi medical students. 139/256 (54%) Saudis completed the C3; 122/256(48%) completed the PPOS. Means for 2 out of 3 of the C3's domains (0-100 scale) were lower for the Saudis than those for the Americans (95% confidence intervals in parentheses): 47 (45, 50) vs. 55 (53, 58); 54 (50, 58) vs. 68 (67, 70); they overlapped in the third: 60 (57, 63) vs. 62 (60, 63). The mean Saudi PPOS score was 4.0 (3.9, 4.1); for the American medical schools, 4.8 (4.8-4.8) (1-6, least to most patient-centered). In this preliminary study the data suggest that the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum differs in Saudi and US medical schools in 2 out of 3 domains. Cross-cultural use of instruments such as the C3 can highlight such important differences and help educators evaluate their curriculum from an international, as well as a local perspective. Use of instruments across borders is a growing trend and an indicator of the increasing globalization of medical education.

  1. Political Parties, Clientelism, and Bureaucratic Reform

    OpenAIRE

    Cruz, Cesi; Keefer, Philip

    2015-01-01

    The challenge of public administration reform is well-known: politicians often have little interest in the efficient implementation of government policy. Using new data from 439 World Bank public sector reform loans in 109 countries, we demonstrate that such reforms are significantly less likely to succeed in the presence of non-programmatic political parties. Earlier research uses evidence from a small group of countries to conclude that clientelistic politicians resist reforms that restrict...

  2. Education Reform in Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Dowson

    2000-05-01

    Full Text Available Since the early 1990s, the pace of educational reform in Hong Kong has accelerated and broadened to incorporate almost all areas of schooling. The reforms introduced during this period can be subsumed under what has generally been labelled the quality movement. In this paper, we review and comment on a number of policy reform initiatives in the four areas of "Quality Education," English Language Benchmarking, Initial Teacher Training and the Integration of Pupils with Special Needs into Ordinary Classrooms. Following a brief description of each policy initiative, the reforms are discussed in terms of their consistency, coherence and cultural fit.

  3. Steam reformer with catalytic combustor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voecks, Gerald E. (Inventor)

    1990-01-01

    A steam reformer is disclosed having an annular steam reforming catalyst bed formed by concentric cylinders and having a catalytic combustor located at the center of the innermost cylinder. Fuel is fed into the interior of the catalytic combustor and air is directed at the top of the combustor, creating a catalytic reaction which provides sufficient heat so as to maintain the catalytic reaction in the steam reforming catalyst bed. Alternatively, air is fed into the interior of the catalytic combustor and a fuel mixture is directed at the top. The catalytic combustor provides enhanced radiant and convective heat transfer to the reformer catalyst bed.

  4. Teaching in a play-based curriculum: Theory, practice and evidence of Developmental Education for young children.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Oers, B.; Duijkers, D.

    2012-01-01

    This article focuses on the possibilities of teaching in a play-based curriculum, which has become an issue of international relevance. As a domain of study, the Developmental Education approach was taken in the early grades of Dutch primary schools (grades 1-4, ages 4-8). The article describes the

  5. A network approach for researching political feasibility of healthcare reform: the case of universal healthcare system in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Guang-Xu

    2012-12-01

    This study evaluates the political feasibility of healthcare reform taking place in Taiwan in the past decade. Since Taiwan adopted National Health Insurance (NHI) in 1995, it has provided coverage for virtually all of the island's citizens. However, the imbalance between expenditure and revenue has resulted in a cycle of unsustainable spending which has necessitated financial reforms and political confrontations. By applying social network analysis, this paper examines multiple types of ties between policy elites and power distribution that have evolved in crucial policy events of the NHI's financial reforms between 1998 and 2010. Data sources include official documents and 62 social network interviews that were held with government officials and related unofficial policy participants. Blockmodeling and multidimensional scaling (MDS) are used to determine the major participants and network structures in the NHI domain, as well as the influential policy actors, based on information transmission, resource exchange, reputation attribution and action-set coalition networks in Taiwan's current political situation. The results show that although both public actors and all medical associations are the leading actors in the NHI reform, without good communication with societal actors, the promotion of reform proposals ends in failure. As a tool of political feasibility evaluation, social network analysis can map the political conflict between policy stakeholders systematically when policy makers pursue the result of policy adoption. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Curriculum as a Discourse: Using Critical Discourse Analysis to Revive Curriculum Reconceptualists' Thought

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harb, Majed

    2017-01-01

    Curriculum reconceptualists seek to reshape the field of curriculum studies. Unlike traditional curricularists, they reprobate the technical approach of curriculum development because of its pure functional and managerial tendency. Reconceptualists look at curriculum from various philosophy-saturated perspectives. One of their claims is…

  7. Curriculum Online Review System: Proposing Curriculum with Collaboration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhinehart, Marilyn; Barlow, Rhonda; Shafer, Stu; Hassur, Debby

    2009-01-01

    The Curriculum Online Review System (CORS) at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) uses SharePoint as a Web platform for the JCCC Curriculum Proposals Process. The CORS application manages proposals throughout the approval process using collaboration tools and workflows to notify all stakeholders. This innovative new program has changed the way…

  8. 建構「三峽」課程發展機制Constructing the ‘Sunshine’ Curriculum Developmental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    歐用生Yung-Sheng Ou

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available 過去臺灣課程綱要(或標準)的擬訂缺少一套健全的發展機制,常受政治人物或時代潮流的影響,缺少系統性和一貫性,課程決策的合理性和正當性備受質疑。因此,在思考下一波課程改革時,如何依據「板橋模式」的課程發展經驗,並因應時代需要,規劃理想的課程發展機制,實為當務之急。本研究依據混沌理論和複雜理論,強調系統的(system)、自我組織的(self-organization)、永續的(sustainability)的發展原則,由此建構「三峽(Sunshine或3S)課程發展機制」,來因應變化急劇的後現代社會。Without a systematic and consistent mechanism of curriculum development in Taiwan, the national curriculum guideline (or standard is often influenced by politicians and social trends and, thus, the rationality and legality of curriculum decisions are highly doubted. Hence, before the next wave of curriculum reform, it is vital to construct a more reasonable curriculum developmental mechanism based on the successful curriculum development experience of ‘Banciao model’ and current social environment. Drawing on the chaos theory and complexity theory, this paper attempts to construct the ‘Sunshine’ or ‘3S’ curriculum developmental mechanism, which follows the principle of system, selforganization and sustainability, in order to respond to the drastically changing society of post-modernity.

  9. Security Sector Reform in Albania

    OpenAIRE

    Abazi, Enika; Bumci, Aldo; Hide, Enri; Rakipi, Albert

    2009-01-01

    International audience; This paper analyses security sector reform (SSR) in Albania. In all its enterprises in reforming the security sector,Albania is assisted by different initiatives and projects that provide expertise and financial support. To assesswhether reforms improved the overall security environment (national and human) of the country, it is necessaryto measure the effectiveness of the various initiatives and projects. This is gauged by how well the initiatives andprojects achieved...

  10. Why American curriculum research could enrich Swiss curriculum stud-ies

    OpenAIRE

    Brühwiler Ingrid

    2016-01-01

    Implementing American curriculum research in another country is very problematic and frequently undesired because curriculum studies are complex as there are differences in terms history research approaches and political and social contexts. Nevertheless it is worthwhile to consider some North American curriculum theories as the findings lead to an enriching understanding of schools and hence of curricula and society. In this article William Pinar’s method of “currere” is explained to determ...

  11. Free transfer, limited mobility: A decade of higher education reform in Egypt and Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Florian Kohstall

    2012-01-01

    This article aims to demonstrate how countries with a relative low performance in higher education like Egypt and Morocco, are informed and worked by the forces of internationalization in this domain. It compares the path of university reforms in both countries over the last decade, from their emergence on the agenda to their implementation. Through the lenses of a public policy approach it illustrates how higher education is subject to a complex negotiation process between international orga...

  12. Aspects of financial history in Romania. Reform and reformers. The financial tax reform accomplished BY Nicolae Titulescu

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciobanu, R.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a brief history of the financial reform designed by Nicolae Titulescu at the beginning of the 1920’s. His tax reform law was formulated after thorough research of other European tax systems. He tried to implement it while he was Minister of Finance. Even though the law was adopted, it was never enacted. It met a certain amount of controversy in the Assembly of Deputies. The analysis made also tries to explain the cedular tax system.

  13. Power sector reform in Maharashtra, India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Totare, Ninad P.; Pandit, Shubha

    2010-01-01

    In early 1990 the power sector in India required an initial set of reforms due to the scarcity of financial resources and its deteriorating technical and commercial efficiency. The Indian power sector is now going through a second stage of reforms in which restructuring of electric supply utilities has taken place. The Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) initiated reforms in 2005 by dividing the state electricity board into four separate companies. In this paper, the situations that led to the reform of the MSEB and the scope of the work required for an action plan initiated by the state electricity distribution company in the context of the proposed Key Performance Index are discussed. The post-reform status of the distribution company is analyzed with selected key parameters. The study also analyzes the electricity supply model implemented and the effect of a multi-year tariff plan as one of the key milestones of the tariff structure. The various new projects implemented by the distribution company to improve consumer services and the reform experiences of the other states are discussed, along with the future scope of the present reform process. (author)

  14. Positive impact of integrating histology and physiology teaching at a medical school in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherer, Renslow; Wan, Yu; Dong, Hongmei; Cooper, Brian; Morgan, Ivy; Peng, Biwen; Liu, Jun; Wang, Lin; Xu, David

    2014-12-01

    To modernize its stagnant, traditional curriculum and pedagogy, the Medical School of Wuhan University in China adopted (with modifications) the University of Chicago's medical curriculum model. The reform effort in basic sciences was integrating histology and physiology into one course, increasing the two subjects' connection to clinical medicine, and applying new pedagogies and assessment methods. This study assessed the results of the reform by comparing the attitudes and academic achievements of students in the reform curriculum (n = 41) and their traditional curriculum peers (n = 182). An attitude survey was conducted to obtain students' views of their respective histology and physiology instruction. Survey items covered lectures, laboratory teaching, case analyses and small-group case discussions, assessment of students, and overall quality of the courses and instruction. A knowledge test consisting of questions from three sources was given to measure students' mastery of topics that they had learned. Results showed that reform curriculum students were rather satisfied with their course and new teaching methods in most cases. When these students' attitudes were compared with those of their traditional curriculum peers, several significant differences favoring the reform were identified regarding physiology teaching. No other significant difference was found for physiology or histology teaching. Reform curriculum students outperformed their peers on four of five subcategories of the knowledge test questions. These findings support the benefits of integration and state-of-the-art teaching methods. Our study may offer lessons to medical schools in China and other countries whose medical education is in need of change. Copyright © 2014 The American Physiological Society.

  15. Can social semantic web techniques foster collaborative curriculum mapping in medicine?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spreckelsen, Cord; Finsterer, Sonja; Cremer, Jan; Schenkat, Hennig

    2013-08-15

    Curriculum mapping, which is aimed at the systematic realignment of the planned, taught, and learned curriculum, is considered a challenging and ongoing effort in medical education. Second-generation curriculum managing systems foster knowledge management processes including curriculum mapping in order to give comprehensive support to learners, teachers, and administrators. The large quantity of custom-built software in this field indicates a shortcoming of available IT tools and standards. The project reported here aims at the systematic adoption of techniques and standards of the Social Semantic Web to implement collaborative curriculum mapping for a complete medical model curriculum. A semantic MediaWiki (SMW)-based Web application has been introduced as a platform for the elicitation and revision process of the Aachen Catalogue of Learning Objectives (ACLO). The semantic wiki uses a domain model of the curricular context and offers structured (form-based) data entry, multiple views, structured querying, semantic indexing, and commenting for learning objectives ("LOs"). Semantic indexing of learning objectives relies on both a controlled vocabulary of international medical classifications (ICD, MeSH) and a folksonomy maintained by the users. An additional module supporting the global checking of consistency complements the semantic wiki. Statements of the Object Constraint Language define the consistency criteria. We evaluated the application by a scenario-based formative usability study, where the participants solved tasks in the (fictional) context of 7 typical situations and answered a questionnaire containing Likert-scaled items and free-text questions. At present, ACLO contains roughly 5350 operational (ie, specific and measurable) objectives acquired during the last 25 months. The wiki-based user interface uses 13 online forms for data entry and 4 online forms for flexible searches of LOs, and all the forms are accessible by standard Web browsers. The

  16. Welfare implication of reforming energy consumption subsidies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breton, Michèle; Mirzapour, Hossein

    2016-01-01

    Reforming energy consumption subsidies, in particular for fossil fuels, has been frequently referred to as a quick-win policy to enhance environmental mitigation. In addition, the removal of such subsidies may release a sizeable portion of a country's national budget for use on more productive targets. One of the most recognized challenges of such reform is “selling” the new energy prices to citizens, particularly those with a more fragile purchasing power. Several empirical and technical studies have prescribed that the reform might be supported by a direct compensation mechanism in order to ensure feasibility. This is what was done during the recent energy subsidy reform in Iran. However, the compensation mechanism implemented in Iran's reform was successful at the beginning, but did not proceed as expected. This has raised questions about the feasibility and sustainability of the direct compensation mechanism, and even of the reform policy itself. In this paper, we consider a stylized model where direct compensation is the instrument proposed to restore consumers’ utility against increased energy prices. We find that, when prices of Other Goods are affected by the announced reform policy, the feasibility of a subsidy reform critically depends on the value of certain parameters: the initial subsidization rate, the share of energy in the consumers’ bundle, and the energy portion of price of Other Goods. - Highlights: • A model of energy subsidy reform with direct compensation is proposed. • Feasibility of the reform is related to three key parameters. • An illustrative example using data from the recent Iranian reform is discussed.

