Science Youth Action Research (Sci-YAR) is presented here as a curricular framework and instructional approach intended to enhance youth's participation as democratic citizens. First, we frame the theoretical foundations for science curricula that promote democratic citizenship and explore models of scientific inquiry and action research that…

Learning spaces in higher education are fraught with colonial barriers such as teacher-centered, front facing, stark, feelingless, and unwelcoming classrooms that diminish students' feelings of well-being. For pre-service teachers, these are also the types of classrooms that they often inherit as they foray into the profession. Three Bachelor of…

This article shares an example of how one STEM EdD program embeds activism throughout their program. The authors share examples of readings and assignments across the program geared towards helping students think about and enact activism within the STEM disciplines. The STEM EdD mission offers insight into the foundations of the program. Then,…

This article presents a model of intercultural learning that may be used in the planning and implementation of citizenship education in foreign/second/world language teaching. The Cycle model of intercultural learning aims at the development of global citizenship and comprises four phases: noticing, comparing, reflecting and interaction. Among the…

This paper reports on what two teacher candidates and their instructor learned from an action research project into the use of inquiry to teach mathematics. We use a model of the relation between theory and practice in teacher education to interpret what we learned about inquiry. This model describes three modes for teacher candidates to learn…

In this paper the authors draw on three sequential keynote addresses that they gave at Active Learning in Engineering Education (ALE) workshops in Copenhagen (2012), Caxias do Sol (2014) and San Sebastian (2015). Active Learning in Engineering Education is an informal international network of engineering educators dedicated to improving…

The senior year design students and I were dismayed when my linear teaching and their habitual rote learning failed in a Middle Eastern University. The gulf between the curricular objectives and our teaching-learning methods intrigued me. I turned this into an action research project that sought to answer the questions, 'What paradigm shift might…

Research can be a powerful tool in education, but it's an even more powerful tool when that research is created, implemented, and reflected upon by the education experts themselves--classroom teachers. This research mobilized a cadre of STEM teacher leaders to help unpack the overarching research question: How does the collective leadership of…

Curriculum aims often remain unrealised aspirations. This is because the values and principles implicit in them fail to get articulated in forms that can effectively inform and guide the practice of teaching. Ideas such as "learner-centred education", "independent/autonomous learning", "self-directed learning",…

In this paper, we explain how our individual PhD enquiries (Farren, 2006; Crotty, 2012) have informed the philosophical underpinnings of our postgraduate programmes. The approach used to ensure validity and rigour in the research process is presented. We report on the development of the International Research Centre for e-Innovation and Workplace…

The use of humour in teaching and learning can be contentious, with some authors suggesting that the efficacy of humorous materials is mediated by the culture of the student. Nevertheless, humour represents a potential vehicle for the introduction of active learning in a classroom setting, as judicious use of humour may lead to a more relaxed…

While the "scientific" debate about school dropouts has ensued, some have taken matters into their own hands, creating successful non-school based programs on the arts for at-risk youth based. Their efforts demonstrate powerful results for learning and human development. We suggest that it is time to incorporate this knowledge base, and…

Collective decision making is an increasing requirement in organizations where the emphasis is on team work at every level. It is, however, very complex and difficult to achieve in practice. Too frequently, important discussions are bypassed or, while the majority of the meeting participants remain mute, decisions are being made by a vocal few. In…

The necessity of using inquiry-based learning (IBL) was recently recommended by studies and reports made for the European Commission. Several European projects are devoted to the widespread use of IBL methods. The effects of using IBL are studied worldwide. In the framework of the Seventh Framework Program (FP7) project PRIMAS, a series of…

In Scotland, A Curriculum for Excellence [Curriculum Review Group. 2004. A curriculum for excellence. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/11/20178/45862 (accessed January 6, 2010).] is being implemented in every school from August 2010. This gives teachers greater responsibility, flexibility and professional autonomy when planning and…