In this paper, we describe an innovative design for a multidisciplinary service-learning course on supply chain management in the industrial distribution program housed in the College of Engineering at a large research university in Texas. The purpose of this course was to increase students' technical expertise and build a mindset and skills…

In this article, we discuss the three-year process of redesigning our writing major at Baylor University. In tracing our process, we discuss the decisions we made with regard to the redesign of our major and contextualize our decision-making process in relation to existing scholarship on the writing major. Additionally, we highlight the range of…

In this report, Every Learner Everywhere & Lighthouse Institutions share first-year experiences of 2- and 4-year colleges piloting new versions of gateway courses incorporating adaptive learning in an effort to address achievement gaps for first-generation students, low-income students, and students of color by improving teaching and learning…

Creative instruction across the curriculum is a critical pillar of the Creative Learning Initiative (CLI). This research brief summarizes key results from the full report (published separately), the second in a series of three on CLI, shares teacher's reactions to training in Creative Teaching, how and why they use it in the classroom, and how…

Tuning, as a methodology, implies a philosophy of curriculum design, pedagogy, and assignment design. It implies that successful study in a discipline depends on intentional construction of learning experiences for students. Intentional construction of learning experiences requires an understanding of the learning goals set forth by faculty for…

Given recent trends, there is a high probability that most university faculty members will either have the opportunity, or be required, to teach online at some point in their careers if they have not already. For a new professor just getting initiated in higher education or an established one whose school is considering online offerings, one of…

As described in this brief, Tacoma Community College and South Texas College each focused on contextualization as a cornerstone of developmental education reform, albeit with different approaches. With a comprehensive look at the experience at Tacoma Community College and a supplementary example from South Texas College, we begin to understand how…

The foundation year and specialization year of study are the accepted framework for graduate social work education. A common belief among educators is that accreditation standards are prescriptive by design, resulting in a rigidity that neither encourages nor supports curricular innovation. This article outlines a newly developed curriculum model…

For the past decade, MDRC has evaluated a number of interventions designed to improve the outcomes of community college students, including enhanced counseling, learning communities, and financial incentives. Encouragingly, many of these strategies have produced positive effects, affirming that changes in institutional practices and policies can…

It is crucial for Tech Comm instructors to address challenges of audience within the artificial environment of classroom instruction. Without a distinct and specific audience, course content often remains theoretical and abstract, and students struggle both to connect the unknown to the known, and to generate meaningful and effective…

Just as participation in social networking has grown, so has media coverage of inappropriate activity online. Teacher-student relationships and cyberbullying are just a few of the stories that seem to make the news on a regular basis. For educators, this is particularly troubling, considering how few students know what is appropriate when using…

Although it is known that many persons under community supervision need and eventually want correctional education programs, little is known about the providers and characteristics of these educational programs. This report provides an overview of initiatives at the national and state levels supporting new approaches to community supervision and…

The initiative to revise Texas Christian University's (TCU) general education curriculum was one of the outcomes of an institutional strategic planning process in 2000, the Commission on the Future of TCU. Coincident with this planning process, TCU developed a new institutional mission statement that focused on preparing students for becoming…

Teaching music to nearly a thousand elementary students each week would make any educator break a sweat. But one would never know that from talking to MaryElla Neeley Stevens. After 30-plus years teaching K-4 music in the Aldine Independent School District of Houston, Texas, she still radiates positivity. Whether it's mentoring and training…

This publication summarizes research from AspenWSI's Courses to Employment project, which studied how six community college-nonprofit partnerships work together to help low-income adults succeed in the classroom and the labor market. The report provides an overview of the approach and strategies these partnerships use, how these partnerships are…