In light of the enormous changes unfolding in the higher education landscape, we don't have to look too far to recognize evidence of the transformation and redefinition of the construct of both teaching and learning in the information age. With a growing focus on teaching and learning at all levels of post-secondary institutions, innovation is…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss how the province over time has addressed problems that are generic to many jurisdictions in assuring quality -- level of aggregation, pooling, definition of new and continuing programs, scope of jurisdiction, role of governors, performance indicators, relationship to accreditation, programs versus…

In the 2014 report, "Closing the Achievement Gap Through Modification of Neurocognitive and Neuroendocrine Function: Results from a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of an Innovative Approach to the Education of Children in Kindergarten," researchers examined the impacts of "Tools of the Mind" on cognitive and academic…

The rules, systems and processes that work for traditional, term based, brick and mortar programs do not always work to advance the innovation that currently exists within higher education, and the recommendations in this paper are the first step to help ensure barriers are eliminated that stifle this innovation. Innovative learning models provide…

During the 2013-14 school year, I became involved in the National Center for Scaling Up Effective Schools (NCSU) project, a partnership of the Broward County Public School District with Vanderbilt University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Florida State University, and Education Development Center. The purpose of NCSU is to help…

In this paper, I discuss SoTL as a methodology for the professional development of academics. I propose that as an agentic form of inquiry that focuses on processes, boundary-crossing, and making public its findings, SoTL is a sophisticated methodology that brings the activities of teaching and research in close alignment, and contributes to…

The paper presents an alternative practice, a school based curriculum development, less standardised and bureaucratic than the typical, implemented in Second Chance Schools (SCS), focusing on the different role of educators in terms of curriculum development. In this context, it will be presenting the first results of a research ongoing on the…

The term "schoolwide pedagogy" was once rarely heard and yet has now become a part of most discussions around school improvement. But what does it really mean and why is the presence of a schoolwide pedagogical framework important? Some would say that in their school the adoption of an authoritative approach such as Habits of Mind,…

It's easy to make excuses for not integrating technology into classes, and some of these excuses do have merit. If teachers plan on making the effort to overcome these difficulties, they must believe strongly in the strategies they select and stick to them long enough to at least test their effectiveness. Technology use is sometimes referred…

This article presents the analysis of the current changes in the higher educational system of the Russian Federation. The stated issues are accompanied with the advice and possible solutions. Authors offer their own approaches and techniques for the academic staff of higher educational institutions in order to adapt to the new system.

MC Squared STEM High School is part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. It has a project-based curriculum that focuses on the core stem skills: science, technology, engineering, and math. As the school celebrated its first graduating class in 2012, administrators felt it was the right time to look back and evaluate the school's…

At present, there is growing scientific evidence of music's powerful, positive influence on the neurological, cognitive, and social-emotional development of all children. At the same time, a flurry of new studies now show that extensive, deliberate, and deep practice supported by an ability growth mindset--and not a fixed degree of talent--is the…

The task of making teacher education more suited to the prevailing conditions in Russian society requires both a rethinking of the goals and curriculums of programs, and better coordination of activities across the spectrum of educational institutions.

The French philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650) wrote that "to read good books is like holding a conversation with the most eminent minds of past centuries and, moreover, a studied conversation in which these authors reveal to us only the best of their thoughts" (translation of the "Discourse on Method" by F. E. Sutcliffe…

There is an ongoing debate about the efficacy of professional development with the field of gifted education. While some studies have found a positive relationship between professional development and teachers' knowledge and attitudes toward gifted students, others found that such training had no effect on teachers' attitudes toward the gifted or…