  17. Bio-oil steam reforming, partial oxidation or oxidative steam reforming coupled with bio-oil dry reforming to eliminate CO{sub 2} emission

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Xun [State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039 (China); Lu, Gongxuan [State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China)

    2010-07-15

    Biomass is carbon-neutral and utilization of biomass as hydrogen resource shows no impact on atmospheric CO{sub 2} level. Nevertheless, a significant amount of CO{sub 2} is always produced in biomass gasification processes. If the CO{sub 2} produced can further react with biomass, then the biomass gasification coupled with CO{sub 2} reforming of biomass will result in a net decrease of CO{sub 2} level in atmosphere and produce the chemical raw material, syngas. To achieve this concept, a ''Y'' type reactor is developed and applied in bio-oil steam reforming, partial oxidation, or oxidative steam reforming coupled with CO{sub 2} reforming of bio-oil to eliminate the emission of CO{sub 2}. The experimental results show that the reaction systems can efficiently suppress the emission of CO{sub 2} from various reforming processes. The different coupled reaction systems generate the syngas with different molar ratio of CO/H{sub 2}. In addition, coke deposition is encountered in the different reforming processes. Both catalysts and experimental parameters significantly affect the coke deposition. Ni/La{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst shows much higher resistivity toward coke deposition than Ni/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst, while employing high reaction temperature is vital for elimination of coke deposition. Although the different coupled reaction systems show different characteristic in terms of product distribution and coke deposition, which all can serve as methods for storage of the carbon from fossil fuels or air. (author)

  18. Energy Analysis in Combined Reforming of Propane

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Moon

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Combined (steam and CO2 reforming is one of the methods to produce syngas for different applications. An energy requirement analysis of steam reforming to dry reforming with intermediate steps of steam reduction and equivalent CO2 addition to the feed fuel for syngas generation has been done to identify condition for optimum process operation. Thermodynamic equilibrium data for combined reforming was generated for temperature range of 400–1000°C at 1 bar pressure and combined oxidant (CO2 + H2O stream to propane (fuel ratio of 3, 6, and 9 by employing the Gibbs free energy minimization algorithm of HSC Chemistry software 5.1. Total energy requirement including preheating and reaction enthalpy calculations were done using the equilibrium product composition. Carbon and methane formation was significantly reduced in combined reforming than pure dry reforming, while the energy requirements were lower than pure steam reforming. Temperatures of minimum energy requirement were found in the data analysis of combined reforming which were optimum for the process.

  19. Economic Reforms and Constitutional Transition

    OpenAIRE

    Jeffrey D. Sachs; Wing Thye Woo; Xiaokai Yang

    2000-01-01

    This paper investigates the relationship between economic reforms and constitutional transition, which has been neglected by many transition economists. It is argued that assessment of reform performance might be very misleading if it is not recognized that economic reforms are just a small part of large scale of constitutional transition. Rivalry and competition between states and between political forces within each country are the driving forces for constitutional transition. We use Russia...

  20. Impact of reform and privatisation on employees a case study of power sector reform in Orissa, India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kundu, Goutam Kumar; Mishra, Bidhu Bhusan

    2012-01-01

    Orissa is the first state in India to have undergone reform in the power sector with the Government withdrawing its control. The state government owned integrated Electricity Board which was responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity was unbundled into separate generating, transmitting, distributing and trading companies. The structure and ownership changed. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the reform and privatization on employees. The impact of reform on employees was measured with the help of multiple regression models. The variables represent the parameters that employees are most interested in, and the regression coefficients represent the weights of the corresponding variables. The data were collected using a survey methodology. The impact of reform was observed to be mixed one. Some employees felt benefits while others mentioned negative impact. The study revealed beneficial aspects of reform and areas with no benefits. - Highlights: ► Employee benefit is a linear function of 11 variables. ► Eleven variables predict 95.8% of employees benefit. ► Money received by the employees increased after reform. ► Employees benefit due to reform is a mixed one.

  1. Thematic curriculum approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Šefer Jasmina P.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Thematic curriculum combines disciplines and media. The process is problem-oriented and the scenario most often follows the logic of exploring or storytelling. Those two approaches to teaching are appropriate because they fit into interdisciplinary and creative open-ended problem solving through play, as insisted upon by thematic curriculum. The matrix, where seven types of abilities intersect with five types of problems according to their degree of openness, defines well the outcomes of teaching. However, it did not prove to be suitable for planning the majority of activities in thematic curriculum, for it follows with difficulty the process of exploring or storytelling i.e. it disrupts the subject matter coherence of thematic curriculum. Therefore, it is suggested that matrix should be used for disciplinary curriculum planning but for that of thematic curriculum only in exclusive cases. The matrix should be used primarily as a framework for evaluating the distribution of various types of abilities and problem situations in teaching. The logic of diverse approaches to teaching reflects itself in the manner of planning and organizing the teaching process. Conceptual, visual-graphic, structural and other aids employed during educational process planning should suit the nature of the approach chosen. On the basis of qualitative investigations of educational process, in the present paper considerations are given to various approaches to teaching development of various drafts for the planning of teaching, and recognition of the logic of storytelling and exploring in thematic curriculum.

  2. Science teachers' beliefs about teaching and reform: Case studies from a restructured high school

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Elizabeth A.

    A qualitative research study of the beliefs of three science teachers about teaching and educational reform was carried out at a restructured high school belonging to the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES), a nationally prominent restructuring movement. One problem of educational reform is to sustain change in the science classroom. A new wave of reform is shifting the focus away from curriculum changes and towards professionalism of teachers empowered to restructure schools. The beliefs of the teachers are key to decisions made in the classroom. The teachers and staff of Metro High School adopted the Ten Common Principles of CES as their guide to restructuring and sustaining change. Changes included increased authority for teachers in shared decision making, increased staff time for professional development, grouping students heterogeneously, grouping students and faculty in teams for extended time periods, and organizing instruction around small group and individual student study (student-centered). The theoretical framework centers on the constructivist theory of learning, particularly Vygotsky's socio-cultural model, and Bakhtin's dialogic function of language. Nespor's belief system model was used to describe the four characteristic features of beliefs: episodic memories, alternativity, existential presumption, and evaluative loading. My research questions were: What memories of teaching have influenced the teachers? What are the teachers' beliefs about the learning environment? What are the teachers' beliefs about their students? What are the teachers' beliefs about student activities? Interviews were the primary data source for the case studies of the three teachers, with additional data from lesson plans, photo-voice, and other artifacts. The teachers shared many common beliefs including that strong peer support is necessary for reform. The teachers' beliefs allied themselves to the majority of the common principles of CES, especially personalization and

  3. 49 CFR 260.13 - Credit reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... appropriations, direct payment of a Credit Risk Premium by the Applicant or a non-Federal infrastructure partner... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Credit reform. 260.13 Section 260.13... REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT FINANCING PROGRAM Overview § 260.13 Credit reform. The Federal Credit Reform Act...

  4. CurriM : Curriculum mining (Poster)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pechenizkiy, M.; Trcka, N.; De Bra, P.M.E.; Toledo, P.

    2012-01-01

    Curriculum mining includes three main kinds of tasks: (i) actual curriculum model discovery, i.e. constructing complete and compact academic curriculum models that are able to reproduce the observed behavior of students, (ii) curriculum model conformance checking, i.e. checking whether the observed

  5. International Curriculums.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neal, Larry L.

    This workshop presentation on international curriculums in the field of parks, recreation, leisure, cultural services, and travel/tourism comments that the literature is replete with articles addressing what the field is about, but not about curriculum issues, models, and structure. It reports an international survey of 12 college educators…

  6. Mental Hospitals in India: Reforms for the future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daund, Muktesh; Sonavane, Sushma; Shrivastava, Amresh; Desousa, Avinash; Kumawat, Sanjay

    2018-02-01

    Mental hospitals are an integral part of mental health services in India. It is an interesting story how mental hospitals have responded to the challenges of contemporary period they were built in. It is beyond doubt that it is a progressive journey along with advances in mental health both in India and internationally. As in other countries, mental hospitals in India have responded to the social challenges, disparities, and poor resources of workforce and fiscal investment. Historically, there have been changes and three major reforms are needed, namely attempt to facilitate discharge and placing patients back into the family, introducing teaching and research in mental hospitals, and accountability to civil rights as per the requirements of the National Human Rights Commission. In this review, we explore the brief history of mental hospitals in India and examine the reforms in the clinical, administrative, and psychosocial areas of these hospitals and progress in teaching and research. We finally summarize and conclude the necessity and the relevance of mental hospitals in India akin to modern psychiatric practice. We believe that mental hospitals have an important and perhaps a central role in mental health services in India. Its modernization to address issues of long-term stay, burden on caregivers, stigma, research and teaching including undergraduate and postgraduate training, new curriculum, and training for nonpsychiatric professionals and primary care physicians are necessary components of the role of mental hospitals and responsibilities of both government and nongovernmental sectors. Last but not the least, it is obligatory for mental hospitals to ensure that evidence-based treatments are implemented and that the standard of care and respect of civil and human rights of the patients and families are provided while involving the people's participation in its functioning.

  7. Engaging Stakeholders in Curriculum Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Jo Nell

    2010-01-01

    This article investigates the importance of parent and community engagement in curriculum development, along with curriculum leadership, engaging stakeholders, and the importance of curriculum. Parent and community member engagement is examined in light of curriculum committee participation as reported by Missouri superintendents. Survey responses…

  8. Reviewing and reforming policy in health enterprise information security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sostrom, Kristen; Collmann, Jeff R.

    2001-08-01

    Health information management policies usually address the use of paper records with little or no mention of electronic health records. Information Technology (IT) policies often ignore the health care business needs and operational use of the information stored in its systems. Representatives from the Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center, TRICARE and Offices of the Surgeon General of each Military Service, collectively referred to as the Policies, Procedures and Practices Work Group (P3WG), examined military policies and regulations relating to computer-based information systems and medical records management. Using a system of templates and matrices created for the purpose, P3WG identified gaps and discrepancies in DoD and service compliance with the proposed Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Standard. P3WG represents an unprecedented attempt to coordinate policy review and revision across all military health services and the Office of Health Affairs. This method of policy reform can identify where changes need to be made to integrate health management policy and IT policy in to an organizational policy that will enable compliance with HIPAA standards. The process models how large enterprises may coordinate policy revision and reform across broad organizational and work domains.

