This article discusses the tension between quality assurance and quality enhancement in engineering education at a programme level. It acknowledges that accreditation has evolved for many years, but does not agilely support innovation or implement changes in educational programmes. Existing quality assurance systems, institutional collaboration…

Curriculum reform is a key topic in the engineering education literature, but much of this discussion proceeds with little engagement with the impact of the local context in which the programme resides. This article thus seeks to understand the influence of local contextual dynamics on curriculum reform in engineering education. The empirical…

The debates surrounding the effectiveness of teaching social work online highlight the challenges of adequately preparing students for face-to-face practice by way of web-based technologies. The purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to briefly describe how a particular School of Social Work when designing its part-time undergraduate degree…

Plant growth, development and reproduction are fundamental concepts in biology; yet there is a recorded lack of motivation for young people to grapple with these concepts. Here we present the "DigitalSeed" toy for making investigations around these concepts more accessible to children through hands-on digital interaction. This is part of an…

This randomized controlled trial tested whether teaching quality in Head Start classrooms could be improved with the addition of evidence-based curriculum components targeting emergent language or literacy and social-emotional development and the provision of associated professional development support. Participants were lead and assistant…

This study compared the efficacy of 3 approaches to professional development in middle school Earth science organized around the principles of Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) in a sample of 53 teachers from a large urban district. Teachers were randomly assigned to a control group or to 1 of 3 conditions that varied with…

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of three different approaches to professional development in Earth science education: preparing teachers to "adopt" expert-"design" curricula; preparing teachers to use a principled approach to design curricula; and preparing teachers to use a principled approach to "adapt" curricula. The claims…

Three types of instruction were used in the Ohio Module Project: traditional classes, programmed learning centers, and home instruction. Four major objectives of the project are: (1) to determine the kind of training program necessary to prepare paraprofessionals to operate an instructional program utilizing programmed materials, (2) to compare…

As part of Head Start's Planned Variation program, the Demonstration and Research Center for Early Education (DARCEE) preschool model was chosen to be implemented in six Nashville Head Start centers. This study compared two forms of DARCEE training for teachers and teacher aides--the Elaborated Treatment and Abbreviated Treatment--and compared…

Presenting a comparative analysis of seven different science programs designed for education at the elementary level, these proceedings focus on science education training and leadership roles for Bureau of Indian Affairs educators. Included are: (1) a description of the University of New Mexico's summer training program, detailing program…

This paper is the introduction to a workshop session demonstrating how English and language-arts teachers can teach critical thinking and writing simultaneously to students in grades 4 through 14. It describes how to transform specific skills into frames for critical thinking and writing such as: (1) explaining; (2) categorizing; (3) comparing and…

THE PRINCIPAL PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT WAS TO DEVELOP A MODEL HEALTH OCCUPATIONS TRAINING PROGRAM. LISTS OF TASKS PERFORMED BY NURSE AIDES, PRACTICAL NURSES, AND SURGICAL TECHNICIANS WERE DEVELOPED THROUGH (1) INTERVIEWS WITH WORKERS AND JOB SPECIALISTS, (2) A STUDY OF HIRING REQUIREMENTS, JOB SPECIFICATIONS, AND DAILY ACTIVITY CHARTS, AND (3)…

Participants in a teacher workshop compared these two approaches to learning outcomes in adult numeracy: (1) teaching mathematical skills and (2) using and applying mathematics from real life. The first approach was illustrated by an Ontario, Canada, program based on traditional school math, whose outcomes are skill-based and are the following:…