Man: A Course of Study (MACOS) was an upper-elementary-level, interdisciplinary social science curriculum that predominantly featured the principles of evolution and anthropology. Originating during the post-Sputnik educational environment when federal funds and university academics were ubiquitously present in curriculum design projects, MACOS was developed by Education Service Incorporation, a private, nonprofit organization that had been created by scientist Jerrold Zacharias. In 1962, Zacharias assembled a group of scholars who felt curriculum should teach children to act as investigating social scientists rather than teach an aimless survey of facts. These scholars, along with classroom teachers, collaboratively engaged in one of the most significant, federally supported education projects in curriculum studies history.

In 1964, Jerome Bruner, cognitive psychologist, assumed stewardship of MACOS, the elementary branch of the international, ...

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