This study used the Community of Inquiry framework to examine how university instructors designed, facilitated, and supported social and cognitive processes in online courses, and how instructors and students experienced these processes. In early 2021, 25 online focus groups were organized with instructors (n = 52) and students (n = 44) from all…

Curricular guidelines promote standardized approaches to coverage of essential knowledge and skills in undergraduate education. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology were developed in 2012. Continuous, rapid growth of knowledge in science and a dynamic, changing world necessitate updates…

In response to school environments in which teachers and students feel disconnected from the learning process, we developed a three-part curriculum feedback system with the goal of creating a school-wide culture of engagement through participatory feedback processes. Here we describe the barriers to participation and ownership that are addressed…

Most academics learn how to write research articles informally and implicitly through exposure in academia. This experience with a pilot English for Academic Purposes course suggests that drawing attention to linguistic features can greatly improve the writing of both early career and experienced researchers. ["ESP News" is published by…

Shared sense-making is suggested to be key for curriculum reform. "Shared sense-making" entails constructing a collective understanding of the meaning for reform, its significance and its implications for schools, through dialogue and negotiation across the levels of the educational system. This study explored changes in hands-on…

In Higher Education Focus Groups and Nominal Group Technique are two well-established methods for obtaining student feedback about their learning experience. These methods are regularly used for the enhancement and quality assurance. Based on small-scale research of educational developers' practice in curriculum development, this study presents…

This research aims to analyze the Curriculum planning and benefit between departments of beautification in college and the professional courses by using ISM. To understand the link between different professional courses of beautification in college and find out the connections, Department of Cosmetic Science will be taken as an example. The result…

Curriculum reform that has an effect on the everyday practices in schools always entails translation of new ideas into new educational practices. This takes place primarily through shared sense making. However, our understanding of the different ways in which shared sense making is carried out is still scarce. In Finland, the district level plays…

This qualitative study used a focus group approach (talking circles) to elicit tribal elder insight on important concepts for the purpose of creating a curriculum to teach tribal youth in South Dakota about nutrition and physical activity in culturally appropriate ways. The focus groups were part of a larger project that is exploring mechanisms…

Students with intellectual disability (ID) have to overcome many barriers and difficulties in order to access all levels of education and partake in college life. Thankfully, educational institutes around the globe are slowly beginning to examine how they can support equal rights of individuals with ID. In Ireland, one university has recently…

What do young people believe sexuality education ought to be about? It is within the absence of a sustained and critical consideration of the possibilities and politics of engaging in research with rather than for young people in the reimagining of sexuality education that this paper is positioned. Data were generated as part of an 18-month Youth…

Rural schools have repeatedly been subjected to standardizing state and federal education policies that seek to minimize variance in instructional systems and increase the number of college- and career-ready graduates. The Race to the Top policy agenda combined standards-based and accountability-based reforms to meet these objectives and once…

Parent-school engagement is a contributor to student achievement, but few relevant programs exist for immigrant Latino families. This article describes the design, pilot implementation, and evaluation of a parent-engagement Extension program, developed and implemented in Spanish. The purpose of the program is to help parents develop and/or…

This paper presents a case study of a yearlong research-based peace education program at one urban K-8 private Catholic school situated in a community plagued by structural violence in an enclave of a large Midwestern city. To frame the analysis, the author employs concepts central to culturally responsive pedagogy (including cultural competence,…

This paper reports on implementing learning plans at an Australian university and their perceived use in supporting doctoral candidates' professional and academic development. The implementation of individualised learning plans for doctoral candidates was the outcome of university-wide discussions regarding coursework in the PhD. Based on a review…