  9. Implementation process of all periodontal competences and assessments as proposed in the 2010 European consensus meeting into the existing local undergraduate curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoonheim-Klein, M; Ong, T S; Loos, B G

    2016-11-01

    To report on our implementation process within the existing local curriculum of all periodontal competences and assessments as proposed in the 2010 European consensus meeting. In 2011, a workshop for all teaching staff at the Department of Periodontology, ACTA, an education and assessment blueprint, was developed to test for missing education and assessment of European competences, divided into seven domains. This was repeated in 2013. An oral evaluation of the staff followed both meetings. It appeared that eight of 58 (14%) European competences were not taught, and 21 (35%) competences were not assessed. After evaluation of the results on the actual curriculum and the assessment programme, shared decisions were made about how to teach and assess the missing competences within the local periodontal educational programme. The second workshop in 2013 revealed still 8 (14%) competences were not taught and 8 (14%) competences were not assessed. Staff appreciated the used method of validation; it gave insight and an overview of the curriculum. The existence of the European consensus report for undergraduate periodontal education, based on seven domains, has been instrumental and essential. The development of a blueprint from the education programme and concomitant assessment methods in periodontology by participating teaching staff gives a validation and appreciation of the curriculum and will improve the quality of education and assessment. It is advised that for quality control of the curriculum, dental schools could do this exercise for all their specialties if European consensus reports exist. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Reforming health care in Hungary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Császi, L; Kullberg, P

    1985-01-01

    Over the past two decades Hungary has initiated a series of social and economic reforms which have emphasized decentralization of control and the reintroduction of market mechanisms into the socialized economy. These reforms both reflect and reinforce a changing social structure, in particular the growing influence of upper class special interest groups. Market reforms are an expression of concurrent ideological shifts in Hungarian society. We examined the political significance of three recent proposals to reform health services against the backdrop of broader social and economic changes taking place. The first proposes a bureaucratic reorganization, the second, patient co-payments, and the third, a voucher system. The problems each proposal identifies, as well as the constituency each represents, reveal a trend toward consolidation of class structure in Hungary. Only one of these proposals has any potential to democratize the control and management of the heath care system. Moreover, despite a governmental push toward decentralization, two of these proposals would actually increase centralized bureaucratic control. Two of the reforms incorporate market logic into their arguments, an indication that the philosophical premises of capitalism are re-emerging as an important component of the Hungarian world-view. In Hungary, as well as in other countries, social analysis of proposed health care reforms can effectively illuminate the social and political dynamics of the larger society.

  11. Tri-reforming and combined reforming of methane for producing syngas with desired hydrogen/carbon monoxide ratios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Wei

    This dissertation is an exploratory study of a new process concept for direct production of synthesis gas (CO + H2) with desired H 2/CO ratios (1.5--2.0) for methanol synthesis and F-T synthesis, using CO2 together with steam and unconverted O2 in flue gas from fossil fuel-fired electric power plants to react with methane or natural gas. This new process is called tri-reforming, referring to simultaneous CO2-steam-O2 reforming of methane or natural gas. This study included (1) The investigation of carbon formation in the tri-reforming process. For comparison, carbon formation in the combined reforming and CO2 reforming reaction was studied as well. (2) The effect of reaction conditions and feed compositions on equilibrium composition (e.g. H2/CO ratio) and equilibrium conversions in the tri-reforming process. (3) The role of catalysts in the tri-reforming process, especially the effect of catalysts on CO2 conversion in the presence of H 2O and O2. It was clearly evidenced from this study that CO in the product stream is probably the major source of carbon over Ni/Al2O3 in the equimolar CO2-CH4 reforming at 650°C and 1 atm. Addition of either O2 or H2O into the CO 2 reforming reaction system can suppress carbon formation. It was demonstrated that carbon-free operation can be achieved in the tri-reforming process. A thermodynamic comparison of tri-reforming with feed compositions of (H2O+CO2+0.5O2)/CH4 (mol ratio) = 1 showed that O2 improves equilibrium CH4 conversion, yet greatly decreases equilibrium CO2 conversion. H2O in tri-reforming has a significant effect on the H2/CO ratio in the products, while O2 has a minor effect. A kinetic study and catalytic performance tests indicated that the support in a supported catalyst has a significant role in enhancing CO2 conversion to CO in the presence of H2O and O2 in tri-reforming. The Ni/MgO catalyst showed superior performance with close to equilibrium CH4 and CO2 conversions at 850°C, 1 atm, and 32,000 ml

  12. Reforming Social Policy: Changing Perspectives on Sustainable ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Reforming Social Policy presents an overview of social policy reforms currently ... It shows how some experimental approaches to reform have worked in different ... and students in development studies and social sciences; policymakers and ...

  13. Curriculum Development in Geomorphology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, Kenneth J.

    1988-01-01

    Examines the context of present curriculum development in geomorphology and the way in which it has developed in recent years. Discusses the content of the geomorphology curriculum in higher education and the consequences of curriculum development together with a consideration of future trends and their implications. (GEA)

  14. Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation

    KAUST Repository

    Cha, Min

    2017-01-01

    Plasma devices for hydrocarbon reformation are provided. Methods of using the devices for hydrocarbon reformation are also provided. The devices can include a liquid container to receive a hydrocarbon source, and a plasma torch configured

  15. A study on four-year college curriculum for the education of radiological technology in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Jong Hak; Lee, Sang Suk; Kim, Young Il; Kwon, Dal Gwan; Kim, Heung Tae; Lim, Han Young

    1995-01-01

    The education of radiologic technology began in the regular institute of higher education in Korea in 1963. Up to now from then, our education to bring up the radiologic technologists has developed greatly in quality and quantity, and now departments of radio-technology are founded in the 16 junior colleges in March, 1995. This study was done to verify the necessity and propriety to reform the education system of radiologic technology which was run as two or three year system of college curriculum for 32 years since 1963, and to search for the method to reform in the future. We got the following results from this research. 1. In the survey, on the desirable education year for radiologic technologists, 63.9 % of professors of department of radio-technology and 63.0 % of radiologic technologists chose the 4 year system, 27.9 % of professors and 34.6 % of radiologic technologists chose the 4 year system added to graduate school. 2. In the survey, on the future development of radiologic equipment and technique, 67.2 % of professors of department of radiologic technology and 86.4 % of radiologic technologists have a view of 'revolutional development'. Also, on the future tasks or roles

  16. Perspectives of Residents of Mashhad School of Dentistry about the Curriculum of Residency Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javad Sarabadani

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: This study was carried out to analyze the viewpoint of the residents of school of dentistry about the curriculum presented in the residency program to students of Mashhad School of Dentistry. Methods: To evaluate the perspectives of residents of dental school about the curriculum and regulations of residency program, a questionnaire was designed whose validity and reliability were confirmed by the authorities of School of Dentistry and test-retest reliability, respectively. The questionnaire was distributed among 100 residents and 80 of them completed the questionnaires. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 11.5. Results: A total of 43% of residents were informed of the curriculum (e.g. academic leave, transfer, removal of semester, etc.. As for the ability to write research proposal, 42.7% of residents were reported to have a favorable status, i.e. they were able to write more than 80% of their proposal. From among the residents, 30.4% had specialized English language certificate. Most of them (77% were satisfied with the professional staff, faculty members, of the faculty. Many students liked to participate in the teaching method courses of the residency program. Conclusion: Residents maintained that the curriculum in such domains as educational and research issues and special capabilities had some weak points. Thus, appropriate strategies are recommended to be applied to revise the curriculum using the residents’ views on these programs.

  17. Environmental consequences of electricity sector reforms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wohlgemuth, N.

    1999-01-01

    Worldwide, the electricity industry is in the process of undergoing fundamental transitions. The reform process typically involves one or more of the following changes: commercialisation, privatisation, unbundling/restructuring and introduction of competition. The environmental impacts of these changes pull in different directions. There is concern that restructured electricity markets may not always incorporate adequately the environmental impacts of electricity resource development and consumption decisions. However, the electricity sector reform process also offers an opportunity to promote positive environmental changes: because the sector is already in flux, it may be easier to address environmental issues. The paper gives an overview of power sector reform in six countries where reforms have already been implemented, and concludes that reform measures will have to be accompanied by competitively neutral regulations in order to stimulate investment in environmentally sound technologies, including renewable and energy efficient technologies. (author)

  18. A multi-method approach to curriculum development for in-service training in China's newly established health emergency response offices.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yadong Wang

    Full Text Available To describe an innovative approach for developing and implementing an in-service curriculum in China for staff of the newly established health emergency response offices (HEROs, and that is generalisable to other settings.The multi-method training needs assessment included reviews of the competency domains needed to implement the International Health Regulations (2005 as well as China's policies and emergency regulations. The review, iterative interviews and workshops with experts in government, academia, the military, and with HERO staff were reviewed critically by an expert technical advisory panel.Over 1600 participants contributed to curriculum development. Of the 18 competency domains identified as essential for HERO staff, nine were developed into priority in-service training modules to be conducted over 2.5 weeks. Experts from academia and experienced practitioners prepared and delivered each module through lectures followed by interactive problem-solving exercises and desktop simulations to help trainees apply, experiment with, and consolidate newly acquired knowledge and skills.This study adds to the emerging literature on China's enduring efforts to strengthen its emergency response capabilities since the outbreak of SARS in 2003. The multi-method approach to curriculum development in partnership with senior policy-makers, researchers, and experienced practitioners can be applied in other settings to ensure training is responsive and customized to local needs, resources and priorities. Ongoing curriculum development should reflect international standards and be coupled with the development of appropriate performance support systems at the workplace for motivating staff to apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills effectively and creatively.

  19. A multi-method approach to curriculum development for in-service training in China's newly established health emergency response offices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yadong; Li, Xiangrui; Yuan, Yiwen; Patel, Mahomed S

    2014-01-01

    To describe an innovative approach for developing and implementing an in-service curriculum in China for staff of the newly established health emergency response offices (HEROs), and that is generalisable to other settings. The multi-method training needs assessment included reviews of the competency domains needed to implement the International Health Regulations (2005) as well as China's policies and emergency regulations. The review, iterative interviews and workshops with experts in government, academia, the military, and with HERO staff were reviewed critically by an expert technical advisory panel. Over 1600 participants contributed to curriculum development. Of the 18 competency domains identified as essential for HERO staff, nine were developed into priority in-service training modules to be conducted over 2.5 weeks. Experts from academia and experienced practitioners prepared and delivered each module through lectures followed by interactive problem-solving exercises and desktop simulations to help trainees apply, experiment with, and consolidate newly acquired knowledge and skills. This study adds to the emerging literature on China's enduring efforts to strengthen its emergency response capabilities since the outbreak of SARS in 2003. The multi-method approach to curriculum development in partnership with senior policy-makers, researchers, and experienced practitioners can be applied in other settings to ensure training is responsive and customized to local needs, resources and priorities. Ongoing curriculum development should reflect international standards and be coupled with the development of appropriate performance support systems at the workplace for motivating staff to apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills effectively and creatively.

  20. Applications of solar reforming technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spiewak, I. [Weizmann Inst. of Science, Rehovoth (Israel); Tyner, C.E. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Langnickel, U. [Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Koeln (Germany)

    1993-11-01

    Research in recent years has demonstrated the efficient use of solar thermal energy for driving endothermic chemical reforming reactions in which hydrocarbons are reacted to form synthesis gas (syngas). Closed-loop reforming/methanation systems can be used for storage and transport of process heat and for short-term storage for peaking power generation. Open-loop systems can be used for direct fuel production; for production of syngas feedstock for further processing to specialty chemicals and plastics and bulk ammonia, hydrogen, and liquid fuels; and directly for industrial processes such as iron ore reduction. In addition, reforming of organic chemical wastes and hazardous materials can be accomplished using the high-efficiency destruction capabilities of steam reforming. To help identify the most promising areas for future development of this technology, we discuss in this paper the economics and market potential of these applications.

  1. One Health Core Competency Domains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebekah Frankson

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The emergence of complex global challenges at the convergence of human, animal, and environmental health has catalyzed a movement supporting ‘One Health’ approaches. Despite recognition of the importance of One Health approaches to address these complex challenges, little effort has been directed at identifying the seminal knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for individuals to successfully contribute to One Health efforts. Between 2008 and 2011, three groups independently embarked on separate initiatives to identify core competencies for professionals involved with One Health approaches. Core competencies were considered critically important for guiding curriculum development and continuing professional education as they describe the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to be effective. A workshop was convened in 2012 to synthesize the various strands of work on One Health competencies. Despite having different mandates, participants, and approaches, all of these initiatives identified similar core competency domains: management; communication and informatics; values and ethics; leadership; teams and collaboration; roles and responsibilities; and systems thinking. These core competency domains have been used to develop new continuing professional education programs for One Health professionals and help university curricula prepare new graduates to be able to contribute more effectively to One Health approaches.

  2. One Health Core Competency Domains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankson, Rebekah; Hueston, William; Christian, Kira; Olson, Debra; Lee, Mary; Valeri, Linda; Hyatt, Raymond; Annelli, Joseph; Rubin, Carol

    2016-01-01

    The emergence of complex global challenges at the convergence of human, animal, and environmental health has catalyzed a movement supporting "One Health" approaches. Despite recognition of the importance of One Health approaches to address these complex challenges, little effort has been directed at identifying the seminal knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for individuals to successfully contribute to One Health efforts. Between 2008 and 2011, three groups independently embarked on separate initiatives to identify core competencies for professionals involved with One Health approaches. Core competencies were considered critically important for guiding curriculum development and continuing professional education, as they describe the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to be effective. A workshop was convened in 2012 to synthesize the various strands of work on One Health competencies. Despite having different mandates, participants, and approaches, all of these initiatives identified similar core competency domains: management; communication and informatics; values and ethics; leadership; teams and collaboration; roles and responsibilities; and systems thinking. These core competency domains have been used to develop new continuing professional education programs for One Health professionals and help university curricula prepare new graduates to be able to contribute more effectively to One Health approaches.

