Curriculum and Lesson Plans
Curriculum is at the heart of
education. Investigate secondary
school curriculum with this wealth of
information, resources, and lesson
plans for each subject area across the
curriculum.
Curriculum Development
Curriculum is not standardized
throughout the nation or even
thoughout each state. Further, from
district to district the actual plan of
study is often different for students.
This article looks at the reasons for
this lack of cohesiveness in creating a
national curriculum and overarching
plan of study. It then creates a sample
plan of study that leads to further
curriculum resources for teachers.
The educational landscape in America
today is divided in its approach to a
cohesive curriculum. Attempts have
been made to bring order the
curriculum universe through the
advent of national standards.
However, in many subject areas there
are competing national standards
because of the existence of different
national organizations such as the
National Science Teachers Association
and the National Academies Press.
With this said, just because a national
group like the National Council of
Teachers of English decides on a
specific set of standards, this does not
mean that those will be adopted or
even referred to by an individual
state. Each state comes up with its
own set of standards and its own
format for writing those standards.
Some states may use the national
standards but often they create their
own based on needs and interests
within their own state and current
political and educational philosophies.
This makes curriculum fragmented but
it becomes even more complicated as
you move closer to the classroom.
Local Control of Schools and
Curriculum
In the United States there is a strong
belief in local control of schools.
Though districts adhere to state
standards, there is a great deal of
latitude in what actually takes place in
the classroom. Districts might create
guiding documents that the schools
then follow. From one district to
another, you might find that a course
is taught in a different year. For
example, one district might have
economics and government taught in
ninth grade while another has it in
twelfth grade.
The reason for differences in
classroom coverage goes even further
than this. The amount of lesson plan
oversight required by each district
varies widely. Therefore, you might
find that if you compare the syllabi of
two teachers at two different schools
within a district who are teaching the
same course to be very different. This
idea of local and even classroom
control is championed by many but
means that new teachers often have a
difficulty in determining exactly what
they should teach. Some end up using
the textbook as a guide while others,
the lucky ones, have great mentors
who guide them in their course layout.
Sample Plans of Study
To help bring order to this difficult
landscape and bring an understanding
of effective and progressive plans of
study through the grade levels, we will
be presenting sample plans of study
for each grade level in the coming
weeks. From there, you will be able to
access detailed information for
individual courses and including the
major topics which should be covered
within those courses. Finally, you will
find numerous quality resources for
the listed topics to help you create
engaging lessons for your students.
Curriculum development
By Linda Fitzharris
Journal of Staff Development, Summer
1999 (Vol. 20, No. 3)
Teachers must be empowered to more
effectively design their own
curriculum, and to move from the
position of curriculum conveyer to
that of curriculum designer.
Definition
Much of the curriculum found in
today’s schools is based on teachers’
past experience in schools, input from
textbook manufacturers, discipline
frameworks, standards, and
information from peers (Glasgow,
1997).
Often a curriculum is only loosely
joined together, with students far
better acquainted with its scope and
sequence than the educators who
teach it.
With teachers facing growing pressure
to teach more, while also being held
to higher standards, this approach to
curriculum is no longer acceptable.
Teachers must be empowered to more
effectively design their own
curriculum, and to move from the
position of curriculum conveyer to
that of curriculum designer.
Method
Getting to know the curriculum
The first step in this process requires
getting teachers to share their
curriculum with other teachers in the
school. During a schoolwide meeting,
teachers from each grade level
summarize their curriculum on chart
paper for science, social studies,
language arts, and mathematics.
Special area teachers write their
curriculum on chart paper as well, so
their colleagues can understanding
the development of skills and
concepts across grade levels. To
ensure the integrity of the curriculum,
teachers are encouraged to return to
their curriculum documents.
Frequently, they discover parts of the
curriculum they had forgotten or had
given only cursory attention.
After all charts have been completed,
grade level and special area teachers
share their curriculum with the entire
faculty, and describe some of the
teaching lessons/units they use to
teach that curriculum. Many veteran
teachers comment that this step
provides the first opportunity they’ve
ever had to understand the entire
curriculum in their school. This
schoolwide sharing process invariably
highlights repetitions in content and
teaching activities.
