This report examines the efficacy of the Boston Pilot Schools, an innovative model of urban schools created to promote innovation and increased choice options within the Boston school district. The report uses school and district level data to examine student demographics, achievement, and engagement at the 11 Pilot Schools that were in operation…

This document presents the results of "Internationalizing the Curriculum," a project designed to enhance the global knowledge and experiences of students and faculty at Jefferson College (Missouri). Specifically, this project encouraged the infusion of international dimensions into selected courses from several disciplines. The…

The "deep structure of schooling" is composed of values and assumptions about education widely shared throughout our society. These values and assumptions are shaped by conventional wisdom, tradition, vested interests, and institutional inertia. Americans expect similarities in classrooms, policies, programs, pedagogy, resource allocation,…

In 1994 and again in 1997, AACC selected groups of institutions, known as Horizons colleges, to work together in collaborative mentoring relationships to build campus-based service-learning programs. While the number of service learning programs has grown significantly, not all of those programs are sustained by colleges for the long term. This…

Over the past 6 years, 28 states have authorized the creation of charter schools as an alternative form of public education. This policy brief examines the goals and implementation issues specifically related to teaching and learning. It presents findings of a study that explored how learning communities were created and sustained in 17 charter…

Although models of successful school innovations exist, some reformers are giving up on the public schools. To address this problem, some suggestions for educators who want usable concepts to reform education are presented. The book is intended for the busy professionals devoted to education-teachers, teachers, administrators, curriculum…

This document consists of the two issues of the "AMATYC Review" published during volume year 1997-1998. Designed as an avenue of communication for mathematics educators concerned with the views, ideas, and experiences of two-year college students and teachers, this journal contains articles on mathematics exposition and education, and regularly…

The goals of the Trans European Mobility Program for University Students (TEMPUS) project include developing curriculum and implementing language and culture training programs with a focus on German and Japanese, and training engineers who have a global perspective. This document contains an executive summary in addition to the full length report…

Unlike many proposed educational reforms in the United States, charter schools enjoy support from policymakers across the political spectrum, making such schools a major focus of public school reform among educators and legislators. The origin of charter schools and how these schools are affecting education is the subject of this background paper.…

In 1989, the Nevada Legislature enacted the Class-Size Reduction (CSR) Act. The measure was designed to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in the public schools, particularly in the earliest grades. The program was scheduled to proceed in several phases. The first step reduced the student-teacher ratio in selected kindergartens and first grade classes…

School officials have tried various scheduling strategies to strengthen curriculums. One such strategy, block scheduling, affected the operation of Portsmouth High School, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This status report examines the use of block scheduling over a 2.5 year period and focuses on how this change influenced people, curriculum, test…

Based on discussions by community college leaders at the Consortium for Community College Development's 1997 Think Tank, this monograph presents a strategy for initiating and institutionalizing change on community college campuses. The first part discusses traditional approaches to change, including such operational changes as mission elaboration…

The complexity of educational leadership belies simple models and must be examined holistically and historically. Leadership has a setting, a historical framework, a wholeness of meaning, and a diversity of influences. Effective leaders must both articulate the values of society and go beyond them. Most agree leadership: (1) is situational and…

A technology-mediated solution to enhance the learning experience for students in a large lecture setting was evaluated. Online problem sets were developed to engage students in the content of a human biology course and implemented in the classes of eight faculty coordinators. The weekly problem sets contained several multiple choice problems,…

This document describes the Software Technical Writing Program at Middlesex Community College (Massachusetts). The program is a "hands-on" course designed to develop job-related skills in three major areas: technical writing, software, and professional skills. The program was originally designed in cooperation with the Massachusetts High…