Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

Science outreach programs that enable real-time interactions between scientists and school-aged children are known to positively impact learning gains and students' perceptions of scientists. To expand K-12 outreach by scientists, it is important to build structured outreach programs which offer scientists well-defined opportunities, while…

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation created this Student-Centered Learning Continuum (SCL Continuum) to establish the characteristics of high-quality, student-centered learning in classrooms, schools, and districts. This continuum is based upon existing research and cutting-edge practice, incorporates the experiences of experts and practitioners,…

Teachers and administrators attest that the current workshop and seat-time approach to professional development has not been working. Microcredentials offer a new approach. Inspired by the badging movement, microcredentials offer teachers opportunities to document their learning using work samples, videos, and other artifacts. Based on this…

The publication "Global inventory of regional and national qualifications frameworks 2019 -- Volume II: National and regional cases" gathers information on progress in establishing national qualifications frameworks (NQFs), as well as the challenges and success factors in implementation. It shows how countries around the globe are…

Intervention research is replete with examples of finely crafted innovations showing initial efficacy in tightly controlled experimental contexts only to fail when they are implemented in typical use settings. While the reasons for such failures are broad, implementation science shows a targeted and judicious use of appropriate competency drivers,…

One plausible method for ensuring students are truly understanding science fundamentals beyond being actively and intellectually engaged is to consider how informal learning environments can provide meaningful relevancy by connecting to real-world instances. Transforming traditional science centers into informal learning centers will ensure that…

As called for in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, the National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC) Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) released, in May of 2013, the "Federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education 5-Year Strategic Plan" (Strategic Plan) (ED570924). As required by the Act,…

This second volume of the "Global Inventory of Regional and National Qualifications Frameworks" focuses on national and regional cases of national qualifications frameworks for eighty- six countries from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan and seven regional qualifications frameworks. Each country profile provides a thorough review of the main…

This publication is a global, country-by-country, inventory of National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs). It is a copublication, prepared by two EU agencies, the European Training Foundation (ETF) and the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop); and UNESCO's Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the Section for TVET at…

This paper describes key success factors for the implementation and development of a LEGO robotics engineering outreach program for elementary school students in West Texas. The outreach program not only aims at getting young students excited about engineering but at the same time aims at improving retention rates among electrical and computer…

Over the past decade, it has been argued that technology-enhanced learning (TEL) could respond to the needs of the new knowledge society and transform learning. However, despite isolated achievements, TEL has not succeeded in revolutionizing education and learning processes. Most current TEL initiatives still take a centralized technology-push…

This paper introduces a model for using informal science education venues as contexts within which to teach the nature of science. The model was initially developed to enable university education students to teach science in elementary schools so as to be consistent with "National Science Education Standards" (NSES) (1996) and "A Framework for…

Design-Based Research (DBR) has been a tool of the learning sciences since the early 1990s, used as a way to improve and study learning environments. Using an iterative process of design with the goal of reining theories of learning, researchers and educators now use DBR seek to identify "how" to make a learning environment work. They then draw…

With the rise in the number of types of digital media and the time youth spend on these platforms, researchers theorize that interacting with digital media can provide significant motivation for youth to participate, create, and become active learners. The Consortium on Chicago School Research, with funding from the John D. and Catherine T.…