Educational researchers and practitioners have paid considerable attention to the use of multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) in recent years in order to support learning across curricula. Among MUVEs, Second Life (SL) is one of the most popular environments, with over 18 million account-registered users as of May 2008. This paper reports a…

The Program for Learning in Accordance with Needs (PLAN) was devised to be self-improving through a system of computer analysis of student performance data. The PLAN instructional program consists of teaching-learning units in various subject areas, such as reading and science, which are composed of self-paced alternative learning activities,…

Modular scheduling was introduced in the academic year 1967-68 at North Miami Senior High School. After a year's operation under the Stanford School Scheduling System, an "at home" evaluation of the new program was made. Student grades on a cross-sectional basis did not suffer, but rather showed a slight improvement. Moderate improvement was also…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the National Board Teacher Certification (NBTC) process was an effective form of professional development for teachers that would result in changing teachers' instructional practice resulting in improved student learning. The study also examined how a cohort of NBTC candidates impacted the non-NBTC…

Although ability partly explains why some students are eager to learn in school whereas others are disinterested, motivation is another significant factor. This newsletter discusses factors that affect students' motivation to learn, considers techniques that can increase motivation, and identifies schools that have developed activities to enhance…