Can modern, computer-based technology engage college students and improve their academic achievement in college? Although numerous examples detail technology's classroom uses, few studies empirically examine whether technologically oriented pedagogical changes factually lead to positive outcomes among college students. In this pilot study, we used…

Purpose: This paper seeks to describe the design, implementation, and lessons learned from an obesity prevention pilot program delivered in a low resource school in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: A planned program evaluation was conducted to: document explicitly the process of designing and implementing the program; and assess the…

Collaboration with religious institutions is recommended as a frontier for prevention science. Little is known about the effectiveness of programs currently disseminated by churches. This pilot program investigated potential advantages and disadvantages of university collaborations in faith settings, by implementing the Staying Connected with Your…

Six years after the No Child Left Behind Act became law, many states still haven't completed one of its most important tasks: establishing a testing system that meets the law's requirement that they track all students' progress toward proficiency in reading and math. Although the progress has been slow, U.S. Department of Education officials and…

This study details the development and results of a campus-based writing assessment plan that was mandated by a state-wide university system in order to explore the ''value-added'' from a writing program curriculum to undergraduate students' competence with written expression. Four writing samples (two timed essays and two conventional essays)…

Most states have adopted high school economics standards, but implementation efforts face two hurdles: evidence indicates that five or six college-level economics courses are needed for high school economics teachers and that standalone high school economics classes are more effective than strategies that infuse economics into history or civics…

Children of color are overrepresented in child welfare in Iowa at a rate double their percentage of the population. In 2005 the Iowa Department of Human Services implemented two pilot demonstration projects to address overrepresentation of Native American and African American children in the child welfare system. The projects, called the Minority…

Background: Adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities need dietary monitoring but are not likely to be able to provide accurate dietary intake data via traditional methods. Pilot study efforts to meet their support needs with a novel and practical approach to dietary intake data collection are described in this brief report. Materials…

Professional teaching associations in Australia and abroad have been developing teacher and/or teaching standards and associated professional learning and assessment models in the key discipline areas since the 1990s. In Australia, a specific intent of this approach is to capture and recognise the depth and range of accomplished educators'…

Entrepreneurship on smaller (often island) jurisdictions tends to suffer from the same import-orientation or "cargo cult" that affects many other issues: entrepreneurs are rarely locally bred but are most often "imported", recruited after long stints in other, larger countries, or else must be suffered to spend regular time…

To create unique and appropriate learning opportunities and environments and to nurture the development of creative thinking abilities among learners are some of the demands for creative thinking currently expected of teachers globally and also in South Africa. Creative thinking in academic context assumes, among other things, the ability to…

The general assumption that once the hardware is introduced in schools, ICT integration will automatically follow is not necessarily true. Teachers need to be supported and factors responsible for teachers' failure to integrate ICT into the classrooms identified and rectified. The paper proposes an online model based on the Improvement Quality…

This paper is a reflection on practice. It begins by briefly describing an evaluation of an externally-funded education programme in Kosovo (a new country in south-east Europe). The programme was managed by Save the Children in Kosovo and aimed to develop and promote models of inclusive education through three strands of activity. The first of…

Wireless communications are ubiquitous. Students and teachers use iPhones[R], BlackBerrys[R], and other smart phones at home and at work. More than 275 million Americans had cell phones in June of 2009 and expanded access to broadband is predicted this year. Despite the plethora of users, most students and teachers do not understand "how they…

As part of a national e-learning benchmarking initiative of the UK Higher Education Academy, the University of Manchester is carrying out a pilot study of a method to benchmark e-learning in an institution. The pilot was designed to evaluate the operational viability of a method based on the e-Learning Maturity Model developed at the University of…