The purpose of this study is to investigate the conceptual content of the term "quality" in higher education, as it emerges from the descriptions and discussions of authors, researchers, and experts in 22 scientific publications. The analysis of the qualitative data is based on the methodology of grounded theory. From the analysis, 21…

The current assessment in language classrooms prevailingly utilizes the criteria provided by instructors, regarding learners as passive recipients of assessment. The current study drew upon sustainable assessment and the community of practice to highlight the importance of involving learners in co-constructing the assessment criteria and argued…

Student learning outcomes (SLO) assessment is often perceived as a burdensome, top-down process driven by institutional requirements. Recent research has thus called for discipline-specific models of SLO assessment to more deeply engage postsecondary faculty in determining what constitutes student learning within their programs. In response, this…

This article offers an example of a global approach to teaching the sociology of religion, a course that typically focuses on American religious phenomena. It builds on three interventions in the movement for a global sociology: connecting the local and global, moving beyond methodological nationalism, and developing an ethical orientation toward…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore inservice teachers' definitions of project-based learning (PjBL) and their accounts on the meaning of their PjBL implementations. A purposive sample of six teachers from grades four through twelve in public and private schools participated. Three themes evolved from inductive analysis: (1)…

This collection of five essays and supporting material concerning foreign language proficiency makes specific and controversial statements about what proficiency means for diverse groups of practitioners: the classroom teacher, the curriculum developer, the language-learning researcher, the textbook publisher, and the businessperson. An…

Basic definitions, conceptual clarity, and analyses of the organizational and social implications of various competency-based education approaches are badly needed. (Author/EB)

This article focuses on the importance of affective outcomes, the definition of the affective side of the schooling experience, and the measurement of the impact of instruction on the affective reactions of pupils. (Author)

One of a series dealing with current issues affecting language arts instruction, this paper focuses on providing for the intellectually gifted. It begins by observing that procedures identifying the gifted as those with "A" averages may actually ignore the gifted individual who has an extremely high IQ but only a "C" average. This is followed by a…

One of a series dealing with current issues affecting language arts instruction, this paper focuses on teaching gifted and talented students. The paper begins by identifying two kinds of students who present problems not adequately distinguished in school programs or in the professional literature: students thought to suffer because they are not…

The handbook reviews the history and current state of the art of special education for exceptional bilingual students and provides approaches for development of programs. Ties between bilingual and exceptional education are traced historically; then legislation to assure equal opportunity is reviewed. Definitions, characteristics, and special…

This document provides a comprehensive list of best practices associated with effective and efficient programs for students with various disabilities: social/behavioral, sensory, physical, and cognitive and/or communicative. It is intended to assist in the design and implementation of least intrusive, chronologically age-appropriate, gender and…

This paper is designed to provide local adult education administrators and teachers in Florida with information to help them to implement adult high school programs more effectively, in compliance with the State of Florida Adult High School Course Curriculum Framework. The paper addresses the following five areas: (1) purpose and terminology; (2)…

Questions frequently arise about the origins of outcome-based education and mastery learning, their similarities and differences, their theoretical and practical links, and evidence about their effects on student learning. Historical and theoretical perspectives show a clear distinction between outcome-based education and mastery learning.…

Reviews current student-assessment practices, highlighting alternative-assessment definitions and terminology, portfolio-assessment methods, holistic and analytic scoring rubrics, and improved traditional approaches. Educators must reconsider the wisdom of traditional practice, while giving a fair hearing to new approaches. Fundamental changes in…