Am I saying that we should not be receptive to new ideas in curricula? Of course not. I am
saying that I don’t know of any research work in this area that can help us to decide the
merits of the proposals, and I seriously doubt that such research is even possible. There are
just too many variables to control when we’re talking about the study of a complex
interpersonal process like teaching and learning. We therefore have no alternative but to
think about these issues for ourselves, and to ask ourselves what conditions do in fact
encourage students to learn, to enjoy learning, and to work hard, and how can we, in fact,
improve the quality of our teaching.