During the sharing process, teachers
take notes and discuss apparent gaps
and repetitions. They also discuss
grade-level responsibilities. Curricular
terms and content that appear on
several grade levels are defined. Clear
definitions help teachers articulate
grade-level expectations, and move
teachers closer to being able to
"guarantee" learning standards for
their students.
Developing curriculum maps
Curriculum mapping is the next step
in the process. Teachers use large
pieces of chart paper with the school
months on the top, and colored sticky
notes – different colors for each core
area. Teachers write the different
goals, objectives, and topics of the
curriculum on the notes and arrange
them across the school year.
During this step, teachers re-examine
the sequence and emphases of the
curriculum. One 4th-grade teacher, for
example, realized she was devoting
five months of the school year to the
Civil War, while World War II and
Vietnam received only a couple of
days each. When asked why, she
replied that "the kids really love the
Civil War." Then she acknowledged
that she really liked it as well, and that
"I have lots of material on it." When
she looked, for the first time, at her
whole year’s curriculum, she
recognized the imbalance and cut her
Civil War coverage back to a few
weeks.
When all the curriculum areas have
been mapped, the information can be
placed on a preprinted file folder that
lists all required subject areas on the
side and the months across the top.
The file folder provides a detailed look
at all subject areas and provides clear
articulation between special areas and
classroom teachers. It’s also an
excellent resource for new teachers or
teachers who are changing grade
levels.
Webbing the curriculum
As the curriculum takes shape,
teachers are encouraged to look at
the different disciplines for common
ideas, complementary
skills/strategies, or other links that
might be used to create a meaningful
integrated study. Sticky notes are
arranged and rearranged as teachers
look for logical connections between
and among the different disciplines. In
this way, a "curriculum web," which
spells out the connections, can be
created.
For example, a social studies teacher
who wants to explore the relationships
between humans and their
environment could focus on human
interactions between humans and
oceans. A science teacher could
complement this with curriculum that
examines the physical properties of
water, sand, and other parts of the
ocean ecosystem. And a language arts
teacher could use oceans as a basis
for student writing and storytelling.
This in turn leads to the development
of a second web, which identfies
activities for delivering the curriculum.
It shows specific methods, techniques,
and materials teachers will use.
It’s imperative that the teachers keep
this curriculum webbing process
focused on student interests and
needs. Ask yourselves the kind of
questions students are likely to ask:
Why should I bother learning this?
What difference does it make?
(Glasgow).
Also, be careful not to "superglue"
curriculum together for the sake of
saying you have created a web. There
is little to be gained, for students or
teachers, by trying to force
connections, such as having students
count seashells to provide an ocean-
related math activity!
During the webbing process, many
more objectives/standards will be
identified than will be used. The
brainstorming provides a valuable
source of ideas and may be revisited
again and again to refine the
curricular links.
The role of assessment
As the school year unfolds and
teachers deliver their curriculum to
students, assessments should ensure
that students participate in a range of
activities, so they can demonstrate
learning in a variety of formats.
Teachers should continually discuss
what students should know and be
able to do, and must identify or create
assessment instruments to evaluate
student progress. These can include
traditional tests, or alternatives such
as student portfolios or performances.
Taking maps to another level
o Many schools use
the maps developed
during the
curriculum-writing
process to prepare a
parent handbook,
which spells out the
curriculum learned
on each grade level.
o Some schools post
the chart papers
created by teachers
in the hallways, to
share the progress
being made and to
invite all students in
the school to see
the "big" picture.
 o Others have used
the maps to
generate
newsletters to the
parents. Curriculum
topics may be
shared by the week,
month, grading
period, or year.
o Clearly designed
maps provide a
roadmap for the
teachers, students,
administrators, and
parents and provide
opportunities for
effective
communication.
o They also help
teachers and
administrators
analyze how they
are spending their
instructional time, a
critical step in the
era of accountability.
• Curriculum Development
• Curriculum
• 1. Refers to programmatic
goals or targets for
instruction.
• 2. Is “what to teach”
(Bagnato & Neisworth, 1981)
• 3. Planned arrangement of
learning experiences
designed to elicit changes in
children’s behaviors.
• 4. Is series of planned,
systematic learning
experiences organized
around a particular rationale
or philosophy of education
that includes goals &
objectives, particular content
areas (e.g., cognitive,
language, perceptual, etc.).
• 5. There appears to be
agreement that educational
intervention with children
must be guided by a clear,
systematic plan or blueprint.
