This pilot intervention focused on three courses that were redesigned to utilize the online environment to establish an online community of inquiry (CoI). The setting for this research study was the Distance Education Centre, Victoria (DECV), an Australian co-educational school with approximately 3000 students who, for a variety of reasons, are…

First-year undergraduate physics laboratories are important physics learning environments. However, there is a lack of empirically informed literature regarding how students perceive their overall laboratory learning experiences. Recipe formats persist as the dominant form of instructional design in these sites, and these formats do not adequately…

Within the background where education is increasingly driven by the economies of scale and research funding, we propose an alternative online open and connected framework (OOC) for building global learning communities using mobile social media. We critique a three year action research case study involving building collaborative global learning…

This paper addresses an issue of increasing significance in the context of taught educational doctorates and argues that this may have wider applicability for doctoral students across a range of social science disciplines. It identifies the need to engage with policy analysis as a key element of such programmes and attempts to address students'…

New science curricula in Ontario position science, technology, society, and environment (STSE) objectives at the fore of all science courses. A professional learning community (PLC) consisting of 24 elementary teachers and a facilitation team was established to assist teachers in meeting the challenges of STSE education. Specifically, we examine…

This research focuses on experienced Estonian teachers' pre-service school practice. Each one of the 19 teachers interviewed in this study had over 25?years of professional experience. We were interested in their recollections of their pre-service school practice and the impact that their experience had on them professionally. The results indicate…

Research suggests that professional development that engages teachers in instructional inquiry over an extended time through collaborative professional learning communities (PLCs) is effective in improving instruction and student achievement. Still, most professional development is offered as short-duration workshops that are not effective in…

This article describes one school district department's efforts to train and support teachers in providing effective curriculum, instruction, and assessment methods to their students. This large, K-12 district embraces the spectrum of low to high SES schools, a large number of gifted students from diverse populations, and a variety of gifted…

The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is the umbrella organisation for Member Organisations from 145 countries, with a total membership of 10 million. While Member Organisations offer training and development within their own countries, WAGGGS offers international opportunities, such as leadership development at…

The social media format can be used to create a physical education community of experienced and new student members. In this setting, opportunities for novel and meaningful student interactions can be made possible. Through access to the insights of experienced members, new or incoming members can more quickly become knowledgeable members.…

The Winthrop University-School Partnership Network is a dynamic, diverse, and growing partnership of educators from nine school districts, thirty schools, and Winthrop University. As a Network, they have a vision of shared responsibility for student achievement through clinically-based teacher preparation, sustained collaborative professional…

The purpose of this exploratory mixed methods research study was to understand how the establishment of an online Community of Practice approach supports the completion of homework for third grade students in an urban school. The study focused on issues of my facilitation and development of such an online community as well as the impacts on…

Video has been shown to be an effective tool for synthesizing theory and connecting theory to practice in meaningful ways. This design-based research study examined how localized video of a practicing teacher impacted pre-service teachers' ability to learn culturally responsive teaching (CRT) methods and targeted strategies in an online…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are an emerging form of professional learning used nationwide as a means for educators to focus on job-embedded learning. Extensive qualitative data have been compiled regarding the perception of educators and PLCs. However, little quantitative research has been conducted regarding the academic achievement…

Institutions of higher education are entering a new era, one where cost, value, and quality are at the front of mind. To proactively ensure long-term viability, institutions must operate differently. This qualitative case study examined how the St. Alexander University School of Education's Annual Report Process impacted institutional…