As one of the three Rs, "'rithmetic" has always been central to education and education research. By virtue of that centrality, research in mathematics education has often reflected and at times led trends in education research. This chapter provides some deep background on epistemological and other issues that shape current research,…

This paper reviews some government policy measures aimed at strengthening competition in the Russian university market and looks at the best international practices in this area. It analyzes the competitive behavior of universities under the current government policy on higher education and research and development and suggests an approach to…

This article proposes a recommended course of action for faculty development based upon Rogers' theory of Diffusion of Innovations and data collected in a study looking at the prevalence of use of learning-centered teaching practices. Specific faculty development strategies are aligned with Rogers' factors influencing decisions to adopt…

Rather than merely dusting and polishing the old comfy stuff, these authors have spent 35 years trying to find out how people can learn to use new curriculums and ways of teaching. They have done some studies that would meet high standards of design, learned from peering at correlations, and stumbled on important things while teaching kids and…

The phenomenon of industrial melanism (IM) became widely acknowledged as a well-documented example of natural selection largely as a result of H.B.D. Kettlewell's pioneering research on the subject in the early 1950s. It was quickly picked up by American biology textbooks starting in the early 1960s and became ubiquitous throughout the 1970s,…

Librarians are frequently asked to teach several databases in a one-shot session, despite findings suggesting that such database demonstrations do not lead to optimal student outcomes. The "ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education" highlights the concepts of metaliteracy and metacognition. This paper investigates ways…

In this brief article, the author expresses her greatest concerns regarding learning in the cyber world: the appropriateness of online learning for courses with sensitive subject matter, the comfort level of nontraditional learners in this new setting, and the inability as an instructor to fully engage with the learner in real time. As an adult…

This work is the result of a qualitative research that tries to highlight, through an interview with an adult educator, the qualities, skills and qualifications a trainer in adult education should have. His qualifications must be of high quality because the difficulties and obstacles in adult learning are different and perhaps more numerous than…

In this paper we propose a method for the adaptive complex assessment (ACA) of the higher-order thinking (HOT) skills needed by students for problem solving, and we examine the impact of the method on the development of HOT skills in a problem-based learning (PBL) environment. Complexity in the assessment is provided by initial, formative, and…

Science education research has shown that students use causal reasoning, particularly the model "agent--instrument--object," to explain or predict the outcome of many natural situations. Students' reasoning seems to be based on a small set of few intuitive rules. One of these rules quantitatively correlates the outcome of an experiment…

When teachers ask questions or devise activities that encourage pupils to talk, they set up opportunities for assessment. To act on these data, teachers need to convert judgements into decisions about next steps and guidance for pupils on how best to move their learning forward. This is a complex process that requires skill and action, both for…

Individual instructor consultation is a common service provided by centers focused on educational development in higher education. The importance of this service has been reflected in its history, increasing demand, and strong anecdotal evidence to its effectiveness. However, the extant literature reveals that comprehensive assessment of…

Principal Vanessa Sanchez assumed leadership of a high-need, high-poverty urban school with a mandate from the district superintendent to change the school culture and to build an instructional team aligned to the principal's theory of change. The central dilemma of the case is how to lead organizational change while managing interpersonal…

One essential piece of implementing of PBL is the problem. There have been calls from practitioners in the PBL field for a systematic process for designing effective PBL problems. Yet, the research efforts to explore, develop, and test PBL problem design methods or processes are still sparse. From an instructional designer and researcher's…

Examining discourses of multiraciality through college students' claims about race offers helpful insights for educators striving to create equitable campuses for mixed race students. One area of discourse is the positioning of multiracial individuals as evidence for the social construction of race. Another critiques the multiracial movement, with…