  3. State-Based Curriculum-Making: Approaches to Local Curriculum Work in Norway and Finland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mølstad, Christina Elde

    2015-01-01

    This article investigates how state authorities in Norway and Finland design national curriculum to provide different policy conditions for local curriculum work in municipalities and schools. The topic is explored by comparing how national authorities in Norway and Finland create a scope for local curriculum. The data consist of interviews with…

  4. Development of ATSR (Auto Thermal Steam Reformer)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ono, J.; Yoshino, Y.; Kuwabara, T.; Fujisima, S.; Kobayashi, S.; Maruko, S.

    2004-01-01

    'Full text:' Auto-thermal reformers are used popularly for fuel cell vehicle because they are compact and can start up quickly. On the other hand, steam reformers are used for stationary fuel cell power plant because they are good thermal efficiency. While, there are many cases using the auto- thermal reformer for stationary use with expectation of cost reduction in USA, as well. However, they are still insufficient for its durability, compactness and cost. We have been developing the new type of fuel processing system that is auto-thermal steam reformer (ATSR), which is hybrid of a conventional steam reformer (STR) and a conventional auto-thermal reformer (ATR). In this study, some proto-type of ATSR for field test were designed, tried manufacturing and tested performance and durability. And we have tried to operate with fuel cell stack to evaluate the system interface performance, that is, operability and controllability. (author)

  5. Some Considerations Regarding the Reform in the Field of Civil Status Activity and Public Record

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Lupsan

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available The objectives imposed by the European Union on Romania regarding upgrading local public administration on the basis of information technologies, including the one in the marital status activity, which includes, in addition to setting the legal framework and setting up technological infrastructure and the identification of the organizational tools necessary to achieve operational objectives. In our work we present, based on the normative acts, a short history of the reform in the domain of marital status activity and population records.

  6. The Danish Regulatory Reform of Telecommunications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skouby, Knud Erik

    1998-01-01

    An overview of the liberalisation process and regulatory reform of telecommunications in Denmark......An overview of the liberalisation process and regulatory reform of telecommunications in Denmark...

  7. The 'reformation' of counselling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G.A. Lotter

    2001-08-01

    Full Text Available Although the Reformation took place some four hundred years ago, one area in which reformation is really needed today is the counselling of people. Since Wilhelm Wundt started the “study of the mind” in 1879, William James and Sigmund Freud followed and secular psychology gradually has developed to take the “front seat”; hence moving Biblical counselling, which has been practised since the times of the New Testament, to the “back burner”. This development had been going on for the greater part of the 20th century, up to the publication of Competent to Counsel by Jay E. Adams in 1970. In the model for counselling suggested by Adams, the principles of the Reformation of the sixteenth century, Soli Deo Gloria, Soli Scriptura, Soli Fidei, Sola Gratia, etc. were again implemented in assisting and counselling people with personal and interpersonal problems. The epistomological and anthropological approach of secular psychology differs radically from that of Biblical principles, thus necessitating a new “reformation” of counselling. Within this new form counselling, inter alia, implies the following: the Word of God has its rightful place, sin has to be taken seriously and the work of the Holy Spirit should be recognised. In this article it is proposed that the “reformation” of counselling was started by scholars with a Biblical Reformational approach and that this method of counselling followed the parameters of the Reformation of the sixteenth century. This “reformation” developed into a new direction in counselling and still continues today with fascinating new frontiers opening up for Biblical counselling.

  8. The Reformed tradition as public theology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vuyani S. Vellem

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available This article is a South African perspective of a Black African reflection on the publicity of Reformed faith. Whilst the notion of public theology is fairly new, the article argues, it is important to define the ‘public’ of the type of public theology to which Reformed faith and tradition could be linked. As a confessional tradition, Reformed faith is intrinsically public, the article demonstrates. The publicity of this tradition is however ambivalent and tainted. I attempt to show this by discussing two important tenets of the Reformed Tradition: sola scriptura and sola fide, within the festering wounds of Black African colonialism, apartheid and the hegemony of the neoliberal paradigm in the 21st century.

  9. Community Organizing as an Education Reform Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renee, Michelle; McAlister, Sara

    2011-01-01

    Community organizing for school reform offers an urgently needed alternative to traditional approaches to school change. Many current reforms fail to thrive due to lack of trust, understanding, or cultural relevance to the community being targeted. The high turnover of reformers (superintendents, principals, or outside organizations) in high-need…

  10. Innovating Science Teaching by Participatory Action Research – Reflections from an Interdisciplinary Project of Curriculum Innovation on Teaching about Climate Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timo Feierabend

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a three-year curriculum innovation project on teaching about climate change. The innovation for this study focused on a socio-critical approach towards teaching climate change in four different teaching domains (biology, chemistry, physics and politics. The teaching itself explicitly aimed at general educational objectives, i.e., fostering students’ communication and evaluation abilities as essential components for preparing young people for active participation in society. Participatory Action Research has been used as a collaborative strategy of cyclical curriculum innovation and research. Using past experiences and selected results from accompanying research, this project and its methodology will be reflected upon from the viewpoint of the chemistry group taking part in the project. Core issues reflected upon include how the project contributed to the creation of feasible curriculum materials, how it led to innovative structures in practice, and whether it supported experienced teachers’ ongoing professional development. General considerations for the process of curriculum innovation will also be derived.

  11. Implementing Comprehensive Reform: Implications for Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stout, Karen A.

    2016-01-01

    This chapter describes the challenges and practical barriers community colleges face when implementing comprehensive reform, exploring how reforms are leading to some improvements but not often scaled improvements.

  12. Electricity reform in developing and transition countries: A reappraisal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, J.H.; Ghanadan, R.

    2006-01-01

    Since about 1990, many developing and transition countries have undertaken market-oriented reforms in their electric power sectors. Despite the widespread adoption of a standard policy model, reform processes and outcomes have often failed to meet expectations. Drawing on an extensive literature review and case studies in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, this paper describes common features of non-OECD electricity reform and reappraises reform policies and underlying assumptions. Comparison with the sector-focused policy goals of deregulation in OECD countries highlights the importance of national fiscal crises, macroeconomic reforms, and persuasion by multilateral lenders in shaping non-OECD reforms. It also makes clear reform's dependence on attracting foreign capital, and consequent vulnerability to volatile international financial conditions. Case studies of Bolivia, Ghana, India, Poland, and Thailand illustrate reform's diverse pathways and problems in different settings. A broad range of non-OECD reform experiences indicates that disappointing results have often resulted from a narrow focus on finance and cost recovery, inflexibly applied. The paper concludes that improving reform will require emphasizing a broader set of objectives, including service provision, public benefits, effective regulation, and social/political legitimacy. Above all, reforms must be based on realistic assessments of national needs and capabilities. (author)

  13. The Louvain printers and the establishment of the Cartesian curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geert Vanpaemel

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available With regard to the public circulation of knowledge, universities are often regarded as privileged institutions where information and ideas are formally transmitted through regulated didactic experiences. University life, however, provided a more complex environment in which various parallel and perhaps contradictory processes of transmission were at work. In this paper, we analyse a set of 55 engravings with scientific images, which started to appear around 1670 in student notebooks at the University of Louvain. These engravings, produced and sold by the Louvain printers Michael Hayé and Lambert Blendeff, were related to the philosophy curriculum of the Faculty of Arts but did not correspond entirely to the actual topics or doctrine taught. In fact, the obvious Cartesian orientation of the images was not in line with the more prudent position of the Faculty. This paper offers a preliminary analysis of the set of engravings and their role in the Cartesian reforms at Louvain.

  14. Determination of optimal reformer temperature in a reformed methanol fuel cell system using ANFIS models and numerical optimization methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Justesen, Kristian Kjær; Andreasen, Søren Juhl

    2015-01-01

    In this work a method for choosing the optimal reformer temperature for a reformed methanol fuel cell system is presented based on a case study of a H3 350 module produced by Serenergy A/S. The method is based on ANFIS models of the dependence of the reformer output gas composition on the reformer...... temperature and fuel flow, and the dependence of the fuel cell voltage on the fuel cell temperature, current and anode supply gas CO content. These models are combined to give a matrix of system efficiencies at different fuel cell currents and reformer temperatures. This matrix is then used to find...... the reformer temperature which gives the highest efficiency for each fuel cell current. The average of this optimal efficiency curve is 32.11% and the average efficiency achieved using the standard constant temperature is 30.64% an increase of 1.47 percentage points. The gain in efficiency is 4 percentage...

  15. Review of Judicial Reforms in Bhutan

    OpenAIRE

    Dubgyur, Lungten

    2004-01-01

    This essay highlights the anomalies of judicial reforms in Bhutan. It presents a historical perspective of Bhutanese judicial reforms and addresses recent developments. It discusses court performance and experiences and approaches adopted in making the courts efficient. Much of the reform initiatives emanate from the throne. His Majesty the King has always advocated an efficient judicial system for the Kingdom. In obedience to the Royal Commands, the judicial system and judicial process in Bh...

  16. Tariff-Tax Reforms and Market Access

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kreickemeier, Udo; Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis

    2006-01-01

    Reducing tariffs and increasing consumption taxes is a standard IMF advice to countries that want to open up their economy without hurting government finances. Indeed, theoretical analysis of such a tariff-tax reform shows an unambiguous increase in welfare and government revenues. The present pa...... efficient proposal to follow both as far as it concerns market access and welfare.JEL code: F13, H20.Keywords: Market access; tariff reform, consumption tax reform....

  17. A Rose By Other Names: Some General Musings on Lawrence and Colleagues' Hidden Curriculum Scoping Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hafferty, Frederic W; Martimianakis, Maria Athina

    2017-11-07

    In this Commentary, the authors explore the scoping review by Lawrence and colleagues by challenging their conclusion that with over 25 years' worth of "ambiguous and seemingly ubiquitous use" of the hidden curriculum construct in health professions education scholarship, it is time to either move to a more uniform definitional foundation or abandon the term altogether. The commentary authors counter these remedial propositions by foregrounding the importance of theoretical diversity and the conceptual richness afforded when the hidden curriculum construct is used as an entry point for studying the interstitial space between the formal and a range of other-than-formal domains of learning. Further, they document how tightly-delimited scoping strategies fail to capture the wealth of educational scholarship that operates within a hidden curriculum framework, including "hidden" hidden curriculum articles, studies that employ alternative constructs, and investigations that target important tacit socio-cultural influences on learners and faculty without formally deploying the term. They offer examples of how the hidden curriculum construct, while undergoing significant transformation in its application within the field of health professions education, has created the conceptual foundation for the application of a number of critical perspectives that make visible the field's political investments in particular forms of knowing and associated practices. Finally, the commentary authors invite readers to consider the methodological promise afforded by conceptual heterogeneity, particularly strands of scholarship that resituate the hidden curriculum concept within the magically expansive dance of social relationships, social learning, and social life that form the learning environments of health professions education.

  18. Investigating Chinese Preschool Teachers' Beliefs in Mathematics Teaching from a Cross-Cultural Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xia; Liu, Song; DeBey, Mary; McFadden, Karen; Pan, Yue-Juan

    2018-01-01

    In China, preschool curriculum has undergone reform and profound changes. Much remains unknown, however, regarding preschool teachers' teaching beliefs after 30 years of curriculum reform and adaptation. This study aimed to address the issue and investigate teachers' beliefs concerning teaching mathematics. Twelve preschool teachers in China…

  19. The Mathematics Teacher and Curriculum Change (El Profesor de Matemáticas y el Cambio de Currículo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeremy Kilpatrick

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available One of the most compelling lessons of the new math reform era —from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s— concerned the pivotal role of the mathematics teacher in effecting curriculum change. Recent efforts to change the school mathematics curriculum are rediscovering that old lesson: The teacher is the key to change. Consequently, when teachers are confronted with arguments against the direction that proposals for curriculum change are taking, it is important for them to analyze and discuss the proposed changes. Recent experiences in the United States, which does not have the same centralized curriculum organization as Portugal but which is experiencing some of the same proposals and arguments against them, may be helpful in understanding the role that teachers can play in the social process of creating a curriculum. Una de las lecciones más destacadas extraídas de la era de la reforma de la matemática moderna hacía referencia al papel esencial que el profesor de matemáticas desempeñaba en el cambio del currículo. Los recientes esfuerzos por cambiar el currículo de las matemáticas escolares están redescubriendo esta vieja lección: El profesor es la clave para el cambio. Consecuentemente, cuando los profesores argumentan en contra de las propuestas de cambio curricular, es importante que analicen y discutan los cambios propuestos. Las experiencias recientes en Estados Unidos, donde no existe la misma organización curricular centralizada de Portugal pero que experimenta parte de las mismas propuestas y argumentos contra ellas, puede ser útil para comprender el papel que los profesores pueden jugar en el proceso social de creación de un currículo.

