Laughter and Healing: Effects on the Immune System and Health
In the United States, billions of dollars are spent every year on medical treatments (Diggs, 2004). However, according to Diggs, people often "overlook the coping mechanisms we have been endowed with." The human body…
Raymond Carver's Cathedral: Themes, Analysis, and Stories
An American writer Raymond Carver has been writing stories on a smaller emotional scale for few years that creates same effects. Mostly his story settings contain American towns, semi-industrial, which are mostly…
Career Overview: Becoming a Registered Nurse (RN)
As the child of a registered nurse (RN), I grew up watching my mom working in an environment that was inspirational, rewarding, challenging, and never dull. I watched her best qualities, which include a great sense of…
Prenatal Testing: Ethics, Benefits, and Social Implications
For many people, prenatal testing has opened many opportunities to treat potential illnesses and to save lives. Administering tests that involve visualization, ultrasounds and amniocentesis allow physicians and parents…
Constructivism and Classroom Curriculum Design in K-12
Introduction
Over 1,100 curriculum books have been written since the turn of the [20th] century; each with a different version of what ‘curriculum' means (Ackerman, 1988). I define classroom curriculum design as the sequencing and pacing of content along with the experiences students have with that content. My use of the qualifier classroom is important. By definition, I am considering those decisions regarding sequencing, pacing, and experiences that are the purview of the classroom teacher. Some aspects of curricular design are addressed at the school level if, in fact, a school has a guaranteed and viable curriculum. Regardless of the direction provided by the school (or district), individual teachers still need to make decisions regarding curricular design at the classroom level given the unique characteristics of their students. Indeed, in a meta-analysis involving 22 studies, Anderson, (2003) found a strong relationship between a student's knowledge and experience with content and the type of sequencing and pacing necessary to learn that content (Jonassen, 2009).