In this paper, we investigate the question of what assessment tools are being used in practice by United States computing programs and what the faculty doing the assessment think of the tools they use. After presenting some background with regard to the design, implementation, and use of assessment, with particular attention to assessment tools,…

A novel approach to improving instruction in an introductory computing course for freshmen non-computer-science majors is to couple it with a logic course as part of a Learning Community. Research has shown that effective Learning Communities can lead to higher academic achievement, better retention rates, diminished faculty isolation, and…

This paper is concerned with the relationships between students' social identities, their experiences of schooling and educational exclusion. Drawing on data generated through an ethnographic study in a comprehensive public high school in outer-Western Sydney, the paper demonstrates the nuanced institutional and interpersonal processes through…

Online communities are meeting places for learners on the Internet designed to facilitate interaction and collaboration among people who share common interests and needs. Most participants are drawn by an opportunity to share a sense of community with like-minded strangers, regardless of were they live. School communities can be distinguished by…

In the past, the teacher's sole job is to dispense his pool of knowledge to his students. The emergence of the knowledge economy and globalisation have redefined the place and role of knowledge in society. It is no longer effective to accumulate knowledge but rather to acquire skills for processing the large amount of data made available through…

In this chapter, the authors focus on teacher development as a collective and organizational issue. They begin with a brief review of conventional approaches to teacher workforce development and management, including current critiques of these efforts, their possible consequences, and an overview of the recent calls for more comprehensive,…

In this paper, the authors first give a brief account of their work with teachers to develop formative assessment practices, including a brief outline of the quantitative results and the impact of formative assessment project. They give a full account of the changes in classroom practice that the project schools developed, together with some…

The paper describes a study revealing a number of factors that influence how Bachelor of Education students perceive assessment. These factors include personal histories, student teacher relationships, opportunities for personalisation and deep learning, notions of relevance, and anxiety issues. "Personal histories", as a term used to…

Research about school and community cooperation to deliver technological education programs at both secondary school and teacher education levels in Ontario, Canada, has documented that such collaborative classroom practice is not only possible in technological education, but is highly desirable because many modern theories of learning are seen in…

Midwest Central University has a population of 3,500 students, predominantly working class and 95 percent White. The racial composition of the university suggests, and rightly so, that the students have minimal contact with Asians, Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, Indians, Middle-Easterners, and people of mixed race, even though there is a predominantly…

Research into the uses of digital literacy in the classroom is still in its infancy. Despite the proliferation of theoretical literature on "new literacies", "multiliteracies", and "technoliteracies" and their impact on education there are fewer studies based on a systematic analysis of the new literacy practices that…

This report focuses on the processes of change in beliefs and practices experienced by practicing elementary school teachers during a sixteen-session course using two of the modules from the "Developing Mathematical Ideas" (DMI) materials. We identify a collection of six metaphors for knowing, learning, and teaching mathematics to succinctly…

This study explored the impact of learning a new instructional practice in a US school district that places great value in a statewide student assessment. Grounded Theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory, 2nd Edition, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA)…

Very little research has been done in South Africa on HIV/AIDS and education. This article is a small attempt to plug the gap. The purpose of the research is to investigate the legal and policy provisions and implications regarding HIV/AIDS for rural and township schools in the Mpumalanga district of South Africa. It seeks to answer three…

This qualitative case study examines the educational struggles of Texas based Chicana/o high school migrant students and the noteworthy array of actions, responses, and relationship dynamics that result from the work of advocate educators. As migrant students move across our nation and enroll in high schools, they demand unique approaches that are…