To study the factors that cause some university departments to produce excellent research and provide excellent research training, this book considered the factors underlying research efforts in four innovative and three stagnant Swedish university departments in the social sciences. Data were gathered through interviews with 152 doctoral…

This book brings together research on student writing carried out by practitioners in a number of international university contexts. Each of the chapters focuses on some aspect of "new contexts" for student writing, either by examining the writing and assessment practices of nontraditional university courses or by exploring attempts to introduce…

In this paper, a college English professor shares his teaching experiences in a Hybrid Electronic Course (HEC), which combined traditional classroom meetings with e-mail-based workshops. The paper includes a general description of the course, the instructor's daily journals throughout the course, and his reflections following the course. Many of…

In November 2002, the Institute for the Advancement of Emerging Technologies in Education at AEL gathered education practitioners to help shepherd new assessments from the research laboratory to the classroom. Approximately 60 teachers and administrators attended the conference. The discussion focused on the possibility of aggregating formative…

This study explored whether university students' perceptions of the social environment are influenced by professors' classroom teaching innovations. Data from 559 university students in 13 innovative disciplines within 11 schools at the University of Seville, Spain, were used. First, factor analytic procedures with varimax rotation were used to…

This publication was created to broaden teachers', parents', administrators', and community leaders' visions of a school's potential. Teachers, librarians, state school board members, and other school professionals share their ideas and examples of successful implementations of various ideas beyond the confines of the traditional school. It…

This report illustrates how the Third UNESCO-ACEID (Asian Centre of Educational Innovation for Development) International Conference provided ideas and case studies on key aspects of educational innovation for sustainable development. At the conference there were over 20 paper presentations from invited regional and international experts, almost…

Fifty sessions with nearly 70 presenters or discussion leaders examined all aspects of comprehensive systems for accountability and educational improvement at the 1998 national conference of the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). Topics ranged from national assessment to innovative uses of technology, from…

This paper synthesizes research on how motivation influenced teachers at two school-based performance award (SBPA) programs in Kentucky and in North Carolina. The research was conducted between 1995 and 1998 by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education. SBPA programs provide teachers and other school staff with pay bonuses for the…

This publication describes alternative teaching and learning strategies that challenge all students to reach high standards. Five alternative options are emphasized: (1) rigorous use of diagnostic systems to identify problem areas and student strengths; (2) staffing flexibility to facilitate better student-instructor relationships; (3)…

This report compares student perceptions of the block schedule with those of the traditional seven periods in high school. It describes a public school that voted to implement a modified three-block schedule containing two traditional periods. The participants in the study were 200 high-school students, all of whom were switched from a traditional…

This document outlines the Western Assessment Collaborative's (WAC) approach to evaluation and the design for examining the progress and impact of Kyosei (spirit of cooperation), a multiyear partnership with 10 schools and 4 districts that engages participants in a set of integrated, research-based professional development strategies. The text…

This publication discusses definitions of alternative education, outlines common program features, and lists challenges to providing quality services. The paper focuses on alternatives for students who are at risk for school failure, dropout, or delinquency. Since few studies on the effectiveness of alternative programs have been conducted and…

The Woodrow Wilson Foundation does not like to write reports. Typically, Woodrow Wilson translates ideas into academic practices. This said, having engaged 14 (and ultimately 20) graduate schools to work on the Responsive Ph.D.--as the authors called their initiative--it is time to report on what they have accomplished, and on what they have…

The difficulty of translating research into practice in education is one of the most important problems in education reform. The problem is not so much that educators are resistant to change; on the contrary, certain kinds of innovation can be widely adopted, and educators are sure to cite research to support whatever innovation they advocate. Yet…