This is the third of a three-part series which will share information about how a mid-size, comprehensive university has worked to a learning community program, including a residential curriculum. This article focuses on how those working with Learning Communities navigate program development during changing institutional priorities.

This is the second of a three-part series which will share information about how a mid-size, comprehensive university developed a learning community program, including a residential curriculum. Through intentional collaboration and partnerships, the team, comprised of faculty and staff throughout the university, developed a "multi-year plan…

When approached about working with colleagues to develop a new course revolving around the inner-workings of a political campaign, one thing was obvious to me: We had to give the course the unique element of making it as closely mimic real-world campaign activities as possible. If we were going to attempt to actually prepare students for work on a…

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is making it a requirement of all schools within the Emirates (both public and private) to follow a programme of moral education (MEP), at all ages from grades 1 to 13, which is designed centrally. Explicitly secular and humanist in its approach, this is a remarkable development in a country where Islam is the…

Effective mentoring programs help to recruit new teachers and improve teacher retention rates (e.g. Ingersoll & Strong, 2011, Rideout & Windle, 2010). Many school districts require mentoring programs for new teachers; however, they do not always have the resources to prepare their teachers to mentor beginning teachers. Clinical faculty…

Lab components of undergraduate science courses typically have students complete highly directed cookbook-like laboratory activities. These experiences rarely engage students in a meaningful manner and do not accurately convey what the work of science entails. With funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), we have created more…

This article discusses the development, implementation, and outcomes of a Faculty Course Redesign Camp for full-time and adjunct faculty members. The purpose of the camp was to educate and coach faculty in effective strategies to promote learner-centered teaching skills. Evaluation results show that the participants changed their orientation…

"Children as Researchers in Primary Schools" is an innovative and unique resource for practitioners supporting children to become "real world" researchers in the primary classroom. It will supply you with the skills and ideas you need to implement a "children as researchers" framework in your school that can be adapted for different ages and…

Cross-curricular programming offers unique opportunities to connect non-majors with science. In this article, the author describes personal experiences related to a novel initiative uniting science, civics, and citizenship that may serve as a model for course and program development at other colleges. In this model, students from multiple majors…

Implementing blended accelerated learning programs or courses requires a systematic approach, not just the addition of new technologies. Small colleges face challenges when they move toward blended learning because of already-constrained resources. In this article, we will survey issues faced by small colleges in moving to blended learning,…

The paper describes the procedure model AKUE, which aims at the improvement and assurance of quality and cost efficiency in the context of the introduction of e-learning and the development of digital learning material. AKUE divides the whole planning and implementation process into four different phases: analysis, conception, implementation, and…

iSMART (Integration of Science, Mathematics, and Reflective Teaching) Program is an online science and mathematics integrated graduate program for middle school teachers across the state of Texas. As part of a large design-based research project, this paper describes the initial stages of the design process of the iSMART program for its first…

This annual report provides a summary of program planning and review activities conducted by the Commission during the 2007-08 academic year. Recommendations that will enable the Commission to better meet and respond to its statewide statutes and obligations regarding academic and vocational program review include: (1) The Program Review Advisory…

To gain approval of a new master's degree in difficult financial times, the authors applied strategies that are applicable at other institutions. Using existing internal resources to build on the university's mission was key in developing a new M.Ed. in Higher Education--Student Affairs Emphasis at Abilene Christian University. Creativity and…

This article describes the creation of a fully online master's program for e-learning specialist training. This program is the first of its kind in Japan. As background information, Japan's general trends in e-learning are described, including activities of the e-Learning Consortium Japan and National Institute of Multimedia in Education. Such…