• Theoretical Bases for
Curricula
• 1. EC curricula tended to
adopt rationales for their
curricula based on clearly
identifiable theoretical or
philosophical bases.
Frequently, theoretical &
philosophical bases used
interchangeably.
• Curriculum Content
• 1. Identifying targets of
intervention for ea child with
a disability is ongoing
process. One needs to
identify skills most important
for individual child.
Identification of targets is
accomplished by examining
characteristics of child,
demands of environment, &
necessary skills to be
successful.
• 2. Content for young
children with disabilities
usually includes broad range
of skills that are appropriate
for most children who do not
have disabilities (Wolery &
Sainato, 1996)
• 3. Team members work
together to adapt curriculum
as needed to address
children’s goals or outcomes
stated on IFSPs & IEPs.
• 4. Objectives represent
learning expectations & are
based on child strengths,
needs, & family’s
preferences. Objectives differ
from goals or outcomes in
that they separate goal into
smaller components.
• Table 7-3, Constructing
Appropriate Curriculum-
reflects DAP
• Types of Curricular
Approaches
• 4 organizational sources for
EC curricula:
• 1. Permissive enrichment
programs- This approach
focuses on whole-child
development through natural
process of individual inquiry.
• Seedfeldt (1976) used term
naturalistic theory to
describe theoretical base of
this approach. This loosely
structured, child-centered
model depends on notion
that self-initiated exploratory
interactions will result in
learning.
• 2. Structured environment
programs (e.g., High Scope)-
Often employing Montessori
method as well. The
curricula attempt to
emphasize intellectual
development by allowing
child-initiated interactions
with carefully selected
materials within teacher-
structured environment.
• 3. Structured cognitive
programs – Organized into
series of systematic goals
within sequential stages.
This approach is usually
called Piagetian or cognitive
developmental theory. The
teacher supports or
orchestrates development by
promoting active learning
(direct experience with
objects & events). The goals
are to produce near normal
functioning in delayed
preschoolers, & to enhance
functioning in all areas to
greatest extent.
• 4. Structured information
program – Known as behavior
theory. Such curricula are
highly structured, with goals
tightly organized into
specific, task analyzed,
sequential steps. Such
curricular emphasize direct
instruction, positive
responding by all children, &
reinforcement for
improvement. Often this
approach is remedial in
nature, suggesting that
child’s basic deficits are
content for & targets of
curriculum.
• 5. The other approaches to
EC curricula: developmental
tasks, educational content
areas, & psychological
constructs.
• 6. Developmental task
approach – essentially
replicates normal sequence
of development usually
based on normative info
about way children develop.
The content is usually
organized into developmental
domains including gross
motor, fine motor, language,
social, & self-help.
Developmental milestones in
these areas then organized
into sequenced objectives to
be taught to child.
Developmental landmarks
become instructional
objectives. Usually
emphases are speech &
language, cognitive skills,
compliance training,
reduction of negative
behavior, & parent training.
• 7. Educational content area
approach – uses rationale
that certain pre-academic &
academic content essential
to success in school. Such
preschool curricula tend to be
downward extensions of
regular public school
programs using traditional
educational approach. This
approach is not a DAP.
• 8. Curricula with
psychological construct
approach organized into
content areas representing
complex facet of personality
development or
psychological processes.
Such curricula may be
derived from Gestalt,
psychoanalytic, or
cognitive-developmental
theory. Topics such as
motivation, self-concept,
identity, & sexuality may be
included.
• Factors Prior to Adoption
• Review the chart on
criteria for evaluation of
criteria in another
handout.
• In addition to particular
theoretical model, factors to
consider prior to using a
curriculum or curricular
approach are:
• 1. Curriculum designed to
accomplish stated
purposes/goals.
• EX: what terminal
behaviors
• Goals stated explicitly
• Goals rep reasonable
expectations or outcomes
• 2. Curriculum includes
methods or tools for
assessing learner’s starting
position relative to each
major goal. With child’s
position on goals identified, it
is implied that a sequence of
related behaviors is defined.
• Learner assessment tools
supplied with curriculum can
be evaluated to determine
how effectively & thoroughly
they address child’s position
on each goal.
• 3. Children’s respective
positions on ea goal strand
suggest that they are
predisposed or ready to learn
whatever comes next. What
a child is learning usually
depends on his position on
several goal strands
considered together.
