"Place: it's where we're from; it's where we're going. . . . It asks for our attention and care. If we pay attention, place has much to teach us." With this belief as a foundation, "The Power of Place" offers a comprehensive and compelling case for making communities the locus of learning for students of all ages and…

Changing learning objectives was the beginning of rethinking the pedagogical frame of my courses within a traditional law study program. The objectives were changed in order to aim for students becoming better at reflecting on the curriculum. I chose to work within a workshop frame incorporating some of the Aalborg PBL principles. The two courses…

Encouraging students to reason with quantitative relationships can help them develop, understand, and explore mathematical models of real-world phenomena. Through two examples--modeling the motion of a speeding car and the growth of a Jactus plant--this article describes how teachers can use six practical tips to help students develop quantitative…

Personalized learning (PL) is spotlighted as a way to transform K-12 educational systems. PL customizes learning pace, instructional methods, and learning content to individual students. As much as PL sounds promising and complex, little guidance is available to educators and policymakers about how to effectively design PL. Five essential features…

Prompted by the need for leaders able to turn around chronically low-performing schools, states, universities, education groups, and school districts in the US have initiated a variety of principal development programs. Some programs focus on enhancing the skills of experienced administrators, while others target talented teachers and even…

Web 2.0 technologies have created a trend of user-generated content by supporting media production, collaboration, communication, and dissemination. User-generated content is translated into student-generated content (SGC) in education. SGC engages learners in an authentic project that fosters students' autonomy, creativity, and real-world…

In this article, the author discusses how it is time for higher education to think seriously about alternatives to the traditional undergraduate "major," which, in the large majority of cases, tends to be focused on just a single field of inquiry. The author observes that the current idea of a major (or minor) subject may have made more sense in a…

This article suggests that peer interaction is most effective when orchestrated around a progression of problems. Problem-centered learning is enhanced by carefully structured peer interactions. Problem-centered instruction is a form of direct instruction wherein instructional components are taught in the context of problems. An effective…

Vocational education by its nature has a need for delivery methods that place a strong focus on the relationship between school and work and seeks to deliver instruction in a manner that bridges the two as seamlessly as possible. This paper presents a curriculum and constructivist-based instructional delivery approach, designed to emphasize a…

This paper reports on the work of a European Commission DG Education and Culture co-financed project PBP-VC, Promoting Best Practice in Virtual Campuses, which is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the key issues and critical success factors underlying the implementation of virtual campuses. The paper outlines a tentative model of issues…

This Technical Paper focuses on principles for teaching problem solving. Part 1 addresses the need to teach problem solving. Part 2 defines problem solving skills, and describes: general problem solving models of the 1960s and 1970s, current problem solving models, declarative knowledge, mental models, expert versus novice knowledge, procedural…

The present learning discourse and terms such as "learning in practice", "situated learning", "project and problem based learning" are like variations on a recurrent theme: learning by doing--the striking maxims of progressivism. The newest reforms confirm that the maxim is still alive as a standpoint with…

Much of traditional schooling in America is built around systems of compliance and control, characteristics which stifle the creative and entrepreneurial instincts of the children who are subjected to these tactics. This article explores a different approach to education, one that involves capturing the interest of the student through the use of…

This chapter argues that liberal learning can be transformative and foster students' intellectual and ethical development only if we consider its development underpinnings and pedagogic strategies that illustrate that the skills of academic inquiry are the skills of personal development. (Contains 1 note.)

Research on how the brain works has resulted in wider-scale adoption of the principles of problem-based learning (PBL) in many areas of education, including technology education. The PBL approach is attractive to curriculum developers because it is based on interdisciplinary learning, results in multiple outcomes, is integrated and…