Pedagogical Approaches
The authors of Eyes on Israel have used various pedagogical approaches in crafting this material.
As noted above, one of the key approaches applied in the development of the lesson plans is Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. A brief overview of multiple intelligences and the work of Howard Gardner can be found at: http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/mi/index.html
Another approach adopted by Eyes on Israel is one often termed "constructivist." With roots in Dewey, Piaget and others, "constructivism" proposes that people learn best when they actively construct their own understanding of a phenomenon or a situation. Eyes on Israel tries to employ activities that enable students to explore a problem and come up with data, hypotheses and solutions. A brief overview of constructivist theory can be found at: http://tip.psychology.org/bruner.html
Two final, closely related methodologies bear mentioning. The instructional systems design approach (ISD) is used extensively in business training applications and focuses on observable behaviors, i.e. what the student will do, rather than what the student will know, which is much harder to assess. A lesson plan that uses the ISD approach first determines the terminable objectives-the highest levels of learning that a student will accomplish after successfully completing the learning process. Enabling objectives—as well as activities that will facilitate and display attainment of the goal—are added afterward.
Similarly, "Understanding by Design" (UbD) developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe explains that since the fundamental goal of education is the development and deepening of student understanding, true learning only becomes evident when students are seen to apply knowledge and skills in a learning or real-life context. A good, brief overview of UbD and the work of Wiggins and McTighe can be found at: http://pixel.fhda.edu/id/six_facets.html