Inquiry methods have been successful in improving science literacy in students of all ages. Model-Based Inquiry (MBI) is an instructional model that engages students in the practices of science through the collaborative development of scientific models to explain an anchoring phenomenon. Student ideas are tested through engagement in content-rich…

The purpose of this article is to describe a model for teaching introductory biology coursework within the Vision and Change framework (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011). The intent of the new model is to transform instruction by adopting an active, student-centered, and inquiry-based pedagogy consistent with Vision and…

This chapter tells a story of course reform, describing in a fresh and candid way the steps taken toward change and the results achieved. The authors emphasize that instructors need considerable support in order to teach differently, as well as underscore the need to consider scalability of reform even at the pilot stage.

This volume has offered both the theory and practice for a model of contemplative teaching and learning in community colleges--a way of teaching, of learning, of thinking that has often been missing in higher education. Contemplative teaching and learning, with its focus on community, reflection, and mindfulness--in short, on what it means to be…

Since MIT and Harvard started edX, their joint experiment with free online courses, the venture has attracted enormous attention for opening the ivory tower to the world. But in the process, the world will become part of an expensive and ambitious experiment testing some of the most interesting--and difficult--questions in digital education. Can…

Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) opened its doors in 2006 and accepted its inaugural class of first-year students in 2007. During the 2007-2008 academic year, faculty members and administrators worked together to develop a model for Partners in Active Learning, or PALs--an initiative designed to fit the GGC vision and mission to build an…

This article describes the initiatives of one community college district and its individual colleges to engage faculty in the scholarship of teaching and learning. The authors also discuss how these models take the step from effective and scholarly teaching to a scholarship of teaching and learning by encouraging faculty not only to reflect on…

Contends that institutional resources for the improvement of teaching and learning are often lacking at community colleges; thus, the idea that they are teaching institutions--as opposed to research institutions--is flawed. Asserts that the increase in the number of part-time faculty results in departments with a smaller core of full-time faculty…

Examines the current state of education in China, with particular focus on ways in which Western educational models can and cannot be adapted there. Offers a brief history of Chinese education and examines some of the alliances currently being formed between Chinese institutions and educational institutions around the world. (NB)

This report is intended to remind those involved in the teaching and learning enterprise that the business of education is complex and involves an intricate interplay among individuals, organizations, and diverse life situations. The report focuses specifically on teachers and the perspectives they bring to the discourse on education. The book…

The early childhood education department at Humber College in Toronto has developed a model for team collaboration that has been successful for 10 years. This model provides for the development of teamwork skills by their students by engaging them in assignments that require collaboration with college instructors and professionals outside the…

Describes the use of an instructional model for composition involving five procedures: a rationale, instructional objectives, pre-assessment, learning activities, and evaluation. (MKM)

This monograph discusses learning communities in the context of community colleges, presents the challenges and benefits of learning communities, provides examples, and outlines the steps for a community college to follow in initiating a learning community. In part 1, the authors discuss the educational context in which learning communities have…

In August, 1997, Gavilan College (Gilroy, California) was awarded a Fund for Instructional Improvement grant to review the current and projected roles of information competency instruction within California community colleges and to develop an information competency draft plan for system implementation, training, and evaluation. Five day-long…

Community colleges are on the cutting edge of the multidirectional change with the coming of a new century. Peters and Waterman, two management consultants, have spawned thousands of models, designs, and strategies for using organizational excellence as a gyroscope for navigating the turbulence of change. This paper presents Waterman's four-step…