REL Appalachia conducted a systematic review of the research evidence on the effects of increased learning time. After screening more than 7,000 studies, REL Appalachia identified 30 that met the most rigorous standards for research. A review of those 30 studies found that increased learning time does not always produce positive results. However,…

In 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Kindergarten Readiness Act into law, which changed the kindergarten entry age so that children must turn 5 by September instead of December to enroll. The new grade level was put into place to promote school readiness for California's youngest learners. It also established a new grade…

Neyland Stadium, located on the University of Tennessee (UT) campus in Knoxville, is home of the UT Volunteers football team. With a seating capacity of 104,079, it is the largest football stadium in the South, and the third-largest college stadium in the country. Since 1993, the stadium has collected more than 50 tons of materials for recycling.…

This is a one-page summary of work-study assistance as an academic tool for college and university students. The summary includes references to on-line resource documents that provide additional details.

This study uses inter-organizational networks to focus on firm opportunities to establish the level of social capital required to efficiently utilize network resources among certain collaborative research projects. This study reached the following conclusions: (1) establishment of social capital does little to improve the technological knowledge…

This brief describes different types of evaluations and sets forth five steps for selecting an evaluator that can benefit a program in the long run. It also provides some tips on the cost of evaluations. Evaluation refers to "the process of acquiring and assessing information to provide useful feedback about a program or program activity."…

In this brief, a program evaluation is defined, address common concerns program managers and practitioners have regarding evaluation, and outline five major reasons why conducting a program evaluation can benefit an out-of-school time program. Program evaluation is a valuable tool for program managers who are seeking to strengthen the quality of…

It is widely accepted that principals are vital to school success, but few studies have closely examined how to train effective school leaders. Now, a report has identified the common features of exemplary programs for preparing principals who can guide instruction and foster school improvement. The study examined eight programs, chosen on the…

The last time Virginia Commonwealth University had to prepare for an accreditation review, the school's officials found themselves overwhelmed with data. The university's accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, was asking for more information than ever before about how much students were learning: grades, test scores, written…

Once a campus reaches the point where all academic units are actively involved in assessing student learning outcomes, it is tempting to sit back and declare victory. However, it has been found that the assessment process itself must be assessed regularly in order for it to continue to be effective. Each spring, the campus-wide assessment…

Creating a climate of assessment is critical for fostering institutional change. This article discusses the authors' work in the Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year project, which has confirmed (across very different campuses) the centrality of assessment in the development and implementation of successful programs to strengthen…

This article elaborates on how the technical capabilities of virtual reality support the constructivist learning principles. It introduces VRID, a model for instructional design and development that offers explicit guidance on how to produce an educational virtual environment. The define phase of VRID consists of three main tasks: forming a…

Many youth leadership organizations exist today and provide a variety of leadership experiences. One such organization provides a week long leadership experience to high school students with its primary purpose being to guide students through a process of identifying a community need and developing a plan to address that need. This article reports…

The effectiveness of a peer-mediation-program for third grade students (elementary school) was evaluated through a longitudinal study. The sample consisted of 262 students, 141 boys and 121 girls, drawn from thirty classrooms in fifteen elementary schools. There was one intervention and one control-class in each school. The evaluation was carried…

Inter-organizational collaboration is becoming more common. When organizations collaborate they often do so in partially distributed teams (PDTs). A PDT is a hybrid team that has at least one collocated subteam and at least two subteams that are geographically distributed and communicate primarily through electronic media. While PDTs share many…