General chemistry courses serve as foundational curriculum within most STEM undergraduate curricula, and hence, it is essential to assess student knowledge and application of learning outcomes for courses such as Introduction to Chemistry and Organic Chemistry. Within the United States, paper-and-pencil examinations are typical for measuring…

Despite advancements in pedagogy and technology, students often yearn for more applied opportunities in information security education. Further, small businesses are likely to have inadequate information security postures due to limited budgets and expertise. To address both issues, an advanced course in ethical hacking was developed which allows…

In this article the authors describe a project during which they unpacked fraction standards, created rigorous tasks and lesson plans, and developed formative and summative assessments to analyze students' thinking about fraction multiplication. The purpose of this article is to (1) illustrate a process that can be replicated by educators…

The years between pre-K and third grade are vital for creating the foundation for later school success. The skills students develop at one age level or grade must be built upon and reinforced in later grades. Furthermore, for students to sustain gains made in one grade, they must continue to receive high-quality teaching in subsequent grades.…

In school districts and charter school networks nationwide, instructional leaders are developing plans to address the enormous challenges faced by their students, families, teachers, and staff over the past year. To help kick-start the planning process, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute presents "The Acceleration Imperative," an…

Rather than viewing curriculum as linear, a post-modern, learner-centered curriculum design is a spiral or recursive curriculum. Post-modernism provides a much less stable foundation upon which to build a model of student learning, a model that recognizes and even celebrates individual difference and one that is supported by research on how people…

In the spring and fall of 2013, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) convened two meetings of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss ideas for a more relevant and coordinated research agenda on the Common Core State Standards. Participants in these meetings identified several needs and made a number of thoughtful suggestions. Many…

This paper presents a new method to improve the quality in technical education in order to meet the industry expectations. The quality of education and training being imparted in the technical education institutions varies from excellent to poor, with some institutions comparing favourably with the best in the world. Few others are suffering from…

In a small suburban district in the Midwest, the superintendent was outlining his plans for aligning the curriculum to the Common Core State Standards. The process had begun, he explained, so he and his staff were set to spend the next three years on math, then three years on English language arts and so on. The author struggled with the concept…

Work integrated learning (WIL) units can be discipline specific and constructed for majors or degrees with a strong vocational orientation. This paper describes an undergraduate unit with its genesis in a public relations internship. The original unit enjoyed strong support from industry partners and was instrumental in many graduates securing…

In this timely book, curriculum expert Gerald A. Lieberman provides an innovative guide to creating and implementing a new type of environmental education that combines standards-based lessons on English language arts, math, history, and science with community investigations and service learning projects. By connecting academic content with local…

Our article focuses on using portfolio assessment to craft quality teaching. Extant research literature on portfolio assessment suggests that the primary purpose of assessment is to serve learning, and portfolio assessments facilitate the process of making linkages among assessment, curriculum, and student learning (Asp, 2000; Bergeron, Wermuth,…

This article presents the design and implementation of a complete review of undergraduate digital hardware design teaching in the School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. Four guiding principles have been used in this exercise: learning-outcome driven teaching, deep learning, affordability, and flexibility. This has identified…

Cross-curricular programming offers unique opportunities to connect non-majors with science. In this article, the author describes personal experiences related to a novel initiative uniting science, civics, and citizenship that may serve as a model for course and program development at other colleges. In this model, students from multiple majors…

This paper describes our efforts to integrate liberal learning principles in a capstone course within the overwhelmingly career-focused discipline of accountancy. Our approach was based on the belief that business and liberal learning courses are complementary, rather than competitive, elements of a well-rounded education. The ability to deal with…