Exploring emergent music learning and teaching models facilitated by global Web access can reveal alternative music education practices and delivery systems not seen in "traditional" conservatories and schools. One example of an alternative music learning model comes from the Online Academy of Irish Music (OAIM), a community music…

Following an investigation of students' views of one further education college's teaching and learning model (McQueen and Webber 2009), a second project, reported here, sought to review students' ideas about what constitutes an effective learner. For this project a set of 36 statements was constructed based on theoretical models and research about…

Lesson observation has a longstanding tradition in the assessment and development of new and experienced teachers in England. Over the last two decades it has progressively emerged as an important tool for measuring and improving professional practice in schools and colleges. This article reviews literature across the three education sectors (i.e.…

The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore the language learning strategies (LLSs) of Spanish adults in a business context. The research questions examined the specific LLSs used by Spanish adults in business communication tasks. In addition, this study addressed the cultural influences on LLSs from the Spanish educational system along…

This article presents a case for equipping science teachers with the necessary skills needed to enact dialogical argumentation-based classroom discourses. Even though teachers are required to scaffold knowledge construction in the classroom, it appears that not much prominence has been dedicated to exploring alternative or novel approaches to…

Individualism is the dominant value system in Western cultures and, as such, it affects the conduct of every aspect of human endeavour, including education. One of the most enduring effects on education has been the search for individual differences that can explain and predict variation in student achievement, with the hope that pedagogical…

Ensuring quality teaching in every classroom across an entire system of schools--that's what a district leader's job is all about. A district leader's challenges are unique so "The Learning System" was created with that in mind. This issue contains: (1) What Works Around the World: Landmark Study Examines Professional Learning Abroad to Pinpoint…

While there may be similarities between adults and children in how they learn (such as language, interaction and communication), many writers argue that adult learners are different from child learners in a number of ways. This article aims to review how adults learn through examining one particular theory of adult learning. Two conflicting…

Spirituality, religion, and culture are complicated subjects. Indeed, they are fundamental socialising forces that affect how adult learners make meaning in the world. While there has been considerable discussion of the spiritual and religious dimensions of adult learning in North America and to some extent in England, there has been little direct…

In this article we focus on university lecturers' approaches to the service teaching and factors that influence their approaches. We present data obtained from the interviews with 19 mathematics and three physics lecturers along with the observations of two mathematics lecturers' calculus courses. The findings show that lecturers' approaches to…

Traditionally, assessing student writing ability has often been product-focused. Advocates of child-centered process-oriented classrooms, however, suggest that teachers should also focus on understanding children's writing behaviors in the context of meaningful communicative tasks. In such an approach, writing conferences are one way in which…

This article reports on a research project which investigated higher education teaching in a partnership of 17 further education colleges across south-west England. One hundred and six respondents answered a web-based questionnaire which gave insights into their views on the role of the lecture in higher education in further education (HE in FE)…

"Teaching practice through substitute teaching" is an educational innovation with Chinese characteristics. It is a model of aid that is effective when applied to the educational and teaching resources of the poverty-stricken regions and also serves as an important reform in the internship system of normal university students. The priority of…

The relationship between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching was explored in a study of 18 secondary school art teachers in Hong Kong. Conceptions of teaching approaches were fitted to a four-category model. Each of the categories was distinguished by reference to six relevant dimensions. As is the case in higher education,…

Workplace assessment (WPA) of New Zealand's National Qualifications Framework (NQF) competencies has become a significant alternative pathway for vocational adult education. This article reports on a research project which compares stated intentions for workplace assessment with evidence of its practical realization. The perceptions of the…