  20. Considerations for Education Reform in British Columbia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Ana

    2012-01-01

    Countries around the world refer to twenty-first century education as essential to maintaining personal and national economic advantage and draw on this discourse to advocate for and embark on educational reform. This paper examines issues around education reform, particularly in British Columbia. It argues that reformers should give careful…

  1. State-Based Curriculum-Making, Part 2, the Tool-Kit for the State's Curriculum-Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westbury, Ian; Sivesind, Kirsten

    2016-01-01

    The paper identifies three tools that support the administrative instrument of a state-based curriculum commission: compartmentalization, licensing, and segmentation. These tools channel the state's curriculum-making towards forms of symbolic rather than regulatory action. The state curriculum becomes a framework for the ideological governance of…

  2. Peer-assisted learning--beyond teaching: How can medical students contribute to the undergraduate curriculum?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furmedge, Daniel S; Iwata, Kazuya; Gill, Deborah

    2014-09-01

    Peer-assisted learning (PAL) has become increasingly popular over recent years with many medical schools now formally incorporating peer-teaching programs into the curriculum. PAL has a sound evidence base with benefit to both peer-teacher and peer-learner. Aside from in teaching delivery, empowering students to develop education in its broadest sense has been much less extensively documented. Five case studies with supportive evaluation evidence illustrate the success of a broad range of peer-led projects in the undergraduate medical curriculum, particularly where these have been embedded into formal teaching practices. These case studies identify five domains of teaching and support of learning where PAL works well: teaching and learning, resource development, peer-assessment, education research and evaluation and mentoring and support. Each case offers ways of engaging students in each domain. Medical students can contribute significantly to the design and delivery of the undergraduate medical program above and beyond the simple delivery of peer-assisted "teaching". In particular, they are in a prime position to develop resources and conduct research and evaluation within the program. Their participation in all stages enables them to feel involved in course development and education of their peers and ultimately leads to an increase in student satisfaction.

  3. Two decades of reforms. Appraisal of the financial reforms in the Russian public healthcare sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordeev, Vladimir S; Pavlova, Milena; Groot, Wim

    2011-10-01

    This paper reviews the empirical evidence on the outcomes of the financial reforms in the Russian public healthcare sector. A systematic literature review identified 37 relevant publications that presented empirical evidence on changes in quality, equity, efficiency and sustainability in public healthcare provision due to the Russian public healthcare financial reforms. Evidence suggests that there are substantial inter-regional inequalities across income groups both in terms of financing and access to public healthcare services. There are large efficiency differences between regions, along with inter-regional variations in payment and reimbursement mechanisms. Informal and quasi-formal payments deteriorate access to public healthcare services and undermine the overall financing sustainability. The public healthcare sector is still underfinanced, although the implementation of health insurance gave some premises for future increases of efficiency. Overall, the available empirical data are not sufficient for an evidence-based evaluation of the reforms. More studies on the quality, equity, efficiency and sustainability impact of the reforms are needed. Future reforms should focus on the implementation of cost-efficiency and cost-control mechanisms; provide incentives for better allocation and distribution of resources; tackle problems in equity in access and financing; implement a system of quality controls; and stimulate healthy competition between insurance companies. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Curriculum theory in physical education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jewett, Ann E.

    1989-03-01

    Primary current concerns of curriculum theorists in sport and physical education relate to clarification of value orientations underlying curricular decision-making, selection and statement of curriculum goals, identification and organization of programme content, and the process of curriculum change. Disciplinary mastery is the most traditional value orientation and that which is most frequently found in practice. Curriculum theorists have identified four other value orientations for study: social reconstruction, self-actualization, learning process, and ecological validity. Health-related fitness and the development of motor skills have long been the primary goals of physical education. In recent years, however, curriculum specialists have begun to assign higher priorities to goals of personal integration and challenge, of social development and multicultural understanding. There is general agreement that human movement activities constitute the subject-matter of the sport and physical education curriculum. Differences exist, however, as to how learning activities should be selected for particular programmes. The current trend in seeking better understanding of content is toward studying the operational curriculum with particular attention to the historical and social contexts. An important contemporary focus is the need to translate short-term results into lifestyle changes. The curriculum in sports and physical education should be viewed as a multitude of possibilities.

  5. Opinion of stakeholders on existing curriculum for postgraduate (MD) course in Pharmacology: A survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badyal, Dinesh K; Daniel, Sujit R

    2016-10-01

    To survey the opinion about various curricular components of Doctor of Medicine (MD) pharmacology curriculum in India by stakeholders, including faculty and students. An online survey was done to evaluate the various curricular components of MD pharmacology curriculum being used in India. A total of 393 respondents including faculty, MD students, and other stakeholders completed the survey. The survey was developed using SurveyMonkey platform and link to survey was E-mailed to stakeholders. The results were expressed as percentages. There was a balanced representation of respondents from various designations, teaching experience, regions, and age groups. Most of the respondents (83%) were aware of the MD pharmacology curriculum. However, they reported that it is more inclined to knowledge domain. About half of respondents (53%) said that animal experiments are being used. The most common teaching methods mentioned are seminars (98.5%), journal clubs (95%), and practical exercises by postgraduates (73%), but there is less use of newer methods (25%) in theory and less of clinical pharmacology exercise (39%) in practical classes. The log books are maintained but not assessed regularly. Internal assessment is sparingly used. The MD pharmacology curriculum needs to be made uniform at the national level and updated to include the newer methods in teaching-learning and assessment. There should be sharing of newer methods at a common platform implemented at the national level.

  6. Project-Based Learning in Post-WWII Japanese School Curriculum: An Analysis via Curriculum Orientations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nomura, Kazuyuki

    2017-01-01

    In the 2000s, the new national curriculum, dubbed as the "yutori curriculum," introduced a new subject for project-based learning "Integrated Study" as its prominent feature. Comparing curriculum orientations in project-based learning in three historical periods after the WWII including Integrated Study, this paper aims to…

  7. Sociology in American medical education since the 1960s: the rhetoric or reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wegar, K

    1992-10-01

    Despite recommendations by medical reformers that medical sociology be included in the curriculum, there is currently little evidence of a far-reaching integration of sociological perspectives in American medical education. Yet, support for the relevance of sociological knowledge has since the late 1960s helped to diffuse external pressures for change in health care and medical education. As a symbol of the communitarian commitment of the medical profession, claims in favor of the incorporation of sociological perspectives have thus occasionally, and largely unintentionally, served the public relations interests of biomedicine. However, the more recent interest in medical ethics has to some degree transformed medicine's educational agenda and the definition of medical 'human values'. Whereas the rhetorical expropriation of medical sociology primarily has concerned medicine's responsibility vis-à-vis society as a whole, the new medical ethics education signifies a return to a more individualistically oriented medical morality.

  8. What triggers reforms in OECD countries? Improved reform measurement and evidence from the healthcare sector

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wiese, Rasmus

    The main contribution of this paper is the development of a novel and versatile methodology to identify economic reforms. The methodology is a combination of the Bai & Perron structural break filter, and validation of the structural breaks identified using de jure evidence of reforms. The procedure

  9. How To Make a Curriculum: The 1987 Guidelines for Curriculum Development in the Norwegian High School--A New Paradigma in Curriculum Development Practice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gundem, Bjorg B.

    This paper relates to a research project on the history and current practice of curriculum administration in Norway. An elaboration is provided on the changing high school system and the growing impact of curriculum scholarship on curriculum development. The discussion revolves around three objectives: (1) to determine if the newly formulated set…

  10. Ethical and Civic Education. Difficulties during the Curricular Reform in Argentine Patagonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabelino Siede

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17227/01234870.41folios51.68 What type of ethical and civic education is effectively provided at school? This article analyzes the curricular prescriptions of Ethical and Citizenship Education in primary schools of the Argentine Patagonia, as well as its relations and contradictions with the school practices of moral education It inquires the process of definition of the area in the context of the Educational Reform in the 90s. Also, it pursuits to remake the way it was incorporated in the provincial curriculum design. Throughout focus groups and interviews to teachers from different public and private schools of three towns from de north of Santa Cruz, we analyze the descriptions and expectative of the teachers about their teaching practice in the moral area, as well as the possible causes of the differences and the contradictions between the policies of the curricular statement and educational proposals offered at school.

  11. Mountain-Plains Curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mountain-Plains Education and Economic Development Program, Inc., Glasgow AFB, MT.

    The document lists the Mountain-Plains curriculum by job title (where applicable), including support courses. The curriculum areas covered are mathematics skills, communication skills, office education, lodging services, food services, marketing and distribution, welding support, automotive, small engines, career guidance, World of Work, health…

  12. 2D heat and mass transfer modeling of methane steam reforming for hydrogen production in a compact reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ni Meng

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► A heat and mass transfer model is developed for a compact reformer. ► Hydrogen production from methane steam reforming is simulated. ► Increasing temperature greatly increases the reaction rates at the inlet. ► Temperature in the downstream is increased at higher rate of heat supply. ► Larger permeability enhances gas flow and reaction rates in the catalyst layer. - Abstract: Compact reformers (CRs) are promising devices for efficient fuel processing. In CRs, a thin solid plate is sandwiched between two catalyst layers to enable efficient heat transfer from combustion duct to the reforming duct for fuel processing. In this study, a 2D heat and mass transfer model is developed to investigate the fundamental transport phenomenon and chemical reaction kinetics in a CR for hydrogen production by methane steam reforming (MSR). Both MSR reaction and water gas shift reaction (WGSR) are considered in the numerical model. Parametric simulations are performed to examine the effects of various structural/operating parameters, such as pore size, permeability, gas velocity, temperature, and rate of heat supply on the reformer performance. It is found that the reaction rates of MSR and WGSR are the highest at the inlet but decrease significantly along the reformer. Increasing the operating temperature raises the reaction rates at the inlet but shows very small influence in the downstream. For comparison, increasing the rate of heat supply raises the reaction rates in the downstream due to increased temperature. A high gas velocity and permeability facilitates gas transport in the porous structure thus enhances reaction rates in the downstream of the reformer.

  13. Drug pricing reform in China: analysis of piloted approaches and potential impact of the reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yixi; Hu, Shanlian; Dong, Peng; Kornfeld, Åsa; Jaros, Patrycja; Yan, Jing; Ma, Fangfang; Toumi, Mondher

    2016-01-01

    Objectives In 2009, the Chinese government launched a national healthcare reform programme aiming to control healthcare expenditure and increase the quality of care. As part of this programme, a new drug pricing reform was initiated on 1 June 2015. The objective of this study was to describe the changing landscape of drug pricing policy in China and analyse the potential impact of the reform. Methods The authors conducted thorough research on the drug pricing reform using three Chinese databases (CNKI, Wanfang, and Weipu), Chinese health authority websites, relevant press releases, and pharmaceutical blogs and discussion forums. This research was complemented with qualitative research based on targeted interviews with key Chinese opinion leaders representing the authorities’ and prescribers’ perspectives. Results With the current reform, the government has attempted to replace its direct control over the prices of reimbursable drugs with indirect, incentive-driven influence. Although the exact implementation of the reform remains unclear at the moment, the changes introduced so far and the pilot project designs indicate that China is considering adaptation of some form of internal and external reference pricing policies, commonly used in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Several challenges related to the potential new mechanism were identified: 1) the risk of hospital underfunding, if hospital funding reform is not prioritised; 2) the risk of promoting the use of cheap, low-quality drugs, if a reliable quality control system is not in place and discrepancy between the available drugs is present; 3) the risk of increasing disparity in access to care between poor and rich regions, in case of country-wide price convergence; and 4) the risk of industry underinvestment, resulting in reduced competition, issues with quality and sustainability of supply, and potentially negative social impact. Conclusions Foreign pricing policies

  14. 教室中的課程政治學:中國大陸教師課程自主權的審視Curricular Politics in Classroom: A Review of Teacher Curriculum Autonomy in Chinese Mainland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    楊明全Mingquan Yan

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available 中國大陸的課程政策一直處於階段性的持續變革之中,但二十世紀末之前的課程政策調整並未賦予教師更大的課程自主權。進入二十一世紀之後,深化素質教育改革、推進教育創新成為中國大陸教育的主流話語,在這一語境之下,教師課程自主權的回歸與重建成為可能。尤其是經過新一輪基礎教育課程改革的洗禮,諸多的課程理念和新的課程價值觀為教師參與課程事務奠定了理論前提和思想基礎,增加了實踐中教師參與發展課程並對國家課程進行調適的空間,由此導致了教室層面教師課程自主權的彰顯和課程創新能力的提高。倡導教師的課程參與、為教師賦權是中國大陸課程領域權力運作的新氣象,也是課程政治學要討論的重要話題。 Even though the curriculum police in Chinese Mainland remains changing in different stages, teachers have not got more curriculum autonomy before 21 century. In this century, it is the mainstream that the education for all-around development reform will be further and the educational innovation will be advanced. In this context, it is possible for the recurrence and reconstruction of teachers’ curriculum autonomy. Especially after the recent curriculum reform, many concepts of curriculum and the value-view of new curriculum establish the precondition of theory and the base of idea for teachers’ participation in the curriculum, which become the theory base of teacher participation in curriculum change. As a result, teachers’ curriculum autonomy will be achieved and teachers will have more and more ability to carry out curriculum innovation and can improve it. It is a new phenomenon in Chinese Mainland that teachers can participate and attain more chances in the process of curriculum change continually, which will be a topic of curricular politics.