Overall pattern of child’s
 current behavior determines
what is right for child.
• The child’s current behavioral
repertoire of child determines
what child will most readily
learn. Some curricula
proceed as if each goal
strand operates in isolation
to determine what is
learnable. Ideally, the
curriculum should allow one
to establish a deliberate
match between a small
number of more global
learner characteristics, e.g.,
cognitive level, interest, level
of social involvement, etc.
There should be a match
between the number of
learner activities that are to
impact on particular goal
strands, so match between
child characteristics &
activities.
• 4. Behavior change or
development comes about
through experience. One can
arrange group of learning
activities to impact on more
than one goal strand.
• 5. Learning activities will
take place under particular
environmental condition.
Curricular development
should aspire to cause
environmental conditions,
e.g., media, materials, etc.
• 6. A curriculum consists of
some intentional mixes of
experiences that suited to
overall developmental levels
of learners who will
participate. Even though
terminal goals may all be
considered equally
important, not all given
equal emphasis at all times
across years of EC.
• 7. Those who work with
young children with
disabilities need to know
what effects particular
disabilities may have on
match of curriculum to
learner. Other than
adjustments for general
developmental delay,
additional specific curricular
adaptations for specific
disabilities are needed by
children with particular
impairments.
• Additional Standards to
be Considered When
Selecting Curricula
• 1. Developmental Balance
& Expansion - Are
deliberate pacing & selection
of curricular objectives that
programmatically sample all
major areas of development.
Parallel progress across
developmental domains is
sought rather than a strong
tilt toward any 1
developmental area.
Developmental balance
fostered by a curriculum that
provides array of objectives
within all major areas of
development. A rich array of
sequenced objectives
expedites central mission of
early instruction.
• Both vertical & horizontal
expansion can be
accomplished with the
correct curricula. Vertical
expansion refers to
installation of new skills,
proficiencies, that were
previously unavailable in
repertoire of child. Vertical
growth, or building up of
skills in major developmental
areas, is first goal of early
education program,
especially for children whose
profiles show many valleys.
Horizontal expansion pertains
to development of behavioral
variability across materials,
settings, & response modes
(e.g., verbal, nonverbal) after
skill is established. This term
refers to generalization for
transfer of basic skills to
circumstances beyond those
of training situation.
• It is usually important to
affect response variability so
not precisely same behavior
is used across all settings
(Stokes & Baer, 1977). This
requires programming for
skill fluency & flexibility. In
other words, one should
“train loosely” using different
materials, phrases, etc.,
throughout training. . Same
(invariance of) training
circumstances may produce
learning that is situation
specific behavior.
• 2. Normalization - Curricula
should include range of
objectives that successively
approximate normal
functioning for age
(Wolfensberger, 1972).
Children with delays can be
entered into curriculum at
appropriate level
commensurate with their
developmental age in given
area of development. Thus,
a 4-year old might require
instruction at 2-year old level
in cognitive & language
areas, at 3-year old level in
socio-emotional functioning,
& 4-year old level in motoric
area. The job of educator is
one of providing
developmental facilitation in
ea area (developmental
balance principle) at least up
to chronological age
expectancy (normalization).
• When normalization is taken
seriously, it becomes crucial
to use curricula that offers
paths, or sequences of
objectives, leading to typical
skills, even if these skills are
develop beyond usual
chronological age.
• 3. Developmental
Integration - For each
education, one speaks of
developmental integration to
refer to grouping together of
children with & without
disabilities. Students can be
integrated on both social &
instructional bases, e.g., play
together on same
playground, eat lunch
together. Often, it is possible
to have children with &
without disabilities working
on same activity together at
diff levels. It is helpful to
have curriculum that offers
several developmental levels
or versions of task or that
provides task analysis (TA)
for given activity. These
provisions of TA & different
levels make it possible for
children to work at same
activity but at different levels
of sophistication.
• 4. Spiral Organization - Spiral
refers to organization that
deliberately repeats
objectives from one year to
next but in increasing
complex versions. A good
spiral curriculum includes
repetition of objectives with
progression elaboration.
These features assist in
maintenance &
generalization of skills.
Relearning or practice of skill
can promote retention, an
important consideration since
many skills not automatically
retained after intervention.
