The onset of the Next-Generation Science Standards [NGSS] has created a need for elementary teachers to develop purposeful, multi-dimensional formative assessments (FAs). In order to promote this process, we utilized teacher learning communities (TLCs) and practice-based professional development focused on key aspects of the reform while…

Science and storytelling have an uneasy relationship. The scientific community frequently disdains stories, seeing them as polluting the purity of objective communication of data. In the peer-review process, for example, scientists who tell stories with their data are seen as "embellish[ing] and conceal[ing] information to evoke a response in…

This paper reports findings from a project called "The National Panel of Raters" (NPR) that took place within a writing test programme in Norway (2010-2016). A recent research project found individual differences between the raters in the NPR. This paper reports results from an explorative follow up-study where 63 NPR members were…

In this paper, we provide an overview of the Pathways to Innovation Program (Pathways), a faculty development and institutional change initiative designed to address the adaptive challenge of integrating innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) into undergraduate engineering, nationwide. In particular, we build upon earlier papers that describe…

This chapter proposes approaches for assessing learners and evaluating courses and curriculum that could be used by directors of health professions education (HPE) programs to determine the effectiveness and impact of their programs.

In our service-learning courses, students work with real people and record and reflect on these experiences, to learn appropriate professional behavior, how to think creatively, and how to respond to changing circumstances. Many of our students are strategic learners, characterized by alertness to assessment and intention to achieve the highest…

This study aimed to involve International Baccalaureate (IB) teachers in formative assessment and summative evaluation of a continuing professional development (CPD) programme designed to facilitate a student-centred, process-focused approach in which the 'Approaches to Learning' (ATL) element of the IB curriculum takes a central role. Given its…

As Brian Huot and Ellen E. Schendel assert, when assessment has more than validation in mind, it "can become a means for proactive change" (208). In response to this idea of assessment as an optimistic and opportunistic enterprise, this article describes how the structural design of our "equal opportunity" writing program and…

Purpose: Healthy Habits, Healthy U (HHHU) is a two-day school-based primary prevention cancer education program that uses interactive classroom presentations designed to help students learn how to reduce their cancer risks. HHHU is a collaboration between a local cancer hospital, school district and university. HHHU incorporates real cancerous and…

Life-long learning is currently being embraced as a central process that could disrupt traditional educational paths. Apparently, the (ideal) type of learning often promoted is deep and meaningful learning, though it is not always required to be so. Deep learning goes beyond superficial knowledge assimilation of unlinked facts; it aims at…

Nine science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) departments across our university developed a program to increase persistence of undergraduate STEM majors. Trained and supported undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) implemented active learning strategies such as guided questioning, formative assessments, and metacognitive…

This article reports on the development of a theory-informed assessment instrument for use in evaluating environmental education programs. The instrument involves coding learners' brief reflective writing on five established educational and social psychological constructs that correspond to five important goals of environmental education:…

This study is focused on the development, implementation and evaluation of an environmental education programme for secondary education students. The programme was entitled "?he effects of fire on the soil system" and it was implemented during the school period of 2008. Twenty-four (24) students (aged from 15 to 20) coming from Lidoriki…

Classroom management remains a challenge for many teachers. The approach and delivery of professional development (PD) in classroom management may determine how well teachers are able to apply evidence-based approaches in their classrooms. We use existing literature to identify the key features that make in-service PD effective and present them as…

The high demand for scientists and engineers in the workforce means that there is a continuing need for more strategies to increase student completion in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. The challenge lies in finding and enacting effective strategies to increase students' completion of STEM degrees and in recruiting…