President Lincoln signed the Morrill Land-grant Act in 1862, launching a nationwide project in public higher education that would build democracy, prosperity, and competitiveness to levels undreamed of 150 years ago. As student costs skyrocket, driven by steep drops in public funding, the viability of that project, like the nation itself, is under…

Recognizing that a necessary and significant role change is underway in faculty development, this book calls for centers to merge their traditional responsibilities and services with a leadership role as organizational developers. Failing to define and outline the dimensions and expertise of this new role puts centers at risk of not only…

Despite clear evidence that formative assessment creates vantage points throughout the teaching-learning cycle for both teachers and students, research suggests that teachers are not taking advantage of the full cadre of formative assessment strategies available to them--particularly those that have been associated with improved student learning…

"Meeting our Needs?" is the third detailed portrait of postsecondary education (PSE) in Canada issued by the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL). As in previous years, this paper's goal is to provide Canadians with the most current information about the sector's capacity to contribute to the achievement of Canada's social and economic…

The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 expressly gave colleges, universities, and other nonprofit entities the right, which had previously been presumptively held by the federal government itself, to patent inventions resulting from federally funded research and development (R&D) activities they conduct. In the nearly three decades since the Bayh-Dole Act…

This report critically examines studies of how scientific research drives innovation which is then translated into socio-economic benefits. It focuses on research evaluation insights that are relevant not only to the academic community, but also to policymakers and evaluation practitioners--and particularly to biomedical and health research…

The purpose of this report is to describe the work that has been done so far on learning progressions in science, examine the challenges to developing usable learning progressions, determine if further investments are warranted, and if so, what investments are needed to realize their promised benefits. The report examines the quality and utility…

Many science centers have partnerships with schools, universities or scientific industry. This article will describe a unique collaborative project between Liberty Science Center, Wagner College, and Picatinny Center (a government research center) that has college interns working with and learning from science center staff and real scientists in a…

This paper presents a new environment for teaching practical work in AI subjects. The main purpose of this environment is to make AI techniques more appealing to students and to facilitate the use of the toolkits which are currently widely used in research and development. This new environment has a toolkit for developing and executing agents,…

Design-based research is a burgeoning research paradigm holding the promise of introducing more socially responsible studies to transform education. However, there is a lack of methodological standards and established research processes to inform this type of study. Although there are general principles and procedures on design-based research,…

The Regional Educational Laboratory Program is the U.S. Department of Education's largest research and development investment. Administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), the network of 10 Regional Labs works to ensure that those involved in educational improvement at the local, state, and regional levels have access…

This booklet contains information about the Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HITL), which was established by the Washington Technology Center at the University of Washington to transform virtual world concepts and research into practical, economically viable technology products. The booklet is divided into seven sections: (1) a brief…

The sympoisum was held to describe the roots and future plans of the Engineering Research Center's (ERC's) concept and program. The first section of this symposium compilation describes the national goals that the ERCs represent. The second section presents the point of view of the National Science Foundation on the ERCs--the concept behind them,…

Five sections compose this report on the federal role for the 1990s and beyond in educational research, development, and dissemination. The sections consist of: an introduction; recommendations; summaries of hearing testimonies; summaries of documents; and appendices. The direction taken in this report is the result of 2 days of subcommittee…

Presents a synthesis for the findings and recommendations of the White House Science Council on the status of the nation's universities. The report urges that federal support to universities be increased and that funds for facility improvement be established. New initiatives in providing scholarships for bright undergraduates is also advocated.…