Legal mandates, educational reform, and professional policy changes, have emphasized the need to promote the integration of services for students with communication impairments within the general education curriculum. However, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) continue to report the provision of primarily pull-out services with intervention…

In October 2005, the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine released a policy report that served as a call to action. The report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future" observed that "the scientific and technological building blocks…

In many cases and more and more places, college just isn't what it used to be--and that's a very good thing. The fact is, the American system of higher education is changing, and staff at Lumina Foundation believe strongly that significant change is needed. True, the current system has served the nation well for decades--and in many ways set the…

Due to federal mandates, Title I schools now are being asked to implement parent involvement programs that meaningfully involve parents in the schools to increase academic gains. This action research study was based on three different concepts from the literature: a) critical pedagogy theory from Paulo Freire, b) parent involvement from diverse…

The National Wildlife Federation and AISD engaged in a project to build outdoor learning classrooms on middle school and elementary school campuses. Teachers participated in a half-day Appreciative Inquiry Summit during the second year of the partnership. This report describes teachers' reflections and aspirations for the Schoolyard Habitats they…

We transformed our first-year curriculum in biology with a new course, Biological Inquiry, in which greater than 50% of all incoming, first-year students enroll. The course replaced a traditional, content-driven course that relied on outdated approaches to teaching and learning. We diversified pedagogical practices by adopting guided inquiry in…

The objective of this study was to analyze first-year UFRJ medical students' perceptions about the implementation of a blended learning (BL) experience in their Biochemistry I course. During the first semester of 2009, three Biochemistry professors used the Constructore course management system to develop virtual learning environments (VLEs) for…

In this study, qualitative evidence is collected--through classroom observations and teacher and student interviews--to study the effect of metacognition and the interaction between students' observable cognitive behaviour and the instructional task. This qualitative data is analysed to identify what factors support and improve students'…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of second tier UK universities in relation to the effectiveness of their knowledge management systems and involvement in open innovation. Data were acquired using a mail survey of academic staff in social science and business faculties in second tier institutions. The results indicate that…

Purpose: This study aims to explore students' perceptions of a virtual reality simulation that enable nursing students to learn how to use a medical emergency crash cart. Design/methodology/approach: The study was designed to explore how students' perceptions of ease of use and perceived usefulness from the technology acceptance model and the…

The alignment of instruction with the content of standards and assessments is the key mediating variable separating the policy of standards-based reform (SBR) from the outcome of improved student achievement. Few studies have investigated SBR's effects on instructional alignment, and most have serious methodological limitations. This research uses…

Australian legislation and educational policies may espouse, but not yet fully enact, inclusive assessments for all. In relation to the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), for example, almost 5% of students are either exempt or withdrawn. The achievement levels of these students, many of whom have disabilities, are not…

This paper presents the results of a project that aimed at restructuring the delivery of research methods training at the Information School at the University of Sheffield, UK, based on an Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) approach. The purpose of this research was to implement inquiry-based learning that would allow customization of research methods…

While the literature on professional learning communities (PLCs) has proliferated, much of it derived from and contextualised in Anglo-American settings, the concept and practice of PLCs in Asian contexts of strong hierarchies have largely been ignored. Based on literature and documentary analysis, this paper investigates the systemic…

The authors utilized interviews, competency surveys, and document review to evaluate the effectiveness of a one-year, cohort-based faculty development pilot program, grounded in diffusion of innovations theory, and aimed at increasing competencies in community engagement and community-engaged scholarship. Five innovator participants designed the…