  15. Innovating Science Teaching by Participatory Action Research--Reflections from an Interdisciplinary Project of Curriculum Innovation on Teaching about Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feierabend, Timo; Eilks, Ingo

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes a three-year curriculum innovation project on teaching about climate change. The innovation for this study focused on a socio-critical approach towards teaching climate change in four different teaching domains (biology, chemistry, physics and politics). The teaching itself explicitly aimed at general educational objectives,…

  16. Tax reform Ukraine: implementation mechanisms and consequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.Lebedzevіch

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In the article the main shortcomings of the existing domestic tax systems, which were the main reasons for the need for its reform in the context of integration into the European Community. Determined the first stage of reforming tax systems Ukraine, which is associated with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine». The main provisions of this legal act, revealing the essence of the mechanism for implementing tax reform. Analyzed the mechanism of implementation of tax reform by analyzing the major innovations of the Tax Code of Ukraine and their comparison with the tax «standards» that operated the implementation of tax reform 2015. Thesis there is determined a number of tax loopholes and nedoopratsyuvan conducted tax reform and their implications for payers of taxes and duties, and the need for further research and improvement. The experience of European countries towards the introduction of electronic filing and processing of tax returns.

  17. How Does a Community of Principals Develop Leadership for Technology-Enhanced Science?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerard, Libby F.; Bowyer, Jane B.; Linn, Marcia C.

    2010-01-01

    Active principal leadership can help sustain and scale science curriculum reform. This study illustrates how principal leadership developed in a professional learning community to support a technology-enhanced science curriculum reform funded by the National Science Foundation. Seven middle school and high school principals in one urban-fringe…

  18. The Danish Police Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Degnegaard, Rex; Mark, Sofie

    2013-01-01

    Many cases highlight the need for responsible management in regards to transparency of organisations and involvement of stakeholders in decisions that will impact citizens, patients, customers and/or clients. Often these cases take an outside-in approach as they illustrate why it is essential...... for organisations to work with transparency and involvement with the aim of upholding and further developing a social responsibility to their environment. This case on the other hand takes an inside-out perspective on social responsibility by illustrating how social responsibility is necessary for public......, the reform process was problematic and the following years were challenging and filled with changes and turbulence. Media, politicians and the police itself directed heavy criticism towards the effects of the reform and reviews of the reform as well as of the work of the police were carried out resulting...

  19. Leadership training in a family medicine residency program: Cross-sectional quantitative survey to inform curriculum development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Erin; Moore, Ainsley; Schabort, Inge

    2017-03-01

    To assess the current status of leadership training as perceived by family medicine residents to inform the development of a formal leadership curriculum. Cross-sectional quantitative survey. Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont, in December 2013. A total of 152 first- and second-year family medicine residents. Family medicine residents' attitudes toward leadership, perceived level of training in various leadership domains, and identified opportunities for leadership training. Overall, 80% (152 of 190) of residents completed the survey. On a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = neutral, 7 = strongly agree), residents rated the importance of physician leadership in the clinical setting as high (6.23 of 7), whereas agreement with the statement "I am a leader" received the lowest rating (5.28 of 7). At least 50% of residents desired more training in the leadership domains of personal mastery, mentorship and coaching, conflict resolution, teaching, effective teamwork, administration, ideals of a healthy workplace, coalitions, and system transformation. At least 50% of residents identified behavioural sciences seminars, a lecture and workshop series, and a retreat as opportunities to expand leadership training. The concept of family physicians as leaders resonated highly with residents. Residents desired more personal and system-level leadership training. They also identified ways that leadership training could be expanded in the current curriculum and developed in other areas. The information gained from this survey might facilitate leadership development among residents through application of its results in a formal leadership curriculum. Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

  20. The teacher and the curriculum;

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Priestley, M.; Biesta, G.; Philippou, Stavroula

    2015-01-01

    A key debate in the curriculum field has centred on the extent to which teachers should or could achieve agency over the curriculum they enact. Risks to teacher agency have come from top-down control of curricula, either through input regulation (prescription of content, methods and/or teaching m...... with a discussion of why it is important to understand and take into account teacher agency, when formulating and developing curriculum policy.......A key debate in the curriculum field has centred on the extent to which teachers should or could achieve agency over the curriculum they enact. Risks to teacher agency have come from top-down control of curricula, either through input regulation (prescription of content, methods and/or teaching...

  1. Working towards Justice, Security Sector Reform and Better ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    ... on security sector reform, constitutional reform, governance of diversity and critical dialogues in MENA societies. ... Reform will take time and one of the tests for those involved in this process is exercising patience and .... Related articles ...

  2. TAX REFORM AND NONCOMPLIANCE IN INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heru Iswahyudi

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of Indonesia’s tax reforms of 2000 and 2008/2009 on taxpayers’ noncompliance. Noncompliance is defined as the difference between the Value Added Tax (VAT liability and the actual revenue. Data are mainly collected from the World Input-Output Database and Indonesia’s Central Board of Statistics. The methodology uses one of the ‘top-down’ approaches, in which national accounts figures are employed to arrive at an estimation of the VAT liability. It is found that compliance deteriorated when reform efforts were incomplete – that is when the reforms suffered from decelerations, setbacks or reversals. This paper contributes to the literature by providing a framework for analyzing the impact of tax reform on taxpayer’s compliance behavior.

  3. Whatever Happened to Curriculum Theory? Critical Realism and Curriculum Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priestley, Mark

    2011-01-01

    In the face of what has been characterised by some as a "crisis" in curriculum--an apparent decline of some aspects of curriculum studies combined with the emergence of new types of national curricula which downgrade knowledge--some writers have been arguing for the use of realist theory to address these issues. This article offers a…

  4. Curriculum Prototypes and the Seven Dwarfs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Shirley

    Jonathan Culler's notion, that each change of perspective a reader makes brings something different from the text, is explored by using four curricula. They are: the traditional language arts curriculum, an active reading comprehension curriculum, a psychology curriculum, and a feminist curriculum. By analyzing the same text, "Snow White and…

  5. LAND REFORM IN UKRAINE: HISTORIOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barantsov B.

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Modern land reform, that continues in Ukraine since the beginning of the 90-th of ХХ century, is a logical result of the functioning of society and the state.. It’s prerequisites becames, especially full monopolization of state on ownership of land; absence of payment for land as one of the means of ensuring the rational use of lands; absence on workers motivation for intensive work on the land, etc.. These and other preconditions contributed to soil degradation, production of agricultural products with exceeding of maximum allowable concentrations of pollutants, development of diseases, undermine the gene pool of nature and man. Mentioned reasons determined the goal and objectives of modern land reform, which were originally set out in the preamble to the Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine from December 18, 1990 «On Land Reform» with following changes and additions, and in the implementation of the land-reformation measures gained more complete content. Conducted analysis shows that land reform in Ukraine leads to a change of ownership of land, contributes to solving problems of citizens by land plots, enactment of payment for land usecreation of conditions for the development of land market. Thus changing land relations, is formed legal and regulatory framework of land reform and land market. However, positive developments in the implementation of land reform to end of the 90-th years have not led to a radical and effective upgrade of agricultural production, recovery of investment processes in other branches of industry, improving of welfare of the population. Land reform measures didn’t receive adequate financial support. The ultimate goal - an economically-effective and environmentally safe use of land in Ukraine - has not been achieved. Further reforming of land relations contributed to the adoption in October 2001 of the Land Code of Ukraine in the new edition that created the legal principles of land reform. Since it

  6. Experimental analysis of an autothermal reformer for automotive purposes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caners, C.; Peppley, B.; Harrison, S.; Oosthuizen, P.

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes the experimental analysis, concomitant with modeling research, to determine improved operating parameters and design of an autothermal reformer. The reformer, utilizing both partial oxidation and steam reforming reactions, along with the water gas shift phenomena is well suited for the mobile application of transportation. This is due to the novel geometry of the autothermal reformer, which seeks to improve the heat transfer characteristics of the process, whereby the exothermic partial oxidation reaction provides the heat energy required to drive the steam reforming reaction, to the point of a thermally neutral system. The paper will present data from the experimental results of reforming iso-octane as a surrogate for gasoline in the form of reformate composition, iso-octane conversion percentages and efficiencies in terms of hydrogen realized per mol of fuel input. (author)

  7. School Leadership and Curriculum: German Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Stephan; Tulowitzki, Pierre; Hameyer, Uwe

    2017-01-01

    This article looks at the role of school leadership vis-à-vis the curriculum. First, it offers a brief overview of school leadership in Germany. Next, curriculum development and curriculum research in Germany is briefly recapped. We present empirical data on school leadership preferences, strain experience, and practices as to curriculum work.…

  8. CURRICULUM POLICY MAKERS PERCEPTIONS OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS BASED ON SOLO TAXONOMY IN SECONDARY LEVEL SCHOOLS IN SRI LANKA

    OpenAIRE

    P. H. Kusumawathie; Norhisham Mohamad; Ferdous Azam

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the conceptual awareness of curriculum policy makers on curriculum development process based on SOLO Taxonomy curriculum approach in secondary level schools. Further, the study explored the relationship between the curriculum development inputs and the SOLO based curriculum development process. The curriculum development inputs are teacher effectiveness, school community, school environment and technology availability. Method: Data was collecte...

  9. Legal Reform, De-colonization and State-building in Palestine ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Legal Reform, De-colonization and State-building in Palestine. Demands for legal reform have come from both inside and outside Palestine. Inside Palestine, legal reform is seen as a prerequisite for democracy and good governance. Outside, legal reform is perceived as integral to the continued peace process with Israel.

  10. High temperature nuclear heat for isothermal reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Epstein, M.

    2000-01-01

    High temperature nuclear heat can be used to operate a reformer with various feedstock materials. The product synthesis gas can be used not only as a source for hydrogen and as a feedstock for many essential chemical industries, such as ammonia and other products, but also for methanol and synthetic fuels. It can also be burnt directly in a combustion chamber of a gas turbine in an efficient combined cycle and generate electricity. In addition, it can be used as fuel for fuel cells. The reforming reaction is endothermic and the contribution of the nuclear energy to the calorific value of the final product (synthesis gas) is about 25%, compared to the calorific value of the feedstock reactants. If the feedstock is from fossil origin, the nuclear energy contributes to a substantial reduction in CO 2 emission to the atmosphere. The catalytic steam reforming of natural gas is the most common process. However, other feedstock materials, such as biogas, landfill gas and CO 2 -contaminated natural gas, can be reformed as well, either directly or with the addition of steam. The industrial steam reformers are generally fixed bed reactors, and their performance is strongly affected by the heat transfer from the furnace to the catalyst tubes. In top-fired as well as side-fired industrial configurations of steam reformers, the radiation is the main mechanism of heat transfer and convection heat transfer is negligible. The flames and the furnace gas constitute the main sources of the heat. In the nuclear reformers developed primarily in Germany, in connection with the EVA-ADAM project (closed cycle), the nuclear heat is transferred from the nuclear reactor coolant gas by convection, using a heating jacket around the reformer tubes. In this presentation it is proposed that the helium in a secondary loop, used to cool the nuclear reactor, will be employed to evaporate intermediate medium, such as sodium, zinc and aluminum chloride. Then, the vapors of the medium material transfer

  11. Demonstration of direct internal reforming for MCFC power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aasberg-Petersen, K.; Christensen, P.S.; Winther, S.K. [HALDOR TOPSOE A/S, Lynby (Denmark)] [and others

    1996-12-31

    The conversion of methane into hydrogen for an MCFC by steam reforming is accomplished either externally or internally in the stack. In the case of external reforming the plant electrical efficiency is 5% abs. lower mainly because more parasitic power is required for air compression for stack cooling. Furthermore, heat produced in the stack must be transferred to the external reformer to drive the endothermic steam reforming reaction giving a more complex plant lay-out. A more suitable and cost effective approach is to use internal steam reforming of methane. Internal reforming may be accomplished either by Indirect Internal Reforming (DIR) and Direct Internal Reforming (DIR) in series or by DIR-only as illustrated. To avoid carbon formation in the anode compartment higher hydrocarbons in the feedstock are converted into hydrogen, methane and carbon oxides by reaction with steam in ail adiabatic prereformer upstream the fuel cell stack. This paper discusses key elements of the desire of both types of internal reforming and presents data from pilot plants with a combined total of more than 10,000 operating hours. The project is being carried out as part of the activities of the European MCFC Consortium ARGE.

