Multiple research studies have been conducted that focus on various uses of collaborative learning in and out of the classroom in higher education institutions. The purpose of this article is to review previously published literature regarding group composition and how it affects student interaction and achievement. Group composition research has…

Focusing on expanding technical capabilities and new collaborative possibilities, we address 4 challenges for scientists who collect and use video records to conduct research in and on complex learning environments: (a) Selection: How can researchers be systematic in deciding which elements of a complex environment or extensive video corpus to…

Researchers in geography education have access to a wide range of research methods, spanning the quantitative-qualitative continuum. However, the choice of which methods to employ in one's research has a direct impact on the subsequent quality of the research findings and should therefore be carefully considered. This paper briefly explores the…

Strategic planning and innovation at Bismarck State College (BSC) found common ground in the college's goal to recruit and retain employees in an environment of low unemployment and strong competition for skilled employees. BSC's strategic plan for 2007-09 included the objective "to increase retention of employees." One of the strategies…

Principals aim to hire outstanding teachers. But how do they do this? How do they reduce the large number of applicants to a workable number? What process do principals use to hire and to what extent does variation exist among hiring practices? This article investigates the current hiring practices of K-12 principals. Principals were examined on…

This article is a discussion of the importance of using student resistance to inform and change teacher practice. The authors relate two narratives of practice, one of which takes place in a constructivist second-grade classroom in Ontario, and a second that takes place in a preservice classroom in California. In the first, a student uses the…

Grip selection tasks have been used to test "planning" in both autism and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). We differentiate between "motor" and "executive" planning and present a modified motor planning task. Participants grasped a cylinder in 1 of 2 orientations before turning it clockwise or anticlockwise.…

The transfer from an early intervention system to a program for a 3-year-old is a critical event that not only brings opportunities but also presents challenges to children and their families. In order to help families handle these transition related issues, professionals should collect authentic data about family concerns, needs, and expectations…

This school-university partnership research explored how multicultural literature read-alouds impacted the pedagogical understandings of elementary pre-service teachers. The study explores the intersection of multicultural education, Professional Development School standards, and the achievement gaps of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD)…

Using data from the Wabash National Study, authors examine how students' perceptions of campus climate influence growth in students' social and political activism. The goal of this article is to determine to what extent, if any, students' perceptions of the campus environment affect their orientation toward social/political activism over 4 years…

After twenty years of expanding school-choice options, state leaders, educators, and families have a new tool: course choice, a strategy for students to learn from unconventional providers that might range from top-tier universities or innovative community colleges to local employers, labs, or hospitals. In "Expanding the Education Universe:…

Commercial search consulting firms such as Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, almost unheard of just a generation ago, today help fill a small but growing number of the more than 2,000 superintendent openings that arise each year in the nation's nearly 14,000 public school districts. It is unlikely that the nation's largest school systems,…

Business students need to develop skills in the intelligent use of information, especially spatial information, for decision-making. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a viable tool for that purpose. Yet the few GIS courses in the Information Systems curriculum offered in various business schools tend to focus on different concepts and skills.…

The National Association of Colleges and Employers' (NACE's) "2011 Internship & Co-op Survey" indicates that internships are an integral and ever-important part of the college recruiting scene. The survey finds that employers expect to increase internship hiring by about 7 percent this year and co-op positions by nearly 9 percent. Furthermore,…

This project represents the beginning of a partnership between the State of Michigan and researchers at the University of Michigan and Michigan State Michigan. The partnership is formalized as the Michigan Consortium for Educational Research (MCER). The goal of MCER is to engage key stakeholders and experts in high quality education research for…