Whether you are an experienced curriculum designer or new to Understanding by Design[R] (UbD), you will benefit from the latest design tools and the updated UbD unit Template 2.0. UbD authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe share their insights and the practical tips that have helped thousands of educators design curriculum based on the UbD…

It has become typical for children to attend some type of early childhood education (ECE) before entering kindergarten. A recent reanalysis of Perry Preschool and two other prominent experimental ECE studies (Abecedarian and the Early Training Project) by Anderson (2008) comes to a provocative conclusion, finding that female participants gained…

Grades should reflect and help motivate learning. This book illustrates ways teachers can shift their practices to conduct accurate, constructive assessments that not only maintain the integrity of essential education objectives, but also motivate students and enhance learning. Through detailed strategies, educators will learn how to grade…

Because of the work of the Program on the Status and Education of Women, its friends, and its partners, there is more justice in education today and more justice through education. In this article, the author suggests that the Program on the Status and Education of Women, its friends, and its partners have been of use in four ways: (1) through…

In this article, the author discusses the meaning and importance of high grades and high achievement in terms of giftedness. She offers some reasons to tell children about the importance of school achievement. She suggests that good grades are no guarantee of eventual adult success, whether that is defined as a high income or a rewarding,…

Background: Both achievement goals and study processing strategies theories have been shown to contribute to the prediction of students' academic performance. Existing research studies (Fenollar, Roman, & Cuestas, 2007; Liem, Lau, & Nie, 2008; Simons, Dewitte, & Lens, 2004) amalgamating these two theoretical orientations in different causal models…

While recognizing the value of "vision," it could be argued that vision alone--at least in schools--is not enough to rally the financial and emotional support required to translate an idea into reality. A compelling vision needs to reflect substantive, research-based knowledge if it is to spark the kind of strategic thinking and insight…

Knowledge about music advocacy strategies has long been promoted as important for music educators, not only for the benefit of their individual programs but also for the specific benefit of music students and the general public. This article suggests an approach to advocacy grounded in the teacher's professional beliefs, phrased in terms…

Three statistics motivate most of the empirical research on the educational outcomes of community college transfer students. First, the percentage of first-time college students seeking a bachelor's degree has steadily increased from 50 to 63% over the last 30 years. Second, during the same period, the number of students starting at a community…

This study sought to determine how identification and engagement with the hip hop culture influenced the educational experiences of undergraduate students at a Midwestern, predominately White university by interviewing 11 students who self-identified as being immersed in the hip hop culture. Through a qualitative, phenomenological investigation,…

For SCC Soft Computer, a clinical information management systems provider, learning and development long has played an essential role in maintaining a high-growth global company. In 2010, the organization proved through ramped-up offerings, improved training success rates, and continual programming evolution that training is still a top priority.…

Objective: The authors assess the perspectives of psychiatry residents about the goals of receiving education in professionalism and ethics, how topics should be taught, and on what ethical principles the curriculum should be based. Method: A written survey was sent to psychiatry residents (N = 249) at seven U.S. residency programs in Spring 2005.…

This study aims to explore the meaning of the concept of creativity from the perspective of student teachers pursuing a one year teacher training course following their first degree. Seventeen student teachers following a specialist music teaching route in secondary education were selected as the sample for this study to offer their understanding…

This study presents a primary trait analysis of a learner-centered, discrete mathematics course based on student-to-student instruction. The authors developed a scoring rubric for the primary traits: conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, application of understanding, and mathematical communication skills. Eleven students took an exam…

Evaluation is an inescapable feature of academic life with regular grading and performance appraisals at school and at university. Although previous research has indicated that evaluation and grading in particular are likely to have a substantial impact on motivational processes, little attention has been paid to the relationship between grading…