This chapter describes the historical and contemporary theoretical underpinnings of learning communities and argues that there is a need for more complex models in conceptualizing and assessing their effectiveness.

This article describes an internship program designed specifically to meet graduate students' training needs within the context of their work in a prevention program for children in foster care. An internship based on a strong model of intern recruitment and supervision, structured inclusion of interns in a supportive agency culture, a…

Grandparents raising grandchildren represent a population of adults who confront complex interpersonal and environmental challenges. The intent of this case study was to gather and interpret evaluative data to better understand the impact of a 1-day community education program for grandparents who raise their grandchildren. Extension's philosophy…

Global citizens are those who are aware of, demonstrate respect for, and are comfortable engaging across cultural boundaries. This article explores why preparing global citizens is important and how positive psychology can inform our understanding of those who engage comfortably in today's complicated world. Soliya's Connect program is described…

Background: Professional development is widely recognised as crucial to an organisation's success so the time devoted to it needs to be used well. Finding time for training and development is frequently noted by school staff as a barrier preventing them from taking up developmental opportunities. The focus of this paper is on a specific time…

In this paper, we describe our experience with the creation and utilization of online assignments for several calculus classes at Simon Fraser University (SFU). We present our findings regarding available software by considering the needs and perspectives of the instructors, students, and administrators. We provide a list of questions that guide…

The Geriatric Scholar Program (GSP) is a Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) workforce development program to infuse geriatrics competencies in primary care. This multimodal educational program is targeted to primary care providers and ancillary staff who work in VA's rural clinics. GSP consists of didactic education and training in geriatrics…

Over the last five years schools and districts have been under enormous pressure to improve student achievement scores on state accountability assessments. Educators agree that professional development plays a key role in providing the knowledge and skills needed to increase teacher effectiveness in the classroom. There is no reliable measure for…

This article explores the concept of supervision and its implementation within a youth work context. The article describes and explores a process of staff development facilitated by the author which involved providing supervision training to a group of youth work practitioners at Cork YMCA in Ireland and continuing to meet them on a monthly basis…

High schools spend incredible amounts of time and resources toward preparing students for high school exit exams. A predicament arises when some students continue failing the exam and are in danger of not receiving a high school diploma. This article describes 5 components of an exit exam remediation program through which to equip and empower…

The University of Cincinnati (UC) is a premier, public, urban research university dedicated to undergraduate, graduate, and professional education, experience-based learning, and research. The University also maintains a deep commitment to accessible education. Distance learning is an integral part of the University's 21st century approach to…

Eight teams of elementary and middle school teachers developed pilot online courses for the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) in the USA. A qualitative case study with focus groups and a follow-up survey helped to identify common needs of these non-traditional course designers during course development efforts. Findings suggest virtual…

A discussion of the state of bilingual education in the Pacific islands administered by the United States (Guam, American Samoa, and Micronesia) begins with background information on the patterns of education and language use in the region and in each separate area. The current status of bilingual education programs and support projects is…

Communities across our nation--whether geographic, ethnic, or issue-based in their composition--are struggling to be healthy, to grow, and thrive. The production of knowledge and the sharing of knowledge by both the community and the higher education institution is the key to helping our communities improve. Retaining and valuing community-engaged…