The mature-age learner's re-engagement with a formal learning environment may be somewhat akin to the novice Paintball player who, unless well positioned and attuned to the rules of the combative game, is bombarded and worn down by constant "hits". For the mature-age learner, such "hits" may come in the form of tensions…

With a view to facilitating good practice and enhancing further exchanges and collaboration with the Open University UK, the Open University of China initiated a joint programme of training to offer online tutors and academic management staff three courses: Student Support, Tutoring On-line, and Course Design. The programme brought in not only a…

This study investigated whether a geospatial information technology (GIT)-supported science curriculum helped students in an urban middle school understand land use change (LUC) concepts and enhanced their spatial thinking. Five 8th grade earth and space science classes in an urban middle school consisting of three different ability level tracks…

Professionally developed and freely accessible through the Internet, scientific data maps have great potential for teaching and learning with data in the science classroom. Solving problems or developing ideas while using data maps of Earth phenomena in the science classroom may help students to understand the nature and process of science. Little…

Much of the research in transnational education (TNE) to date has focused around its effectiveness as a teaching medium, and the use of new technologies for teaching. Little attention has been given to the beliefs and behaviours that need to accompany technology so that it has the desired effects; these are assumed to follow the introduction of…

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards has organized the standards for accomplished teachers of world languages into nine standards, which are presented in this report: (1) Standard I: Knowledge of Students; (2) Standard II: Knowledge of Language; (3) Standard III: Knowledge of Culture; (4) Standard IV: Knowledge of Language…

The University of Maine at Farmington (UMF) has undertaken a commitment to establish a culture of environmental sustainability. With two new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings on site, a green building curriculum has been developed. This multidimensional curriculum involves university faculty, students, K-12…

This paper presents findings of a study that evaluated the instructional effectiveness of a problem-based learning module constructed around a computer simulation, "Making Change Happen"[TM]. The "Leading Organizational Change" (LOC) course sought to enable students in a graduate management program in Thailand to learn to lead…

Faculty from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the College of Education at the University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, developed a novel course for engineering graduate students emphasizing pedagogy and professional skills. The two-semester course sequence, titled "Preparing Engineering Faculty and Professionals,"…

The last few years have seen the implementation of fundamental structural and curricular policy initiatives affecting the teaching of languages in schools in England. Several policy initiatives have been introduced by the government affecting the position and status of languages in schools, such as the development of foreign language teaching in…

Societies face continuing challenges in balancing the role of voluntary levels of ethical conduct against those of rules and enforcement. Undergraduate business programs around the world send hundreds of thousands of students into organizations and communities every year, each with his or her own perception of "what's ethical" and "what's legal"…

In response to the contrast between the instructional focus of the classroom practice and the actual communicative requirements of campus setting, this paper points out the constructive suggestions for the cultivation of culture awareness in college English education.

Humor through cartoons is an interesting way to engage students in learning course content. The purpose of this study was to document the process of graduate student-made cartoons that portrayed content about principles of designing gifted education programs. Seventeen graduate students enrolled in an introductory gifted education course…

Information on the divergence between student numbers and delivery hours for the period 2002 to 2007 is provided in this technical paper. The change in hours from one year to the next is decomposed into three effects, one of which is "hours inflation", whereby nominal hours increase over time for the same unit of competency or module.…

One of the central themes addressed by this paper is the design of the curriculum for architectural education using three schools of architecture: the Bauhaus in Dessau, Crown Hall in Chicago and the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU) in Sao Paulo. It also reflects on the practices in other schools such as Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin…