Between 2008 and 2010, Lund University took part in three international benchmarking projects, "E-xcellence+," the "eLearning Benchmarking Exercise 2009," and the "First Dual-Mode Distance Learning Benchmarking Club." A comparison of these models revealed a rather high level of correspondence. From this finding and…

Teacher education institutions conduct information and communications technology (ICT) courses to prepare preservice teachers (or initial teacher education candidates) to support their teaching practice with appropriate ICT tools. ICT course evaluations based on preservice teachers' perception of course experiences are limited in indicating the…

This article describes how a purposeful sample of 62 elementary schools from 17 states implemented a Response to Intervention (RtI) framework for reading. School informants answered surveys and were interviewed about differentiated instruction in Tier 1, screening/benchmarking, where Tier 2 interventions were located, typical group size and the…

This article discusses the importance of mixed-methods research, in particular the value of qualitatively driven mixed-methods research for quantitatively driven domains like educational accountability. The article demonstrates the merits of qualitative thinking by describing a mixed-methods study that focuses on a middle school's system of…

Over the past several years I have taught a career orientation course at St. John Fisher College. This course was designed to increase student awareness of potential careers following their undergraduate studies in our Biology program. Additionally, the course has also been used as a model for similar experiences in our Psychology, Chemistry,…

Trek School is an outdoor school program for any Grade 11 students in Regina, Saskatchewan. During the program, students engage in a series of classroom, outdoor, and experiential activities. The various courses are taught through these experiences. The program is designed to help students develop in the areas of independent learning, critical and…

The objective of this article is to highlight the importance of advanced studies for the professional staff working in the field of early childhood education (ECE). Until 2001, Israeli MA programs were controlled exclusively by Israeli universities. The article deals with the development of MEd programs in Israeli colleges of education, using the…

Innovation may best be considered as reinvention rather than invention. This observation is supported by a gradually accelerating change in "how" professional learning and development (PLD) for education practitioners and leaders is being offered, designed, facilitated, and evaluated. The reinvention of PLD includes shifts towards…

TIMSS measures trends in mathematics and science achievement at the fourth and eighth grades in participating countries around the world, while also monitoring curricular implementation and identifying promising instructional practices. Conducted on a regular 4-year cycle, TIMSS has assessed mathematics and science in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, and…

Planning from a strategic perspective has been a mainstay of organizational management for decades. Founded in the private sector, strategic planning is now embraced by the nonprofit world as a catalyst for sound resource allocation, transformative decision making, and motivating staff. Student affairs professionals who think, plan, and act…

The university honors program of Campus Monterrey, Tecnológico de Monterrey, evolved from the international degree program that was first offered in the spring semester of 2002. Originally six programs were offered in the School of Business and School of Engineering: (1) BA Business Administration; (2) BA Financial Management; (3) BA Finance and…

Nationwide, personnel preparation programs are responding to the changing population demographics and its impact on Pre K-12 classrooms. Needs surveys conducted by the Monarch Center over the past ten years have consistently yielded a need for support in redesigning program course and fieldwork components to better prepare their teachers and other…

In January 2007, the Oregon State Board of Education mandated a new Oregon diploma that strengthened high school graduation requirements with the aim of improving student readiness for college and career. Among the major changes was a requirement that students demonstrate proficiency in nine "essential skills" that included the…

PhD programs in the United States are increasingly marked by the rising influence of market-oriented dynamics. As a case in point, one of the primary objectives of the new PhD program offered at the University of South Dakota is to deliver a doctoral program through a flexible--or hybrid--format that is accessible to nontraditional as well as…

The design and early implementation of a major national design initiative in England, the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL), is described in this paper. This novel hybrid master's degree seeks to span the traditional academic-practitioner divide, reconstitute the theory-practice dynamic as reciprocal and co-construct an authentic signature…