This action research study in a North Dakota public school addresses the need for effective professional development (PD) to enhance instruction and academic outcomes for mathematically promising learners. Despite annual PD investments, concerns persist regarding the limited efficacy of short-term workshops (Knight & Skrtic, 2021; Kraft et…

When schools in Pennsylvania and across the nation were suddenly shuttered in March due to COVID-19, teachers were faced with an enormous challenge: how to effectively teach and engage their students remotely when the vast majority had never done so before. In order to meet this challenge, teachers turned to an array of digital tools-such as Zoom,…

Experienced e-learning faculty members share strategies for implementing a comprehensive postsecondary faculty development program essential to continuous improvement of instructional skills. The high-impact META Model (centered around Mentoring, Engagement, Technology, and Assessment) promotes information sharing and content creation, and fosters…

In May 2009, the US Department of Education released a meta-analysis of effectiveness studies of online, face-to-face, and blended learning models. The analysis found that online learning produced better student outcomes than face-to-face classes, and that blended learning offered an even "larger advantage" over face-to-face. The hybrid approach…

This year's E-Learn conference has numerous exciting presentations and keynotes. Many speakers will be discussing how education is changing in the forthcoming years. Among them are Dale Stephens who works with the social movement "Uncollege" that empower students to create their own education, Saul Carliner who talks about Massive Online…

This handbook presents findings of a 2-year study that examined the role of the substitute teacher. Findings showed that the problems with substitute-teacher programs were a result of nonmanagement rather than mismanagement. The book offers recommendations for designing, implementing, and maintaining quality substitute-teacher programs. The first…

This discussion of the value given to teaching in higher education offers research-based insights on how institutions can make a stronger commitment to teaching. Recognizing that change initiatives must be planned and made on a number of fronts, examples and illustrations of how improvements may be made in a variety of areas are presented. The…

Research on the effectiveness of specific strategies for faculty and instructional development at the college level is reviewedd, focusing on five delivery strategies: (1) workshops; (2) instructional consultation; (3) grants for instructional improvement; (4) colleague collaboration; and (5) print resources. In each case, the strategy is…

A Tel Aviv University (Israel) study applied qualitative methods to evaluate a model for improvement of university teaching. A departmental instruction specialist treats instructional quality issues comprehensively within a department. Two years of implementation in the physics department have resulted in increased instructional quality, faculty…

Use of peer mentoring to improve college instruction and the concept of mutual mentoring are discussed, drawing on four faculty mentoring projects in which mentor faculty were paired with other teachers to develop new, alternative teaching methods/materials or gain new knowledge. Cross-disciplinary mentoring and mutual faculty benefits are…

This study was designed to measure instructional design competencies as a result of participation in a 9-month Web-based training program called "Roadmap to Effective Distance Education Instructional Design." The researchers used a self-assessment pre- and posttest to determine participant initial and final competence in 12 areas: adult…

This paper describes a year-long program which is in place at Nashville State Technical Institute (Tennessee) to train faculty in the development of World Wide Web-based instruction. The program is based on seven principles that assert that good practice in undergraduate instruction encourages student-faculty contact, encourages cooperation among…

This paper is a report on an ongoing project at the University of Lethbridge (Alberta, Canada) to implement and evaluate prototype online delivery systems for graduate and undergraduate courses. In the hands of instructors who are good teachers, with course designs that are effective and adapted to course material and learners, and with adequate…

An inservice program to teach instructional strategies that promote metacognitive development to classroom teachers in their roles as instructional designers, based on the notion that instruction in metacognitive strategies must be incorporated into content instruction, is described. Teachers were informed about the following specific…

This paper focuses on the Purdue University (Indiana) Continuing Engineering Education (CEE) experience in producing distance education over the past 20 years. Discussion includes the role of several educational theories in the formalization of distributed learning; the importance of effective communication in delivery of distance education;…