To support the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation invested in the development and dissemination of two tools aimed at operationalizing classroom instruction based on the standards: (1) the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)'s Framework; and (2) the Math Design Collaborative (MDC)'s…

This paper describes the diffusion of Moodle within Cherokee County Schools. The diffusion is evaluated using the Bass Model and the RIPPLES model in order to evaluate relative success or failure. The Bass Model of Diffusion was calculated utilizing forecasting by analogy in order to analyze the adoption rates in a county high school. The adoption…

While education accountability systems emphasize teacher quality as a prerequisite for student learning, education administrators have struggled to staff low-performing schools with effective teachers. Fueled in part by the federal Teacher Incentive Fund, compensation reforms have gained center stage status among strategies aimed at improving…

This study presents an innovative pedagogical approach where teachers become game designers and engage in creative teaching practices. Within co-design training workshops, 21 Spanish primary and secondary school teachers have developed their own Game-Based Learning (GBL) scenarios, especially tailored to their teaching contexts and students…

Like many universities worldwide, the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa has joined the open educational resources (OER) movement, making a selection of teaching and learning materials available through its OER directory, UCT OpenContent. However, persuading and then supporting busy academics to share their teaching materials as OER…

Background/Context: As accountability pressures have mounted toward ever-higher targets under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, low-achieving schools have sought new tools for raising achievement. The association between parent involvement and student achievement is well established, though the association is an indirect relationship mediated…

Purpose: This paper seeks to present the issue of e-learning development in a public university in Bolivia, together with challenges that could support the work of a sustainable development of practice and educational technologies. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents the first phase of an interpretative case study. It comprises data…

This case study focused on a school action plan, using a planning and implementation process that focused on improving stakeholder involvement and responsibility for student reading achievement at Eisenberg Elementary School. This study examined the impact of the school action process on the development of a new plan compared to other traditional…

This dissertation examines localization of Open Educational Resources (OER) in Himalayan community technology centers of Nepal. Specifically, I examine strategies and practices that local knowledge-workers utilize in order to localize educational content for the disparate needs, interests, and ability-levels of learners in rural villages. This…

Students, who are at risk of academic failure, are reading and achieving below their grade level yet the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires that all students perform on or above grade level. Results from the 2003 National Assessment of Education Program (NAEP) showed that 37% of fourth graders across the United States are reading below grade…

A historical case study from a 6-8 middle school in the coal region of Northeastern Pennsylvania was conducted to examine the extent of teacher collaboration before and after the implementation of the teaming concept as well as the construction of a new middle school. The study was triangulated through the use of multiple data points including…

The GlobaLIS Project intends to attain the globalization of Japanese library and information science (LIS) professional education by defining the requirements for internationally transparent and harmonized educational programs for LIS professionals. We asked three research questions in a stepwise manner: (1) What are the basic requirements for…

Illinois Shifting Gears is a multilevel initiative that has simultaneously created bridge programs in the field and altered state policy to facilitate the creation of more programs in the future. These efforts have informed each other, giving policymakers the opportunity to interact with practitioners, troubleshoot bridge programs, and make…

This edition features current research, practice, and policy related to the Joyce Foundation's Shifting Gears initiative beginning with an interview with Whitney Smith, Manager of the Employment Program at the Joyce Foundation. Julie Strawn, Center for Law and Social Policy, presents a national perspective of basic skills reform efforts similar to…

This study of two cases of sexual harassment investigates employee perceptions and organizational characteristics associated with policy and implementation procedures in two public school districts in New York State which experienced different outcomes to litigation in response to formal complaints of sexual harassment. Using documentary evidence…