After providing technical assistance to the federal Smaller Learning Community Program grantees, the authors developed five lessons for successful programs: 1) A strong vision of improved instruction needs to drive high school reorganization; 2) A strong vision of improved instruction focuses on strengthening the instructional core; 3)…

This article comments on some trends in the evolution of science teaching at a distance using the Open University UK (OU UK) experience as a benchmark. Even from the first years of the university there was an understanding of the potential role for media in developing methods for teaching science at a distance, in particular the potential for…

Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) is an academic mentoring program, where high achieving senior students assist small groups of first years in study sessions throughout semester. One of the challenges PASS Leaders face at Monash in conducting their classes is the limited time they have with their students. The current paper explores, through…

Information and Language for Effective Communication (ILEC) is a language teaching approach emphasizing learners' extensive exposure in different language communicative sources. In ILEC, the language learners will first receive instructions of ILEC principles and application. Afterwards, they will receive autonomous, direct, purposeful, and…

The present study discusses the concepts of "education" and "training," while also highlighting the paradigm wars of the positivistic and naturalistic views, beginning with the age of ancient philosophies and continuing to the latest era of postmodernism. Additionally, language education is examined considering the linguistic…

This paper reports on the introduction of a curricular innovation in a required capstone course: namely the Business Policy and Strategy course in the School of Business at Adelphi University. The curriculum capstone courses have tended to primarily include business related case studies and business simulation exercises. Consequently, curriculum…

Technological and pedagogical advances in distance education have accentuated the necessity for higher education to keep pace regarding institutional infrastructures. Each infrastructure--driven by a common mission to provide quality learning--interprets quality according to standards established by various governmental and accrediting entities.…

Using clickers to gauge student understanding in large classrooms is well documented. Less well known is the effectiveness of using clickers with youth for test taking in large-scale Extension programs. This article describes the benefits and challenges of collecting evaluation data using clickers with a third-grade population participating in a…

Project-based learning has emerged as one of today's most effective instructional practices. In PBL, students confront real-world issues and problems, collaborate to create solutions, and present their results. This exciting new book describes how PBL fosters 21st century skills and innovative thinking. The author provides instructional…

The top priority for the U.S. Department of Education's new Race to the Top-District (RTT-D) competition is to create personalized-learning environments to bolster student achievement: "Absolute Priority 1: Personalized Learning Environments. To meet this priority, an applicant must coherently and comprehensively address how it will build on…

This paper was a keynote address at the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) conference held in Canberra in April 2012. The author notes that industry is arguably the key stakeholder in the Australian vocational education and training (VET) sector, but is not a single actor nor a disinterested consumer of…

A growing number of studies have reported the potential use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and other types of technology for ESL and EFL students. So far, most studies on CALL have focused on CALL-classroom comparisons (Chenoweth & Murday, 2003; Chenoweth, Ushida, & Murday, 2007; Fitze, 2006; Neri, Mich, Gerosa, &…

As a result of turbulent conditions, institutions are changing the way they operate. Research that illustrates the growing importance of activities on the edges of institutions is an important part of portraying entrepreneurship accurately; the growth of areas like intellectual property, applied research, fundraising, and increased university…

In this paper, the authors examine the rates at which blended learning (b-learning) has been adopted at universities in the region of Andalusia (Spain), as well as the educational model applied to its usage. The authors explore the influence of teachers' perceptions of their competence in the use they make of digital material and to measure…

Technology nowadays enables the remote access to laboratory equipment and instruments via Internet. This is especially useful in engineering education, where students can conduct laboratory experiment remotely. Such remote laboratory access can enable students to use expensive laboratory equipment, which is not usually available to students. In…