Discusses staff development for technology use whose goal is to help teachers use technology as a dynamic part of the curriculum. Highlights include creating a team to design a vision of technology integration; understanding adult learners; assessing teachers' needs; designing individual learning plans (ILPs); and evaluating staff development…

The charter public school movement has experienced significant growth, attracted veteran community activists and committed educators, acquired the bipartisan support of Congress, contributed to increases in student achievement, and influenced a variety of educational improvement efforts. Internal and external challenges facing charter schools are…

Discusses a survey of more than 2,000 students from remedial and college-level reading and English classes that measured three key areas: self-concept, value, and reading strategies. Finds that: (1) developmental students were lacking in reading self-concept and valued reading less; (2) first-time students valued reading less than experienced…

Presents the second part of a response to the finding that there is sufficient overlap between the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IBMYP) to allow the two programs to coexist. Argues that the two programs are incompatible and the two together place undue…

Addresses the notion of defining and measuring student achievement in ways that go hand in hand with educational reform efforts. Focuses on performance-based assessment, portfolios, and rubrics. (DDR)

Speculates about reasons for the lack of use of concept mapping as an instructional strategy. Concludes that the two main barriers to its extensive adoption are the epistemological beliefs of classroom teachers and the underlying philosophy of the curriculum. (Contains 45 references.) (DDR)

Teacher cohorts in England and China received special training in techniques for teaching higher-level critical and creative cognitive strategies to deaf learners. Evaluation after 6 months of classroom implementation found students improved in reasoning and critical (but not creative) thinking and teachers developed cognitive terminology and…

Offers teachers practical advice on enhancing student learning through the use of online discussion. (PKP)

The contribution of qualitative research consists in "description, verification (of existing theories, hypotheses, generalizations, or practices), evaluation or prescription, as well as understanding" (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992, p. 16). This qualitative study examined the dynamics and complexities, which occur in the natural setting of a seventh…

This paper reports on a 3-year study of a half-day urban magnet high school founded upon a desire to provide rigorous science, math, and technology experiences to students who would not otherwise have access to such educational opportunities. Using the theoretical lens of how a model of an educated person gets culturally produced within the school…

Mathematics educators have found sociocultural models of teaching and learning to be powerful in their ability to describe and support the pursuit of instruction based on recent standards documents (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 1989, 2000). These models of instruction, however, have been criticized for their lack of…

This chapter serves as a review of the nature of transitions confronting adult learners and points to applications and strategies for anticipating coming changes.

Mastery motivation is an internal drive to master a skill, behavior, outcome, or goal. It has been called persistence, "stick-to-it-iveness" (McCall, 1995), goal-directedness, determination, and tenacity. Mastery motivation is expected to foster development as the child is motivated to learn something new. Parents and other caregivers play an…

Contemporary theories of learning postulate one or at most a small number of different learning mechanisms. However, people are capable of mastering a given task through qualitatively different learning paths such as learning by instruction and learning by doing. We hypothesize that the knowledge acquired through such alternative paths differs…

Describes the Association for Teacher Education in Europe's exploration of scenarios to enhance preservice teachers' learning. The action research project had students discuss and devise a scenario for 2020 and develop a curriculum to prepare students for life in the future. Surveys indicated that students approved of this kind of learning and…