Scholars of the global phenomenon of international student assessments (e.g., PISA, TIMSS) have paid little attention to the ways in which student users of these material objects are "configured" in nations that are located at the periphery of knowledge production. Our analysis takes the United Arab Emirates as its case study to capture…

A survey administered in the spring of 2013 by the Center on Education Policy (CEP) inquired into the implementation of Common Core State Standards at that time. Based on self-reports by state officials, the survey found that curricula aligned to the common core were already being taught in at least some districts or grade levels. All states…

In 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation extended grants to three educational organizations working to develop or enhance competency-based approaches in large, urbanized school systems. The grant initiative, called Project Mastery, funded the development of technology-enhanced tools, including curriculum materials and online learning…

In 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation created the Project Mastery grant program to support competency-based education initiatives in large school systems that serve a high proportion of disadvantaged youth. Competency-based education meets students where they are academically, provides students with opportunities for choice, and awards…

This course in language curriculum development has five units: (1) Language situations and policies in Africa; (2) Preparing objectives for language curriculum development; (3) Selecting and preparing materials for language curriculum development; (4) Implementing language curriculum programmes; and (5) Evaluation and renewing language curriculum…

Curriculum deliberation is an approach to constructing, operationalizing, and evaluating curricula. The essay describes the deliberative format, discusses habits that impede deliberation, and makes suggestions for the amelioration of these habits. (RM)

This article describes a federally supported program of the American Federation of the Blind, which has developed training materials for individuals working with students who are deaf-blind. The article offers a rationale for the program; notes critical shortages of qualified teachers; discusses materials development; and reviews the program's…

Research and development of educational multimedia in Japan started in 1988 with a project sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture in collaboration with the Japan Audiovisual Education Association. This article describes the trends and prospects of the development of multimedia in education and teacher training…

Practical suggestions to help K-12 teachers implement studies about local government are provided. Included are a list of goals, program activities, tips for involving the community, a sampling of questions concerning the government that students can research, steps for developing a local government simulation, and a bibliography of resource…

Writing teams composed of school administrators and university personnel in Western Australia, Ontario, and the Northwest Territories developed regional profiles of effective principalships for use as a resource in developing effective school leadership programs. Common components of profiles included effective practices relating to school culture…

A survey was conducted of expert instructional design practitioners about their use of developmental testing and revision procedures. The degree of correspondence was examined between published recommended practice and actual practice, as reported by 90 respondents to a questionnaire. The surveyed sample were members of the National Society for…

Based on the author's presentation at the International Conference on Computer Based Learning in Science, this paper discuses some high profile areas of interest and concern in the educational use of information and communication technology (ICT). The paper is influenced partly by a series of nine government funded "Best Practices"…

At the university level, case-based education is a significant feature of professional training programs conducted for law, medicine, and business studies. Cases take various forms including real and imagined scenarios, critical incident analysis, case studies, vignettes, and anecdotal accounts of professional practice. Although case-based…

The 25 papers collected in this book represent the thoughts and experiences of indigenous language activists from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand, and are grouped in six categories: tribal and school roles, teaching students, teacher education, curriculum and materials development, language attitudes and promotion, and summary…

Strategies and programs for improving mathematics instruction should be derived from sound educational theory. The sociocultural learning theories of Vygotsky may offer guidance in developing technology-based mathematics curriculum materials consonant with the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) goals and objectives. Vygotsky's…