than on the parts themselves. The emphasis on relations is used to bring students
and teachers into dialog.
Curriculum construction is a social activity played out within frameworks.
This is the interactive process of creating curriculum. (Doll, 1995). My interest is
frameworks made possible by information networks.
Some suggestions for implementations
Heuristic models of teaching have as a primary aim to provide students with
strategies or heuristics for solving problems, thinking effectively, or learning for
themselves. The aim of these models is to make students independent thinkers and
learners who take responsibility for creating their own understanding and
knowledge (Nuthall, 1995). This model of teaching matches well with a constantly
changing society in which knowledge and technology are quickly outdated. This
model is well suited to implement Doll’s curriculum development strategies and
matches up very well with the requirements of adult learners described in
Cooperative Learning is an instructional program strategy that, like heuristic
models of teaching, fit into the learning and curriculum theories already discussed.
Students work together to learn and are responsible for one another’s learning as
well as their own. Many methods use heterogeneous groups taking into
consideration skill levels, ethnicity, content area, geographic location. The great
majority of research has shown equal benefits for all types of students (Slavin, 1995).
It is felt that the cooperative learning methods can help fill a void in asynchronous
learning environments created by the de-emphasized role of the instructor. The
instructor is no longer the purveyor of all knowledge, students take more
responsibility for learning.
George North, 28-Apr-99
EDCI6992, page 7
Teaching skills and techniques is an area that offers rich opportunities for my
research. According to my own theories, college curriculum is constantly evolving.
It is plainly obvious to me that my focus needs to be on evolving the curriculum of
Colleges of Education to meet the challenge of distance learning and ALNs
(asynchronous learning networks). More generally, how do we meet the future
needs of the stakeholder in Colleges of Education? This includes the consumers of
our curricula and the faculty that are expected to deliver it. Developing curricula for
technology in the classroom, even a classroom without walls, can not be considered
separate and apart from other curricula. This must be addressed as a integral part of
the entire curricula. It is not a question of developing a technology curriculum for
The goal is to evolve the curricula as a whole to reflect the needs of
stakeholders. Doll suggests that richness is the most distinguishing aspect of a post-
modern curriculum, and rigor is what makes richness rich. Rigor molds curriculum
into a coherent and dynamic unity. Rigor is the struggle to work through the
problems and possibilities to achieve a sense of coherence and integration not
evident before. Rigor enables coherence to emerge from disequilibrium, chaos, and
In other words, computers in the classroom, ALNs, distance learning, and
classrooms without walls, are not issues around which we need to develop separate
curriculum. The focus needs to be on evolving the whole curricula until these
issues are non-issues, until they disappear from our radar. Education technology is a
source of confusion and complexity that needs to achieve coherence and integration.
Not mentioned, but need to consider
Howard Gardner has identified seven distinct learning styles. This theory has
George North, 28-Apr-99EDCI6992, page 8
emerged from recent cognitive research and "documents the extent to which
students possess different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform,
and understand in different ways," according to Gardner. According to this theory,
"we are all able to know the world through language, logical-mathematical analysis,
spatial representation, musical thinking, the use of the body to solve problems or to
make things, an understanding of other individuals, and an understanding of
ourselves. Where individuals differ is in the strength of these intelligences - the so-
called profile of intelligences and in the ways in which such intelligences are
invoked and combined to carry out different tasks, solve diverse problems, and
progress in various domains."
Kolb (1984) believes that experiential learning theory is different from other
learning theories because rationalist and other cognitive theories of learning tend to
give primary emphasis to acquisition, manipulation, and recall of abstract symbols,
and behavioral learning theories deny any role for consciousness and subjective
experience in the learning process. Kolb explains that learners need different kinks
of abilities. This four-stage model indicates that learning requires abilities that are
polar opposites, and the learner must continually choose abilities for various
Involving students in constructing and evolving their own education is a
major theme of feminist pedagogy. Since I view inclusion as a major component of
curriculum development and learning theory, I honor feminist pedagogy but don’t
view it just as an issue of gender, and I expect scholars like Frances Maher (1995)
don’t view it as just as a gender issue either.
George North, 28-Apr-99EDCI6992, page 9
