The overarching purpose of this monograph is to move the mentoring conversation forward by offering an updated synthesis of the undergraduate mentoring scholarship published between 2008 and 2015. The compendium of research reviewed provides practitioners and researchers with an evidence-based view of the influence of mentoring on the academic and…

The field of education is asking how research and evidence can bolster the knowledge of its practitioners. Educators increasingly are asked to use research and evidence to support their choices of programs, practices, and processes. The promise of using research in this way is more effective teaching and learning. But not all research and evidence…

The Research to Practice (RTP) column in "The Journal of Continuing Higher Education" has recently focused on evaluation methods that continuing education (CE) units can utilize, reports on surveys of CE practitioners, and recommendations for research on dynamics that impact CE programs and the students enrolling in them. In this article, the…

The purpose of this document is to highlight "what works" based on the curriculum development and research work of the Center for Gifted Education during the past 20 years. Areas of study include curriculum development, instruction, assessment, and professional development. Through the use of the Integrated Curriculum Model as a template for …

Development research methodology (DRM) has been recommended as a viable research approach to expand the practice-to-theory/theory-to-practice literature that human performance technology (HPT) practitioners can integrate into the day-to-day work flow they already use to develop instructional products. However, little has been written about how it…

Community organizing for school reform is a growing national phenomenon, as young people, parents, neighborhood residents, and faith-based institutions struggle to improve the quality and equity of public schooling, particularly in urban school districts. Now a decade old, community organizing projects are influencing local public schools in…

Before schools and districts invest their scarce resources in the products that educational researchers have developed, teachers, administrators, and community members need to become informed consumers of educational research. This article strives to bridge the gap between researchers and practitioners by exploring how to become an informed…

Provides the outdoor adventure educator with a working knowledge of self-esteem to inform practice and allow communication between practitioners. Discusses a practical model of self-esteem, methods of increasing global self-esteem, evidence that adventure increases self-esteem, and relevant guidelines for framing adventure activities. (SV)

This report is the second of a series exploring implementation of best practices in programs serving young children and families, and focuses on the uses and benefits of developing and using a logic model in programs serving young children and families. A logic model is described as providing a way to clearly articulate the program's theory of…

This paper describes the development of a teachers' book club as a form of professional development, based on the premise that teachers are leaders and can be responsible for their own professional development, if given a framework and opportunity to do so. Data sources included a survey and interviews with club members. Analysis of the success of…

Schools of education suffer criticism from the public for producing poorly prepared teachers and inadequate curricula. University faculties see the schools as a scapegoat, allowing blame for problems with schools to fall on teacher education rather than on higher education in general. Education schools have not been successful at melding theory…

Discusses the lack of teacher training provided for teaching assistants in history departments. Argues that emphasis on research and publication is misplaced because most new Ph.D.s will be teaching rather than publishing. Urges teacher training to prepare graduate students for their chosen profession and to improve undergraduate education. (DK)

Presents a case study that probes the process of leading professional development in a specific educational setting, namely, a primary school, and offers a critical analysis of the process over an eight- to ten-month period. Hopes that the approaches used and the lessons learned will have a relevance to the wider field of educational research and…

Intended to help teachers, researchers, curriculum developers, and administrators develop improved policy in reading instruction and research, this book challenges several widespread assumptions about effective reading instruction and concludes with 20 policy guidelines which can be used to evaluate existing reading programs and redesign them to…

Experts discuss the approaches used with the nations's gifted and talented students. Among the reasons for program problems is the on-again, off-again interest from the U.S. public and policymakers. Highlights milestones in gifted education; theories of acceleration vs. enrichment; and the controversial option of residential schools. (MLF)