• 5. Central Mission - Is
repertoire or developmental
expansion of programs for
children with disabilities or
at-risk for developmental
delays so that delayed or
distorted development can
be normalized.
• Curriculum Packages
• 1. Curriculum-Based
Assessment- contains
assessment scale &
accompanying curriculum
guide.
• Hawaii Early Learning Profile
Inside Help (Parks, 1992)
• Help for Special Preschoolers
(Santa Cruz County Office of
Education, 1987)
• Carolina Curriculum for
Preschoolers with Special
Needs (Johnson-Martin,
Attermeier, & Hacker, 1990)
• The Carolina Curriculum for
Infants and Toddlers with
Special Needs (Johnson-
Martin, Attermeier, & Hacker,
1991)
• The Assessment, Evaluation,
and Programming Systems
(AEPS) for Infants and
Children (Bricker, 1993)
• Curriculum Planning &
Implementation
• 1. Curriculum planning in
early childhood education is
integrated thematic units.
Thematic units usually
planned around topical areas
of interest to young children
(e.g., animals, holidays,
special events)
• 2. Characteristics of
Integrated Curriculum include
experiences to develop
attitudes, skills, & knowledge
& make connections across
curriculum. Activities provide
for range of abilities.
Activities are both teacher-
initiated & directed, & child-
initiated & directed. Whole
class, small group, &
 individual experiences
present (flexible grouping).
Opportunities for critical &
creative thinking are
included. Teacher, peer, &
self-assessment are
available. Opportunities to
make connections &
experience learning as
meaningful whole is
integrated into the
curriculum. Development of
attitudes, skills, & knowledge
of fine arts (music, visual art,
drama, & dance), humanities
(language arts, responsible
living, social studies),
practical arts (PE, career ed) ,
& science (math & science)
are included.
• 3. When integrated thematic
units are selected for
classrooms in which children
with disabilities are served,
theme of topics should be:
broad enough to address
wide range of abilities of
children; one in which
children’s IEP or IFSP
objectives can be addressed;
generated based on interests
& experiences of children;
selected based on availability
of resources & materials
necessary; and designed
based on interests of teacher
& other team members.
• 4. In implementing
curriculum, multiple child-
directed, play-based
activities, such as center
activities are used.
• 5. 1 curricular approach,
activity-based
intervention, (Bricker &
Cripe, 1992) is child-directed,
transactional approach;
embeds training on child’s
individual IFSP or IEP goals &
objectives into routine or
planned activities and uses
logically occurring
antecedents & consequences
to develop functional &
generalizable skills (i.e.,
generalized to other
settings).
• Current Influences on
Curriculum Development
• 1. Recommended Practices
in General Early Childhood
Education (ECE)
• 1. Developmentally
appropriate practice (DAP)
(Bredekamp, 1987,
Bredekamp & Copple, 1997)
is a set of guidelines
established by NAEYC to
articulate appropriate
practices for ECE of young
children.
• 2. Embedded in concept of
DAP is idea of age
appropriate, individually
appropriate, culturally
appropriate activities & roles
fulfilled by child & teacher in
learning environment.
• 3. Age appropriateness is
based on knowledge of
typical development of
children & plan appropriate
experiences.
• 4. Individual
appropriateness- Children
have individual patterns &
timing of growth as well as
individual personalities,
strengths, interests,
backgrounds, and
experiences.
• 5. Cultural appropriateness-
understand each child’s
social & cultural contexts.
Curriculum is flexible,
allowing for content that
meets wide range of abilities,
interests, & backgrounds of
children.
• 6. It is widely accepted in
general ECE that
developmentally appropriate
curriculum is based on:
• a. Process of
learning is just as
important, if not more
important, as end
product. Children’s active
engagement within their
environment with peers,
materials, & adults is
valuable & necessary in order
to be active participants in
learning process.
• 7. Children learn through
play & through concrete
“hands-on” activities that
are relevant to their lives.
• 8. Heterogeneous
grouping is embraced
with belief that
appropriate educational
experiences meet needs
of young children with
wide range of abilities.
Educational experiences
should be flexible as children
allows to work on different
levels and at their own pace.
Curriculum should not only
celebrate diversity, but
should challenge predjudice,
sterotyping, & bias (related
to gender, ability, race).
What is Curriculum Development?
Curriculum Development (also known
as Curriculum Alignment and
Curriculum Revision) is an ongoing
process. What is curriculum?
