This article presents the MERITS Plus model, a conceptual framework developed during qualitative research into the process of academic transition and the impact of educational choices upon learner identity. The article considers some of the methodological challenges faced by qualitative researchers, and how effective the use of a conceptual…

The author was an engineer for 20 years in both development and applications followed by 15 years as adult educator primarily at a Midwestern urban university with under-represented students. Beginning fall 2008 and for the next 7 years, he developed interventions for "underprepared" STEMM (STEM and pre-Medical) students. This freshmen…

There has been much attention given to the use of technology in education; mostly concentrating on physical artifacts of technology to facilitate teaching delivery but little mentioning technology as a cultural resource to organize the learning environment promoting social interaction among students and between teacher and students. This paper…

The newly arrived Roma Slovak community in a large urban city in the north of England has been widely perceived as having a myriad of social problems and there is a conflict with the wider community. This paper presents the results of a project to explore barriers and possibilities for the social and educational integration of newly arrived Roma…

A reform movement in the United States has focused on STEM education and 21st century soft skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. This spotlight on STEM instruction provided an opportunity to explore how K-14 STEM teacher participants perceived a Design Thinking Instructional Problems (DTIP) approach to…

We propose two contrasting types of student decision-making based on social and cognitive psychology models of separate mental processes for problem solving. Informal decision-making uses intuitive reasoning and is subject to cognitive biases, whereas formal decision-making uses effortful, logical reasoning. We explored indicators of students'…

Developing countries place a high premium on education because it is believed to correlate with economic development. Similarly, Botswana adopted an education-for-development policy when it became independent in 1966. Providentially, it discovered and mined minerals, particularly diamonds, and funded education. Unfortunately, Botswana is a…

This paper argues that academic development is a creative act. Creative acts have potential to inspire, critique, inform and in many cases to change. The creativity literature identifies a number of core features of creative acts that assist in developing independent creative practitioners. Those features are observing, attending to relationships,…

Practitioner research is in progress at a Further Education college to improve the motivation of vocational students for numeracy and problem solving. A framework proposed by Tang, Sui, & Wang (2003) has been adapted for use in courses. Five levels are identified for embedding numeracy applications and modelling into vocational studies:…

Introduction: The success of human safety requires the ability of police officers in problem solving within continuing professional development to be considered. Aim of the study: To analyze problem based teaching and learning in tertiary education within continuing professional development. Materials and methods: The search for problem based…

Despite the rigorous debate around the purposes of higher education and the associated concept of graduate attributes, science education at the tertiary level has remained largely impervious to engaging with these ideas. This may be due to the emphasis on the knowledge base of the hard science as opposed to the emphasis on the knower in the…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the implementation of a behavior intervention plan based on a functional behavioral assessment when a student's behavior necessitates disciplinary actions. However, IDEA does not provide any clear guidelines as to what the plans should contain nor how they can address behaviors that…

Supporting youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the transition to adulthood is challenging. This article provides a description of how Project SEARCH, a model transition program for youth with disabilities, was used to help youth with ASD gain competitive employment. This article includes two case studies and a thorough description of the…

Through the years, many researchers have advanced theories of problem solving. Probably the best definition of problem solving to apply to adult learning programs is Wallas' (1926) four-stage theory. The stages are (1) a preparation, (2) an incubation period, (3) a moment of illumination, and (4) final application or verification of the solution.…

This guidebook was developed to aid mothers who are attending school or training programs and also have preschool or school-age children at home, to find new approaches to their complicated life situations. Based on the experiences of 215 women in Allegheny County Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh), the booklet describes some of the problems they faced as…