  12. The same teacher, the same curriculum materials, different schools: What is the enacted curriculum?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenmann, Tammy

    This research examines how the same teacher implements the same curriculum material in two different schools. The aim of the study is to examine how the enacted algebra curriculum may change when the same teacher enacts the same written curriculum materials in different classes. This research comprises two case studies. Each case examines one teacher who taught the beginning of the mathematical topic "equivalent algebraic expressions", to two 7th grade classes from different schools. The same textbook was used in all four classes. The data collected includes: 1. Observations: 25930 lessons throughout the school year in each of the participating classes; Other mathematics classes in each of the schools; Other non9mathematics classes in the participating classes. A total of 130 lessons were observed. The observations included continuous observations of the teaching of "equivalent algebraic expressions" (15919 lessons) in each class. These observations are the main data source of this research; 2. Interviews with the teachers; 3. Informal conversations; and 4. Field notes. The data was analyzed both through quantitative and qualitative analysis. The research focuses on the following two aspects of the enacted curriculum: implementation of the recommendation that appeared in the curriculum materials and the types of algebraic activity that the students were exposed to during the teaching of the mathematical topic. Kieran's framework (Kieran, 1996, 2004), which distinguishes between three types of algebraic activities 9 generational, transformational and global/meta9level 9 was employed for the examination of the algebraic activities. Comparisons were made for two aspects of the research: between the enacted curriculum in each of the classes and the curriculum materials; and between each of the classes taught by same teacher. It was found that in case study 1, that examined teacher Sara and schools Carmel and Tavor -- most of the recommendations for instruction that

  13. Railway Reform in China.

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, J. H.; Nash, C.

    1998-01-01

    The purpose of this working paper is to consider the current situation of Chinese Railways, the progress of reforms to date, and possible future developments. The first section describes the current problems of Chinese Railways, as a vast organisation subject to strong central control, facing enormous and rapidly growing demands which it is unable to satisfy. The progress of reform in Chinese Railways to date, and in particular the Economic Contract Responsibility System instituted in the lat...

  14. on the accra document, reformed theology and reformed ecclesiology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2009-12-14

    Dec 14, 2009 ... Many churches and ecumenical bodies have already responded, in diverse ways ..... and contains a number of practical commitments and appeals. (par. ..... rhetorical power and emotion that it seemingly has for Reformed.

  15. Building a competency-based workplace curriculum around entrustable professional activities: The case of physician assistant training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulder, Hanneke; Ten Cate, Olle; Daalder, Rieneke; Berkvens, Josephine

    2010-01-01

    Competency-based medical education (CBME) is increasingly dominating clinical training, but also poses questions as to its practical implementation. There is a need for practical guidelines to translate CBME to the clinical work floor. This article aims to provide a practical model, based on the concept of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) to make this translation, derived from curriculum building for physician assistants (PAs). For the training of PAs at the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, a three-step model was developed to guide competency-based curriculum development, teaching and assessment. It includes specific guidelines for the identification, systematic description and planning of EPAs. The EPA concept appeared to be a useful tool to build competency-based clinical workplace curricula. Implementation of the curriculum requires use of trainee portfolios and progress interviews, statements of rewarded responsibility and training of supervisors. The individualised approach and flexibility that true CBME implies is brought into practice with this model. The model may also be transferred to other domains of clinical training, among which postgraduate training for medical specialties.

  16. Adaptability of competitive electricity reforms a modular analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubois, Ute

    2009-01-01

    Among the competitive electricity reforms that have been implemented in Europe and the US for the last 18 years, none has 'survived' over several years without major changes. Their changing nature raises the question of their adaptability. Two characteristics of reforms play a key role on their adaptation properties. Firstly, they are 'modular' objects in the sense of [Baldwin, C., 2008. Where do transactions come from? Modularity, transactions, and the boundaries of firms. Industrial and Corporate Change 17 (1), 155-195]. Secondly, they are produced in an institutional process which leads to 'incomplete' rules and designs [Pistor, K., Xu, C., 2003. Incomplete law. International Law and Politics 35, 931-1013]. We propose a typology of adaptations based on the framework proposed by [Williamson, O.E., 1991. Comparative economic organization: the analysis of discrete structural alternatives. Administrative Science Quarterly 36 (2), 269-296] for contracts: (1) in case of small disturbances, adaptations are realized quasi-automatically, by autonomous decisions of the institutions governing the implementation of reforms; (2) in case of middle-range disturbances, adaption is made by Coasian bargaining; (3) finally, in case of strong disturbances, or when bargaining is not feasible, the adaptation of reforms is in the hands of legislative and executive institutions [North, D.C., 2005. Le processus du developpement economique. Editions d'Organisation]. These institutions can reform the reforms [Joskow, P.L., 2006. Introduction to electricity sector liberalization: lessons learned from cross-country studies. In: Sioshansi, F.P. (Ed.), Electricity Market Reform: An International Perspective. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 1-32; Hogan, W.W., 2002. Electricity market restructuring: reforms of reforms. Journal of Regulatory Economics 21, 103-132]. The role of these types of adaptations in each electricity reform is a consequence of the allocation of rights to the regulator, to

  17. Reforming Higher Education in "Transition": Between National and International Reform Initiatives--The Case of Slovenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zgaga, Pavel; Miklavic, Klemen

    2011-01-01

    The article analyzes the last two decades of higher education reforms in Slovenia. During the "period of transition," they were led by national as well as international initiatives. At an early stage, the national initiatives were mainly based on criticisms of the last reform made by the former regime, although the generation of new…

  18. Electricity reform abroad and US investment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-10-01

    This report reviews and analyzes the recent electricity reforms in Argentina, Australia, and the United Kingdom (UK) to illustrate how different models of privatization and reform have worked in practice. This report also analyzes the motivations of the U.S. companies who have invested in the electricity industries in these countries, which have become the largest targets of U.S. foreign investment in electricity. Two calculations of foreign investment are used. One is the foreign direct investment series produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The other is based on transactions in electric utilities of the three countries. The electricity reform and privatization experiences reviewed may offer some insight as to how the U.S. electricity industry might develop as a result of recent domestic reform efforts and deregulation at the state and national levels. 126 refs., 23 figs., 27 tabs.

  19. Carbonaceous deposits on naptha reforming catalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Redwan, D.S.

    1999-01-01

    Carbonaceous deposits on naphtha reforming catalysts play a decisive role in limiting process performance. The deposits negatively after catalyst activity, selectivity and the production cycle of a semi regenerative reformer. The magnitude of negative effect of those deposits is directly proportional to their amounts and complexity. Investigations on used reforming catalysts samples reveal that the amount and type (complexity of the chemical nature) of carbonaceous deposits are directly proportional to the catalysts life on stream and the severity of operating conditions. In addition, the combustibility behavior of carbonaceous deposits on the catalyst samples taken from different reformers are found to be different. Optimal carbon removal, for in situ catalyst regeneration, requires the specific conditions be developed, based on the results of well designed and properly performed investigations of the amount and type of carbonaceous deposits. (author)

  20. New Reforms to the Health System

    OpenAIRE

    Tran Dai, Candice; Duchâtel, Mathieu

    2012-01-01

    Based on:– Li Ling, “Successful reform of the health system hangs on two key elements,” Zhongguo jingyingbao (China Management News), 18 April 2009.– Li Hongmei, Li Xiaohong, Wang Junping, “Ten experts comment on the new reform of the health system: Providing better and cheaper access to medical care,” Renmin ribao (People’s Daily), 15 April 2009.– Yao Qi, “The new reform of the health system must first and foremost compensate for the shortcomings in the local hospitals,” Yangcheng wanbao (Ya...

  1. Concertina Reforms with International Capital Mobility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kreickemeier, Udo; Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis

    2006-01-01

    We show that the standard concertina result for tariff reforms -i.e. loweringthe highest tariff increases welfare - no longer holds in general if we allow for international capital mobility. The result can break down if the good whose tariff is lowered is not capital intensive. If the concertina...... reform lowers welfare it lowers market access as well, thereby compromising a second goal that is typically connected with trade liberalisation.JEL-Classification: F11, F13, F15Key words: Trade Policy Reform, International Factor Mobility, Welfare, MarketAccess...

  2. TAX-REFORM - DREAMING ABOUT TOUGH REALITIES

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    DEKAM, F

    1992-01-01

    This paper discusses four papers concerned with tax reform. It is concluded that tax reform has had a rather limited impact on behaviour so far but that governments should press ahead with gradual improvement and not expect dramatic results.

  3. Challenging traditional assumptions of high school science through the physics and Everyday Thinking Curriculum(TM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Michael J.

    Science education in the U.S. has failed for over a century to bring the experience of scientific induction to classrooms, from elementary science to undergraduate courses. The achievement of American students on international comparisons of science proficiency is unacceptable, and the disparities between groups underrepresented in STEM and others are large and resistant to reform efforts. This study investigated the enactment of a physics curriculum designed upon the inductive method in a high school serving mostly students from groups underrepresented in science. The Physics and Everyday Thinking curriculum was designed to model the central practices of science and to provide opportunities for students to both extract general principles of physics and to develop scientific models from laboratory evidence. The findings of this study suggest that scientific induction is not only a process that is well within the capacity of high school students, but they enjoy it as well. Students that engaged in the central practices of science through the inductive method reported a new sense of agency and control in their learning. These findings suggest that modeling the pedagogy of the science classroom upon the epistemology of science can result in a mode of learning that can lead to positive identification with physics and the development of scientific literacy.

  4. Supports and Concerns for Teacher Professional Growth During the Implementation of a Science Curriculum Innovation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peers, Cheryl (Shelley) E.; Diezmann, Carmel M.; Watters, James J.

    2003-02-01

    Internationally, considerable reform in science education is occurring which promotes constructivist philosophies and advocates constructivist-inspired pedagogical strategies that are new to many teachers. This paper reports on the supporting factors necessary for teacher professional growth and the issues of concern that were evident during one primary teacher''s successful implementation of a unit of work based on a draft of a new state-wide science syllabus which proposes such approaches. One researcher (CEP) provided guidance during the writing and implementation of the unit through professional development workshops complemented by ongoing collegial support. The analysis of the teacher''s practice reveals that professional growth required a willingness of the teacher to engage with change and modify his professional practice. The support factors for teacher growth consisted of an appropriate program of professional development, teacher understanding of the elements of the curriculum innovation, and successful experiences in implementing new approaches. In contrast, the issues of concern were: the adequacy of support for planning including the time required to understand the innovation and make changes to teaching practice; science equipment; teacher knowledge; classroom management strategies; and ways to cope with change. Understanding of these support factors and issues of concern is vital for the successful implementation of science curriculum innovations.

