In recent years, the increasing cost of higher education has introduced a new level of scrutiny toward colleges and universities, including the concern of prospective students and their families about the return on investment (ROI) of a college education. California's Pepperdine University wants its students to be transformed, inside and out, to…

This article examines how educational scaffolding was used in a graduate research methods course to encourage student mastery of two qualitative research concepts, interviews and narrative inquiry. Findings suggest that scaffolding resulted in students' mastery of both concepts as well as students' increased attention to quality of interview…

Coding, the analytic task of assigning codes to nonnumeric data, is foundational to writing research. A rich discussion of methodological pluralism has established the foundational importance of systematicity in the task of coding, but less attention has been paid to the equally important commitment to language complexity. Addressing the interplay…

With today's technology, Extension professionals have a variety of tools available for program evaluation. This article describes an innovative platform called VoiceThread that has been used in many classrooms but also is useful for conducting virtual focus group research. I explain how this tool can be used to collect qualitative participant…

In this article, we identify and examine opportunities for formative assessment provided by information technologies (IT) and the challenges which these opportunities present. We address some of these challenges by examining key aspects of assessment processes that can be facilitated by IT: datafication of learning; feedback and scaffolding; peer…

Choosing a school for a child can be a rewarding, but difficult task for parents. A recent survey reported that parents often feel confused by the information available to them as part of the school choice process. This can be exacerbated by limited time and resources to devote to the process--constraints that can particularly affect low-income…

More than ever, school districts and other organizations need to provide parents with information about school quality and their school choices. Across the country school choice is expanding in ways that provide opportunities--and challenges--for parents to select the schools that best fit their children's needs. The federal Every Student Succeeds…

For more than a decade teacher residencies have prepared classroom-ready teachers for hard-to-staff subjects and high-need schools. Across the country, mounting evidence shows that residencies produce effective teachers who stay in the profession longer and produce greater student achievement than traditionally-trained teachers. No residency,…

Today's schools emphasize the use of student data to make instructional decisions. Standardized tests determine funding and teacher advancement (Datnow, Park, & Wholstetter, 2007; Gullo, 2013; Marchant & Paulson, 2009; Schraw, 2010). To evaluate learning before these tests, teachers must utilize their own assessments and data. Formative…

A renewed interest in cloud computing adoption has occurred in academic and industry settings because emerging technologies have strong links to cloud computing and Big Data technology. Big Data technology is driving cloud computing adoption in large business organizations. For cloud computing adoption to increase, cloud computing must transition…

This publication provides a summary of the outcomes of international onshore students who completed their vocational education and training in Australia in 2016. These students were surveyed as an additional, trial component to the 2017 National Student Outcomes Survey, which is an annual survey of Australian graduates (students awarded a…

This brief is a companion resource to "Building Financial Capability: A Planning Guide for Integrated Services" (also known as the Guide) and provides real-world examples of financial capability integration efforts. The brief shares lessons and approaches for how tribal-serving organizations can integrate financial capability services…

When school and district administrators are empowered to lead a culture of data use, students do better. As states focus on improving overall school quality and ensuring success for all students, they need a workforce of school and district administrators who are equipped to use data to continuously improve. State leaders are uniquely positioned…

This appendix augments a report that updates 2013 guidance to school district leaders and their partners across the country who are interested in launching summer learning programs or improving established ones. In that report, the authors present recommendations based on evaluations, conducted between 2011 and 2016, of summer programs in five…

This dissertation characterized trainings designed to prepare citizen scientists to collect ecological data in natural outdoor settings. Citizen scientists are volunteers who participate in scientific activities under the guidance of professional scientists and organizations. The work of citizen scientists greatly expands the data collection…