The activities that transpire within the classroom either help or hinder students' learning. Any meaningful discussion of educational renewal, therefore, must focus explicitly and directly on the classroom, and on the teaching and learning that occur within it. This book presents a case for the development of classrooms in which students are encouraged to construct deep understandings of important concepts. Jacqueline Grennon Brooks and Martin Brooks present a new set of images for educational settings, images that emerge from student engagement, interaction, reflection, and construction. They have considerable experience in creating constructivist educational settings and conducting research on those settings. Authentic examples are provided throughout the book, as are suggestions for administrators, teachers, and policymakers. For the new edition of their popular book, the authors have written an introduction that places their work in today's educational renewal setting. Today, they urge, the case for constructivist classrooms is much stronger and the need more critical. Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.

Presents key principles of constructivist-based learning environments: curriculum based on primary concepts, instruction premised on learners' point of view and assessment in service to the learner.

Clinton Bennett reflects on four decades of engagement with Muslims and Christian-Muslim relations as a missionary, scholar, and interfaith activist. Set in the context of his personal story, chapters discuss a series of critical questions to the Christian-Muslim relationship reprising earlier writing. Bennett asks: can Christians appreciate the prophet Muhammad as a genuine messenger from God or is this theological treason? How might Christians respond to the Muslim claim that Jesus was a prophet and is not God incarnate? Can Christians with integrity regard the Qur’ān as a word from God, and is there any possibility of rapprochement on the issue of whether Jesus died on the cross? Focusing on the United States, Bennett also describes church-sponsored Christian-Muslim initiatives and offers suggestions on how Christians can rethink their ideas about Muslims and cooperate with them in peace and justice advocacy, and social and community development. Exploring some of the causes of Islamophobia, Bennett set out to challenge Christians to keep the commandment not to bear false witness against their Muslim neighbors.

"In Search of Intercultural Understanding" is a practical guidebook for living and working across cultures. In a hands-on and visual approach, this guide offers new insights and practical advice on adjusting and coping with the experience abroad. With a variety of stories, quotations, exercises and illustrations, the reader is presented with an easy-to-understand survey of cross-cultural issues that will enhance the global experience and provide guidance on becoming interculturally competent.

Epistemology has for a long time focused on the concept of knowledge and tried to answer questions such as whether knowledge is possible and how much of it there is. Often missing from this inquiry, however, is a discussion on the value of knowledge. In The Value of Knowledge and the Pursuit of Understanding Jonathan Kvanvig argues that epistemology properly conceived cannot ignore the question of the value of knowledge. He also questions one of the most fundamental assumptions in epistemology, namely that knowledge is always more valuable than the value of its subparts. Taking Platos' Meno as a starting point of his discussion, Kvanvig tackles the different arguments about the value of knowledge and comes to the conclusion that knowledge is less valuable than generally assumed. Clearly written and well argued, this 2003 book will appeal to students and professionals in epistemology.

The second edition of Understanding Search Engines: Mathematical Modeling and Text Retrieval follows the basic premise of the first edition by discussing many of the key design issues for building search engines and emphasizing the important role that applied mathematics can play in improving information retrieval. The authors discuss important data structures, algorithms, and software as well as user-centered issues such as interfaces, manual indexing, and document preparation. Readers will find that the second edition includes significant changes that bring the text up to date on current information retrieval methods. For example, the authors have added a completely new chapter on link-structure algorithms used in search engines such as Google, and the chapter on user interface has been rewritten to specifically focus on search engine usability. To reflect updates in the literature on information retrieval, the authors have added new recommendations for further reading and expanded the bibliography. In addition, the index has been updated and streamlined to make it more reader friendly.

Offers research and practice insights into the emerging discipline and field of knowledge management and aims to accelerate a global adoption of knowledge management (KM) as a distinct and critical field of study for today's professionals. It is suitable for universities, research centres and organizations working on KM.