  5. Competitive effects and instruments of power sector reforms. International reform concepts blockade structures, risk distribution. A political economy analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liebchen, Armin

    2014-01-01

    Power sectors with weak or inadequate competition structures are the rule, despite numerous attempts at reform. But can afford modern economies this defect for a long time? Why can the implementation of competition are blocked so effectively? The author studied international reform experiences and opens up interesting insights that can also reflect on problems of the German energy turnaround: The difficulty of timing and coordination of the reform components, the development of resistance levels of individual interest groups, breach of contract as a rational alternative, causes unwanted price effects, shifting interest situations of major stakeholders, change dynamics impending regulatory risks, pending financing risks, stranded cost-conflict situations for power stations disconnected from the grid and facilities and instruments of a political and regulatory risk management for reforms. With numerous examples, background analyzes and instruments to reform analysis, this book is aimed at investors, policy planners and analysts. [de

  6. Rasch Validation of a Measure of Reform-Oriented Science Teaching Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    You, Hye Sun

    2016-06-01

    Growing evidence from recent curriculum documents and previous research suggests that reform-oriented science teaching practices promote students' conceptual understanding, levels of achievement, and motivation to learn, especially when students are actively engaged in constructing their ideas through scientific inquiries. However, it is difficult to identify to what extent science teachers engage students in reform-oriented teaching practices (RTPs) in their science classrooms. In order to exactly diagnose the current status of science teachers' implementation of the RTPs, a valid and reliable instrument tool is needed. The principles of validity and reliability are fundamental cornerstones in developing a robust measurement tool. As such, this study was motivated by the desire to point out the limitations of the existing statistical and psychometric analyses and to further examine the validation of the RTP survey instrument. This paper thus aims at calibrating the items of the RTPs for science teachers using the Rasch model. The survey instrument scale was adapted from the 2012 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education (NSSME) data. A total of 3701 science teachers from 1403 schools from across the USA participated in the NSSME survey. After calibrating the RTP items and persons on the same scale, the RTP instrument well represented the population of US science teachers. Model-data fit determined by Infit and Outfit statistics was within an appropriate range (0.5-1.5), supporting the unidimensional structure of the RTPs. The ordered category thresholds and the probability of the thresholds showed that the five-point rating scale functioned well. The results of this study support the use of the RTP measure from the 2012 NSSME in assessing usage of RTPs.

  7. Nursing and health care reform: implications for curriculum development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowen, M; Lyons, K J; Young, B E

    2000-01-01

    The health care system is undergoing profound changes. Cost containment efforts and restructuring have resulted in cutbacks in registered nurse (RN) positions. These changes are often related to the increased market penetration by managed care companies. To determine how RN graduates perceive these changes and their impact on the delivery of patient care, Healthcare Environment Surveys were mailed to graduates of the classes of 1986 and 1991. Using the Survey's 5-point Likert Scale, we measured the graduates' satisfaction with their salary, quality of supervision they received, opportunities for advancement, recognition for their job, working conditions, the overall job and the changes in their careers over the previous five year period. Our study suggests that the changes in the health care system are having an impact on how health care is being delivered and the way nurses view their jobs. Respondents reported that insurance companies are exerting increased control over patient care and perceive that the quality of patient care is declining. Increased workloads and an increase in the amount of paperwork were reported. Participants perceived that there were fewer jobs available and that job security was decreasing. The percentage of nurses who see job satisfaction as remaining the same or increasing are a majority. However, the relatively high percent of nurses who see job satisfaction as declining should provide a note of warning. The major implications of this study are that the professional nursing curriculum must be modified to include content on communication, organization, legislative/policy skills, and leadership. The nation's health care system is undergoing profound changes. There are numerous forces at work that are effecting the delivery of care and, consequently, the work of health professionals. These forces include significant efforts at cost containment, restructuring and downsizing of hospitals, and the movement of health care delivery out of acute

  8. Health sector reform in Argentina: a cautionary tale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloyd-Sherlock, Peter

    2005-04-01

    In November 2002 the World Bank published a report on the Argentine health sector. The report accurately portrays the complexity and severity of the problems facing the health care system. It stresses that these problems are not purely a product of the country's economic collapse, noting that the system has suffered from long-standing structural problems and inefficiencies. Curiously, the report makes no mention of the leading role played by the World Bank in health reform efforts during the 1990s. This paper demonstrates that these reforms did much to worsen pre-existing weaknesses of the sector. The paper criticises the content of the reform agenda and the manner in which it was produced, arguing that these were reforms in which considerations of public health were less significant than conformity to the wider model of neo-liberal social and economic development prevailing at the time. It also highlights problems of implementing the reform agenda, which reduced the coherency of the reforms. The paper goes on to examine the impact of the crisis, noting links with the preceding reforms. It identifies a number of insights and lessons of potential value to other countries which are pursuing similar policies.

  9. SAGES's advanced GI/MIS fellowship curriculum pilot project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weis, Joshua J; Goldblatt, Matthew; Pryor, Aurora; Dunkin, Brian J; Brunt, L Michael; Jones, Daniel B; Scott, Daniel J

    2018-06-01

    The American health care system faces deficits in quality and quantity of surgeons. SAGES is a major stakeholder in surgical fellowship training and is responsible for defining the curriculum for the Advanced GI/MIS fellowship. SAGES leadership is actively adapting this curriculum. The process of reform began in 2014 through a series of iterative meetings and discussions. A working group within the Resident and Fellow Training Committee reviewed case log data from 2012 to 2015. These data were used to propose new criteria designed to provide adequate exposure to core content. The working group also proposed using video assessment of an MIS case to provide objective assessment of competency. Case log data were available for 326 fellows with a total of 85,154 cases logged (median 227 per fellow). The working group proposed new criteria starting with minimum case volumes for five defined categories including foregut (20), bariatrics (25), inguinal hernia (10), ventral hernia (10), and solid organ/colon/thoracic (10). Fellows are expected to perform an additional 75 complex MIS cases of any category for a total of 150 required cases overall. The proposal also included a minimum volume of flexible endoscopy (50) and submission of an MIS foregut case for video assessment. The new criteria more clearly defined which surgeon roles count for major credit within individual categories. Fourteen fellowships volunteered to pilot these new criteria for the 2017-2018 academic year. The new SAGES Advanced GI/MIS fellowship has been crafted to better define the core content that should be contained in these fellowships, while still allowing sufficient heterogeneity so that individual learners can tailor their training to specific areas of interest. The criteria also introduce innovative, evidence-based methods for assessing competency. Pending the results of the pilot program, SAGES will consider broad implementation of the new fellowship criteria.

  10. On being African and Reformed? Towards an African Reformed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-06-17

    Jun 17, 2014 ... It is furthermore our contention that the notion of culture and African worldviews was always perceived negatively ..... dean of the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology. He later .... Another Reformed church for Indian.

  11. Quality Reforms in Danish Home Care

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rostgaard, Tine

    2012-01-01

    . This reform strategy represents a shift from the welfare state modernisation program of the 1980s, which built mainly on economic strategies of cost-efficiency and New Public Management (NPM) princi-ples, including contract management and performance management. Recent reforms have instead attempted...

  12. Application of the Intervention Mapping Framework to Develop an Integrated Twenty-first Century Core Curriculum—Part Three: Curriculum Implementation and Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaime A. Corvin

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Public health professionals have been challenged to radically reform public health training to meet evolving demands of twenty-first century public health. Such a transformation requires a systems thinking approach with an interdisciplinary focus on problem solving, leadership, management and teamwork, technology and information, budgeting and finance, and communication. This article presents processes for implementing and evaluating a revised public health curriculum and outlines lessons learned from this initiative. To date, more than 200 students have participated in the initial pilot testing of this program. A rigorous process and outcome evaluation plan was developed and employed. Results from the evaluation were used to enhance the resulting curriculum. Specifically, all instructional materials were evaluated by both the students who received the materials and the faculty who presented the materials. As each successive pilot is delivered, both enrollment and faculty involvement has increased. Through this process, the value of committed faculty, the importance of engaging learners in the evaluation of an education program, and the need to implement curriculum that has been carefully evaluated and evidence-informed in nature has emerged. We credit our successful transformation of the Masters in Public Health core to the challenge provided by the Framing the Future task force, the commitment of our College of Public Health leadership, the engagement of our faculty, and the time we allowed for the process to unfold. Ultimately, we believe this transformed curriculum will result in better trained public health professionals, interdisciplinary practitioners who can see public health challenges in new and different ways.

  13. Energy market reform and greenhouse gas emission reductions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1999-01-01

    The report reviews micro-economic reform in the energy market and measures the impact that energy market reform is expected to have on greenhouse gas outcomes. It indicates that reform in the electricity and gas industries is delivering what was promised, an efficient market with lower energy prices and, over the longer term, will deliver a gradually reducing rate of greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy produced. It also recognises that energy market reform has removed some barriers to the entry of less greenhouse gas intense fuels. These trends will result in reduced greenhouse gas intensity in the supply of energy and significant reductions in the growth in greenhouse gas emissions compared to what may have been expected without the reforms

  14. Reforming the reform: the Greek National Health System in transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tountas, Yannis; Karnaki, Panagiota; Pavi, Elpida

    2002-10-01

    The National Health System (ESY) in Greece, which was established in 1983, is in a state of continuous crisis. This situation is caused mainly by the system's problematic administration, low productivity and inadequate Primary Health Care. These have led the re-elected PASOK government to introduce by the end of 2000 a radical reform of the health system. The 200 reform measures announced by the new Minister of Health and Welfare include changes aiming at: the decentralization of the ESY, the creation of a unified financing system for the social insurance funds, a new management structure in public hospitals, the organization of a Primary Health System in urban areas, and the strengthening of Public Health and Health Promotion. These changes are presented and discussed in this paper.

  15. Development and validation of a CFD-based steam reformer model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kær, Søren Knudsen; Dahlqvist, Mathis; Saksager, Anders

    2006-01-01

    Steam reforming of liquid biofuels (ethanol, bio-diesel etc.) represents a sustainable source of hydrogen for micro Combined Heat and Power (CHP) production as well as Auxiliary Power Units (APUs). In relation to the design of the steam reforming reactor several parameter are important including...... for expensive prototypes. This paper presents an advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics based model of a steam reformer. The model was implemented in the commercial CFD code Fluent through the User Defined Functions interface. The model accounts for the flue gas flow as well as the reformate flow including...... a detailed mechanism for the reforming reactions. Heat exchange between the flue gas and reformate streams through the reformer reactor walls was also included as a conjugate heat transfer process.  From a review of published models for the catalytic steam reforming of ethanol and preliminary predictions...

  16. La reforma del procedimiento de reforma constitucional en España // The reform of the the Spanish constitutional reform procedure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Manuel Vera Santos

    2016-08-01

    the kitchen. 1. Title X of the Spanish Constitution of 1978. 1.1. Constitutional reform initiative and its temporal limits (arts. 166 and 169. 1.2. The reform procedure under article 167. 1.3. The reform procedure under article 168. 2. Possible and desirable reforms or how the sleep of reason can produce monsters, although it should not. 2.1. Previous reflections. 2.2. Regarding the initiative in both procedures. 2.3. Regarding the considerations set out in article 167.2. 2.4. Regarding the stipulations set out in article 168. 3. Provided proposals.

  17. ‘Not waiting for the initiative to arrive’: Teachers promoting and sustaining reading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica Hendricks

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The phases of post-apartheid curriculum reform starting with Curriculum 2005, to the revisions ushered in by the National Curriculum Statements and the recent Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements display a trend toward increasing prescription in terms of content to be taught and allocation of curriculum time per subject, both of which are useful. In order to prepare school teachers for these ongoing curriculum reforms and an increased assessment burden, the national and provincial Education Departments have held regular workshops and provided bursaries for teachers to embark on academic studies in their teaching field. In addition, estimates are that non-governmental sources have spent R1 billion annually since 1994 on school improvement and teacher development programmes.

  18. JP8 Reformation for Combat Vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-08-07

    phase (fuel), and a gas phase (hydrogen) at elevated pressures. • Trickle - bed configuration is difficult to model and scale down—not practical for...gases output from HDS reactor are used to fuel the reformer. Current Technology Status: •Integrated desulfurization/reforming system successfully

  19. Market reforms in Swedish health care

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Diderichsen, Finn

    1993-01-01

    This report presents the main characteristics of reforms in the Swedish health services, as exemplified by the "Stockholm Model" introduced in 1992 in Stockholm county. The author discusses the motives behind these reforms, the already-evident increases in costs that are occurring, and the effect...

  20. Market screening of natural gas reformers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Themsen, J.; Pagh Nielsen, M.; Knudsen Kaer, S.

    2005-01-01

    This report presents results from the project: Market screening of natural gas reformers. The project objective was to screen the natural gas reformers available on the international market. The technology is developing rapidly, and the results from this project will assist in determining the focus for the future Danish activities and in setting up ambitious and realistic targets. The reformer screening is partly based on AAU and Dantherm's experiences from previous studies, and the screening has been further extended with a number of activities, including seminars and contact with some of the most interesting suppliers. (BA)