This article introduces biomimicry as an approach to STEM learning with a strong real-world application. It provides an introduction to biomimicry itself and some of the key principles behind using biomimicry as an approach to design. It draws upon almost three years of work within the BioLearn project, which is working with secondary schools in…

This practitioner research, conducted by a secondary school music teacher, deals with two complementary questions: the conceptual question how one could define the 'artistry' of a music teacher in the context of his teaching practice, and the empirical question in how far the music teacher's actions can determine the quality of the musical…

How is upper secondary education organised across OECD countries? This level of education, which most frequently serves students aged between 15 to 18, is generally the first time when learners have significant capacity to shape the content of their learning, for example by opting for general or vocational education, choosing their subjects and…

This study examined how teachers relate literacy teaching to their ordinary subject teaching in professional development settings. The study is conducted within the large Swedish professional development program the Literacy Boost (in Swedish "Läslyftet"), which can be viewed as an example of an international focus on reading ability…

This article discusses how museum settings can provide opportunities for sensory and aesthetic encounters and learning. It draws on research into museum education programmes that included examinations of curatorial construction and display, observations of teaching and open-ended interviews with museum educators. The examples selected here focus…

This article reports on the development of a theory-informed assessment instrument for use in evaluating environmental education programs. The instrument involves coding learners' brief reflective writing on five established educational and social psychological constructs that correspond to five important goals of environmental education:…

In this article, Oakmont Regional High School (Ashburnham, Massachusetts) librarian Jeffrey Aubuchon describes how the school library is developing a new classification scheme called the Spartan system. This system seeks to mirror instructional practices at Oakmont. The major divisions of the collection will be drawn around academic departments…

The current study examines a number of college readiness partnership programs operating in Texas and identifies their features, targeted students, and intended outcomes. It also examines the partnerships that created these programs. The findings presented here are based on a search and analysis of the relevant research and Texas policy…

This paper presents an executive summary of a study that examines a number of college readiness partnership programs operating in Texas and identifies their features, targeted students, and intended outcomes. It also examines the partnerships that created these programs. The findings presented here are based on a search and analysis of the…

This document covers the data terms used in the "VET in Schools 2009" report. The primary purpose of this document is to assist users of the report to understand the specific data terms used within it. Terms that appear in the report are listed in alphabetical order with the following information provided for each: (1) Definition: a…

This technical brief describes updates to a database of dropout prevention programs and policies in 2006/07 created by the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands and described in the Issues & Answers report, "Piloting a searchable database of dropout prevention programs in nine low-income urban school districts in the…

The Plato Program is an innovative and dynamic subject that was introduced to explore "learning how to learn" in Year 7. In response to observations by staff that students lacked critical thinking and research skills, it has metamorphosed into a vehicle for the delivery of information literacy within the curriculum, with a particular…

Articles about the pendulum in four journals devoted to the teaching of physics and one general science teaching journal (along with other miscellaneous articles from other journals) are listed in three broad categories--types of pendulums, the contexts in which these pendulums are used in physics teaching at secondary or tertiary levels and a…

Many studies have investigated the classification of living things. Our study deals with a different problem: the attribution of life to one component of a living organism, specifically the bones. The task involves not only specifying what we mean by "alive", but also requires "informed thinking" leading to an understanding of…

This paper reports on research in progress in Melbourne secondary schools in which a community language is taught to students from a range of backgrounds. The programmes are described and contextualised. The project is developing models and strategies to enable schools to cater for the needs of secondary schools of students with and without home…