This paper discusses the critical situations I have been asked to "improve" by providing professional development for teams of adult numeracy and functional mathematics teachers in the post-16 sector in London. These situations have not been identified through any research process, but arise from internal management reviews of course…

"If our best thinking comes by making connections and building patterns, then what would these patterns look like, and what might they be based on?"--ask the authors. Most importantly, how could they be used? Developing Connective Leadership shows you how Thinking Maps[R] are an efficient and eloquent language that can be used to explore and…

The use of narratives in the social sciences has drastically increased throughout recent decades. They are mainly used as a way of collecting data and as a way of promoting professional development. This article sheds light on how a practitioner-researcher engaged in narrative writing and how this helped in what is hereby termed a reflective…

For the thirty-eighth time, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

This study explores professional learning of teachers in a web-based Open-Ended Learning Environment (OELE). Adult learning theorists suggest that adults are self-directed, experience-based, personally- and socially-related, problem-oriented, and application-focused learners. Constructivists suggest that the OELE affords learners opportunities to…

In this "FastFacts," a state's Department of Education requests information from the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) on how the research defines skills in social-emotional development, approaches to learning, and executive function, to inform planned revisions to the early childhood indicators of progress for children…

Adult English language learners who lack print literacy or experience with formal education encounter a unique set of challenges in their lives and their efforts to learn English. Educators and policymakers are similarly challenged by how best to help these adults acquire English literacy. This paper reviews a variety of research, including that…

The newly updated "Content-Based Curriculum for High-Ability Learners" provides a solid introduction to curriculum development in gifted and talented education. Written by experts in the field of gifted education, this text uses cutting-edge design techniques and aligns the core content with national and state standards. In addition to a revision…

This study investigates algebraic reasoning and self-regulation skills among elementary school teachers who participated in a professional development program either with IMPROVE metacognitive questioning (PD + Meta) or with no metacognitive guidance (PD). Sixty-four Israeli teachers participated in a 3-year program designed to enhance…

As role models, mentors serve as moral exemplars to their proteges. Yet, since the mentoring literature gives scant attention to the mentor's role in protege moral education, mentors are largely unwitting participants in this process. Grounded in research from moral psychology and philosophy, this article provides guidance to mentors who want to…

This is an investigation of secondary mathematics teachers' understanding of performance-based tasks with respect to the contextual design of tasks that promote urban students' engagement and pursuit in learning mathematical concepts. We examined the alignment of teacher designed tasks with their personal definitions of tasks; then further…

This study examined the pedagogy of three online teacher professional development (oTPD) modules. Evidence of design features oriented to the "how people learn" framework was the primary research objective. An analytic framework was devised to code knowledge types, levels of cognitive demand, levels of interaction, and sensory details in the…

The term "numeracy" is used in the adult education community to include an array of mathematically related proficiencies that are evident in adults' lives and worthy of attention in adult education settings. This occasional paper attempts to describe the complex nature of numeracy as it exists today. All stakeholders--including policymakers,…