This article addresses how we can develop learning environments that establish a need for scientific practices and provide a context for developing content knowledge through practice. It argues that Pickering's (1995) notion of "The Mangle of Practice" informs these efforts by focusing our attention on how resistance, or push-back from…

This case study situates the collaborative design of learning objects (interactive online learning material) using the LOC (Learning Object Creator) software in the context of language activities external to the core learning activities of language students at a UK university. It describes the creative and pedagogical processes leading to the…

As scholarship has become increasingly narrow and disconnected from public life, Kettering research has documented an intense sense of malaise in higher education, what Harry Boyte has called a loss of civic agency. Surprisingly, however, faculty at a few campuses have begun to self-organize to integrate civic work into their teaching and…

Although their structures and funding sources differ, Research I institutions and small liberal arts colleges share the same goal of helping students master the knowledge and skills that will enable them to become informed citizens who are able to contribute effectively a democratic society. But how can this transformation be achieved, and what…

When faculty study samples of student work, assignment prompts typically become part of the review. Two experienced learning community faculty from Skagit Valley College examined their students' work with three questions in mind: whether the work was grounded in disciplinary insights; whether the work leveraged disciplinary knowledge to develop…

A tension exists between educational practitioners and researchers, which is often attributed to their dichotomous and oftentimes polarizing professional ideologies or Discourse communities. When determining what works in education, researchers tend to emphasize evidencebased practices (EBPs) supported by research that is rigorous and internally…

Academics are increasingly being urged to blog in order to expand their audiences, create networks and to learn to write in more reader friendly style. This paper holds this advocacy up to empirical scrutiny. A content analysis of 100 academic blogs suggests that academics most commonly write about academic work conditions and policy contexts,…

This article reflects on the purposes and functions of examination criteria for Masters' research degrees with creative practice components. With a particular focus on dance projects that incorporate both a performed and a written expression of the research, we consider how a rubric for creative practice research degrees might address formative…

This paper, following Somekh and Zeichner, offers a "remodelling [of] action research theories and practices in local contexts". It is an attempt, with Kemmis, to address the question "what is to be done?" and to consider the "place of action research" in the light of what Schön has referred to as "the crisis of…

Many educational models emphasize that best instructional practices are effective when working collaboratively with stakeholders. Professional learning communities focus on learning, collaborative endeavors, and shared accountability. The purpose of this article is to introduce an effectual framework for developing school counselor instructional…

Web 2.0-based workplace learning is defined in this article as informal learning that takes place in the workplace through connections and collaborations mediated by Web 2.0 technology. Web 2.0-based workplace learning has the potential to enhance organisational learning and development. However, little systematic research has been published that…

Although the Faculty Learning Community is not a new structure or initiative in the higher education arena, adapting this model for faculty development focused on grant proposal writing is relatively new. This article describes how the concept developed by Milt Cox of Miami University has been successfully modified and implemented twice on the…

This case study focuses on 11 individual teachers who participate in three distinct professional learning communities (PLCs) within one school. A PLC is "a group of people who take an active, reflective, collaborative, learning-orientated, and growth promoting approach toward the mysteries, problems, and perplexities of teaching and…

Kristen Weatherby is a senior policy analyst at OECD in the education directorate. She runs the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and is author or co-author of publications and blog posts on TALIS and teachers. She started her career as a classroom teacher in the United States before working in education in the private sector in…

Instructional simulation had major difficulties in the past for offering limited possibilities in practice and learning. This article proposes a link between instructional simulation and Web 2.0 technologies. More exactly, I present the design of the Virtual Olympic Games Framework (VOGF), as a significant demonstration of how interactivity in…