Curriculum is what we teach, that is,
the skills and content that we want
our students to learn and the
assessments we use to measure their
learning. The TUHSD Department of
Curriculum, Instruction, and
Assessment is committed to helping
teachers create documents that
reflect this information in an ordered
and useful manner, and our primary
tool in doing so is curriculum mapping.
What are Curriculum Maps and
how are they developed?
Curriculum Maps help teachers,
administrators, and parents/guardians
answer the questions that many ask
regarding our students' learning: What
do my students know? What did they
study last year? What are they
studying in the classrooms throughout
the District? How do I help my
students understand the connections
between my subject and others?
These questions are answered in their
entirety through the use of the
different maps as they stand alone, as
well as through the articulated
sequencing of maps in a content area.
Curriculum Maps are easy to read
"word snapshots" of the educational
activities taking place in classrooms
across the District. The first level of
the map is called a Consensus Map
and reflects the concepts (including
key vocabulary and key sub-
concepts), aligned to Arizona State
Standards. Representative teachers
from all schools in the District meet
and agree on the core and essential
concepts for the course mapped. They
also agree to an approximate number
of days that instruction should be
devoted to each unit. Three-quarters
of the total school year is mapped,
reserving one quarter of the days for
differentiated instructional needs.
While this map reflects the key
concepts that will be taught in each
course, it does NOT imply that by
using the map, every teacher teaching
that course will be teaching the exact
same thing on the exact same day
throughout the school (and District).
One of the District's mapping goals is
to collect the best instructional
options for teachers as they work
through a part of the map and make
these available to all District teachers.
For a variety of reasons teachers may
teach units or concepts in a different
order from other teachers, or they
may choose different lessons
designed to teach the same
performance objectives. These are not
lock-step maps.
Every summer since 2004, teachers
have met to prioritize course content
and align it with state standards and
District assessment instruments.
Every school year, these same
teachers have documented the
detailed mapping of these courses in
Instructional Maps. These maps
feature instructional suggestions for
teaching, engaging, and assessing
students in each concept.
What is Curriculum Development?
There are some useful answers to this
question available on the WWW.
WDED FAQ: Broadly speaking,
"curriculum" refers to the interactions
between learners and educators,
learners and learners and learners and
resources, both material and human,
in order to lead to successful
demonstrations of outcomes.
Everything happening in and around
the school having educational
implications is a part of the
curriculum. Curriculum is a multi-level,
dynamic concept which develops as
these interactions develop. Curriculum
documents like curriculum
frameworks, learning programmes
and learning support materials are the
written parts of the curriculum.
Kingdom Academy School: What is
curriculum? To many, curriculum
means a written document,
programmed material, or a textbook
We believe it is all the experiences a
child encounters in the learning
process. Curriculum provides a
framework and continuity in learning,
but is not a list of rigid content that
has to be covered in a designated
amount of time. Learning is a logical
sequence of skills and experiences.
Our goal is to teach children, not a
program or textbook. We realize that
the individual differences of children
must always be kept in mind. A child
will grasp skills, concepts and content
at differing rates and should not feel
inferior or superior due to the pace at
which he or she is acquiring these
skills. We want every child to feel
special and loved because of who he
or she is, not because of how he or
she performs.

What is curriculum? What does the

term `curriculum' mean to you as a
teacher? The literature shows that it
means different things to different
people, to different educational
institutions and to different parts of
educational institutions. A general
definition of curriculum is offered by
Print (1993: 9):...all the planned
learning opportunities offered by the
organisation to learners and the
experiences learners encounter when
the curriculum is implemented. This
includes those activities that
educators have devised for learners
which are invariably represented in
the form of a written document. Print
also describes the difference between
`curriculum' and `syllabus', which are
often confused: a syllabus forms part
of the overall curriculum and tends to
be a list of content areas which will be
assessed. At a broad level, curriculum
is determined by the educational
institution. Read the rest of the article
at
<http://www.acs.uwa.edu.au/csd//new
sletter/issue0795.html>

Defining Curriculum Curriculum

development is concerned with
planning for education and training.
There are many definitions of
curriculum, depending on different
writers' perspectives and experiences.
None of these definitions is right or
wrong. Rather, they give different
perspectives on a very wide and
complex field. Furthermore, they have
changed in focus and philosophy over
time.