This article describes the evolution of distance learning in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction from the 1970s to the present, focusing on the "guided didactic conversation" model of Holmberg (1983, 1986), examples of distance learning ESL programs, and a new model of distance learning based on computers and electronic communication.…

In this paper, we describe how our department recently incorporated a major service learning component into the curriculum. Specifically, we employed participation in the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program as an effective means of experiential and service learning for the past two years for Masters of Accountancy students. We…

Science and engineering students' involvement in practical work contributes to the development of their understanding of the concepts and processes of science. The Practical Experimentation by Accessible Remote Learning (PEARL) project aimed to develop a system to enable students to conduct real-world experiments at a distance using a computer. We…

The Fort Vermilion School Division (FVSD) covers an area twice the size of Vermont, yet the school system only has 3,600 students. This region of northwestern Alberta, Canada, is a mixture of agriculture and oil exploration, with most towns having fewer than 5,000 people. The mandate of the school district is to provide the best possible education…

The importance of preparing students for citizenship in a global society is well recognized in teaching sociology. Although options have emerged to facilitate such pedagogical experiences, few concentrate on maximizing students' experiences in non-English-speaking nations. How can we help sociology students get the most out of an experience in a…

Fostering undergraduate research has increasingly become a focus of four-year institutions. Thus, given the maturity and capabilities of a substantial number of community college students, Virginia Community College System (VCCS) faculty can help students prepare for the baccalaureate by providing them with opportunities for actual research. With…

Current research is establishing the importance of teaching empathy skills to youth in order to prevent aggression and to teach important interpersonal and work skills. The Center for Safe Schools and Communities has developed supplementary Aggression Replacement Training materials (the PEACE Curriculum) that emphasizes empathy training with…

The calls for the transformation of how science is taught (and what is taught) are numerous and show no sign of abating. Common amongst these calls is the need to shift from the traditional teaching and learning towards a model that represents the social constructivist epistemology. These calls have coincided with the Internet revolution. Through…

Engineering design graphics education has come a long way in the past two decades. The emergence of solid geometric modeling technology has become the focal point for the graphical development of engineering design ideas. The main attraction of this 3-D modeling approach is the downstream application of the data base to analysis and…

Recent research indicates that students learn best when they are actively engaged and they construct their own understanding. Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a student-centered instructional philosophy based on these concepts in which students work in teams on specially prepared activities that follow a learning cycle paradigm.…

Teachers need to assess learner portfolios in the field of education. However, they need support in the process of designing and practicing what kind of portfolios are to be assessed. To solve the problem, a formal method of describing the relations between the lesson forms and portfolios that need to be collected and the relations between…

In this article, the author describes Penn High School's writing center, a technology-supported writing classroom which began in July 1994. The Penn writing center operates as a true "center"--a place for students and teachers, technology and talk, thinking and writing to come together. Every day, more than 200 students visit the writing…

This practical guide includes information from a 3-year study that set out to describe the range of practices in content-English-as-a-Second-Language (content-ESL) programs in the United States. The guide is based on the field reports of 20 school site visits; offers guidance for starting, implementing, and sustaining a content-ESL program; and…

The Teaching Consultation Program (TCP) is one of the most popular faculty development programs offered in the University of Kentucky Community Colleges (UKCC's), having trained over 500 faculty since its implementation in 1977. The TCP is a confidential, peer consulting program available to faculty who wish to analyze their teaching behaviors and…

This paper describes one course offered in the Economics Department at the Drexel University (DU), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that uses directed learning and focuses on public sector problems. As the opening notes, the course is titled "Learn by DU-ing" ("DU" is a reference to Drexel University) and offers a menu of…