A participatory learning approach, combined with both a traditional and a competitive assessment, was used to motivate students and promote a deep approach to learning biochemistry. Students were challenged to research, author, and explain their own multiple-choice questions (MCQs). They were also required to answer, evaluate, and discuss MCQs…

Although the idea of using a workshop to educate potential users about a set of materials or techniques is not new, the workshops described here go beyond simple dissemination and create ongoing communities of practice that support widespread and sustained improvement in the biochemistry classroom. The degree to which pedagogical innovations…

The English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA) is used in the state of Michigan in the United States to fulfill government-mandated No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements. The test is used to promote and monitor achievement in English language learning in schools that receive federal NCLB funding. The goal of the project discussed here was…

Using multiple years of data collected from about 100 child care centers in Palm Beach County, Florida, the authors studied whether the Quality Improvement System (QIS) made a significant impact on quality of child care centers. Based on a pre- and postresearch design spanning a period of 13 months, QIS appeared to be effective in improving…

The focus article "Road Maps for Learning: A Guide to the Navigation of Learning Progressions" by Black, Wilson, and Yao (this issue) is a veritable tour-de-force, covering a great deal of education ground while spanning the heights from models of the interplay among curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment to interpretations of student…

A focus group of Somali immigrants was conducted as part of a larger study of underserved communities in Minnesota. The goal was to capture Somali women's personal experiences and views on nutrition. This understanding assists Health and Nutrition educators in assessing the quality and effectiveness of current programming efforts and making…

Productive strategies for evaluating outcomes in teacher licensure programs are becoming increasingly important in the education field. Research data from 492 teacher licensure program completers from 2006-2009 in the School of Education, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado (USA) was compiled after accreditation by the Colorado…

Over the past decade, the number of non-native English speaking students in higher education has increased dramatically. Educators at all levels have experienced challenges in meeting the academic needs of these students and continue to seek strategies for addressing these challenges. This paper describes some of this research related to K-12 and…

One of the major developments in financing undergraduate education in the United States in the past 20 years has been the introduction of broad-based merit-aid programs by state governments. The typical program waives tuition and fees at public colleges and universities for state residents who have attained a respectable grade-point average…

The anecdotal benefits of implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) at postsecondary institutions are well documented. The literature suggests that UDL offers students with disabilities enhanced opportunities for engagement, expression, and academic performance. Responding to the call by educators for empirical evidence of UDL's beneficial…

Effective performance-based instruction is making a sustained and noticeable impact on township schools in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. We document the performance improvement effort made over the past 7 years by Partnerships for Educational Excellence and Research International (P.E.E.R), a team of educators, instructional system designers,…

The Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics, sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, is the first data-based study about mathematics teacher education with large-scale samples; this article is based on its data but develops a stand-alone conceptual framework to investigate the…

Distance teacher education programs employing videoconferencing technology and other online teaching tools are increasingly being used to prepare teachers of students with disabilities in rural and remote communities. This evaluation study compared the effectiveness of a distance and an on-campus teacher education program for teachers of students…

This article describes Open University Malaysia's efforts at enhancing the blended learning approach for undergraduate distance learners with the successful implementation of the Mobile Learning via SMS initiative. The pilot project was implemented in the May 2009 semester, and this coming January 2011 semester will be in its sixth consecutive…

This experiment examines the causal effect an electronic classroom response system (ECRS) has on students. Previous studies using an ECRS in the classroom indicate improved performance; however, many have confounds typical of classroom studies. To complement these studies, we conducted a laboratory study to minimize these confounds and concentrate…