This article describes a school improvement initiative involving five primary schools (ages 5-11 years) working in partnership with each other with support from a university department of education. It provides evidence of the benefits to be gained from teachers sharing and developing collective knowledge through participation in school-based…

This article describes a collaborative university-school district project for improving teaching and learning by using state-of-the-art educational technologies. The work resulted in the simultaneous improvement of P-12 education and teacher education. The article illustrates some of the important outcomes of a project known as Technology 2000, a…

A survey of Georgia O'Keeffe Middle School math classes five years ago would have revealed ability-grouped classes, with lower level classes populated by poor, minority students; an eclectic curriculum based upon teacher-selected content and pedagogy; and a significant percentage of students scoring less than proficient on state standardized…

In this article, the author discusses small learning communities (SLCs), a term that is used to refer to the practice of organizing secondary schools into smaller units. Features of SLCs include small structure, curricular specialization and choice, a focus on the learner and learning, and, in particular, the active and collaborative nature of…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of using ALEKS (Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces [3]), an online interactive learning system, in teaching a college algebra course at a university. This system was used to replace traditional assignments. The study was conducted in eight college algebra courses in the Fall 2003…

Video streaming has the potential to offer tutors a more flexible and accessible means of incorporating moving images into learning resources for their students than conventional video. Consideration is given to this assertion by drawing upon the experiences of staff and evidence from students at the University of Southampton in the use of a…

This article seeks to explore how teachers develop assessment for learning practices in secondary school science, mathematics and English classrooms. Drawing on interviews, teacher reflective writing, lesson observations and field notes of teacher meetings, it highlights the importance of opportunities for professional dialogue between teachers…

Since 1994, the University of South Carolina at Columbia and the Wirtschaftsuniversitat Wien (Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration) have offered a joint master's degree in international business. Communication instruction was initially a stable component of the program, with a week-long course at the beginning and a…

To respond to an increasingly diverse student population, educators need to evaluate how well teacher education programs prepare graduates in culturally responsive teaching (CRT). In this study, we used a performance-based assessment to determine whether (a) different levels of preservice preparation in CRT and (b) preparation in special versus…

An innovative interdisciplinary project at California State University, Long Beach, was designed to increase the attractiveness of the geosciences (physical geography, geology, and archaeology) to underrepresented groups. The goal was to raise awareness of the geosciences by providing summer research opportunities for underrepresented high school…

A study was undertaken to investigate the implementation of an ethnomathematical unit in a mathematics classroom in the Maldives. The research was conducted during the first four months of 2002 at two primary schools and involved teaching grade 5 students an ethnomathematical unit of work on measurement. The unit was designed in conjunction with…

Although sampling has been mentioned as part of the chance and data component of the mathematics curriculum since about 1990, little research attention has been aimed specifically at school students' understanding of this descriptive area. This study considers the initial understanding of bias in sampling by 639 students in grades 3, 5, 7, and 9.…

Policymakers have long been concerned about the disparities in college attendance between more and less advantaged groups of students. Upward Bound is one of the largest and longest running federal programs designed to help economically disadvantaged students prepare for, enter and succeed in college. Since December 1991, Mathematica Policy…

This document consists of the three 2001 issues of The Bernard van Leer Foundation's "Early Childhood Matters," a periodical addressed to practitioners in the field of early childhood education and including information on projects funded by the foundation. Articles in the February 2001 edition focus on fathers and include: (1)…

This implementation guide is intended to support the Grade 4 to Grade 6 portion of the Spanish Language and Culture Nine-year Program (the program of studies). It was developed primarily for teachers, yet it includes information that may be useful for administrators and other stakeholders in their efforts to plan for and implement the new Spanish…