This chapter will examine characteristics of first-year experience programs in community colleges, with specific attention to the extant research about their effectiveness, the ways in which research and program delivery can be integrated, and the unique challenges of delivering FYE programs and conducting research about them in community colleges.

In 2006, our School of Management began the serious path of assessing both the "hard skills" (such as accounting, finance, and strategy) and the "soft skills" (such as leadership, team work, and ethics) of our MBA Program. The data generated from examining the "soft skills" that we want students to learn within our…

Paul Stapleton's assessment of the current state of language teaching research (LTR) raises important issues. However, his proposal that social science research approaches in ELT have failed, and that that they should be replaced by approaches from the biological sciences, is unlikely to connect with the knowledge-building needs of ELT…

In 2001, National Louis University and the Academy for Urban School Leadership partnered to create the country's first Urban Teacher Residency (UTR) program. Ten years later, with the assistance of Teacher Quality Partnership funding, the program quadrupled in size. As the UTR expanded, an increasing theory-practice gap became apparent, reflecting…

The core of the Senate Bill 2042 (1998) was designed to provide the guidelines needed to prepare teachers who can meet the needs of a diverse K-12 student population in California. Following the guidelines marked by this bill, faculty working in Teacher Credential Programs across California are designing activities to prepare candidates with a…

This paper describes a collaboration between the authors, a university course instructor for an introductory Learning Sciences course in a university-based teacher education program, and a site coordinator for its paired practicum experience. Drawing on Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, the collaborators found that their weekly conversations…

A commitment to maximizing learning outcomes for all students is an axiom of most educational systems around the world. However this goal is sometimes compromised by factors that can be complex and difficult to address. Student behavior problems are one of the major issues challenging educators in many countries including Thailand. Recently, laws…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate variables that impede the utilization of research findings in, or the transfer of learning from professional development workshops into, classroom best practices. Participants comprised 202 Georgia Master Teachers who attended Leadership Institutes. Participants were taught strategies for…

As a continuum of professional learning for building and district leaders transitioning from leadership preparation programs into practice, the state of Kansas enacted mentoring and induction requirements as part of their role in supporting development of leadership skills important to on-the-job application of essential knowledge. One approved…

Mentoring is a practice widely utilised to support new teachers. However, in locally formed systems, the practice of mentoring is conditioned by traditions and arrangements specific to the site. To understand "good" mentoring, these local arrangements cannot be ignored. In this article, the theory of practice architectures is employed to…

This article presents a case-based exploration of the complex interactions between learning, research, and practice in the field of business and professional communication. It focuses on a student research project in the area of corporate social responsibility in the biopharmaceutical industry. Adopting an autoethnographic approach, we aim to…

Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) approaches to intervention aim for transformative agency, that is, collective actions that expand and bring about new possibilities for activity. In this article, we draw on CHAT as a resource for organizing design research that promotes teachers' agency in designing new science curriculum materials. We…

University graduates are entering a workforce where global competencies are important; yet, a vast majority graduate with limited international educational experience. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to describe themes of international educational experiences currently being offered to students of agricultural leadership,…

One response to the disconnect between principle-based university methods courses and practice-oriented elementary school classrooms has been to create co-learning spaces by bringing prospective teachers (PSTs), practicing mentor teachers (MTs), and teacher educators together to explore key ideas related to teaching and learning. The purpose of…

Student-centered learning (SCL) identifies students as the owners of their learning. While SCL is increasingly discussed in K-12 and higher education, researchers and practitioners lack current and comprehensive framework to design, develop, and implement SCL. We examine the implications of theory and research-based evidence to inform those who…