In this article we share the theoretical framework of threshold concepts--concepts on which deep understanding of a field of practice and inquiry hinges and which, once understood and internalized, open a doorway to otherwise inaccessible ways of thinking--and explore its relevance to learning how to teach, learn, serve, partner, and generate…

2017 is the anniversary of the introduction of what are now commonly known as high-impact practices (HIPs). Many of the specific activities pursued under the HIPs acronym have been around in some form for decades, such as study abroad, internships, and student-faculty research. It was about ten years ago that, after conferring HIPs at Ten with…

This study explores the role that identity and the identity development process play in a short-term, international service-learning experience. Employing narrative inquiry, two of the co-authors, student participants in a 2-week service-learning program in Honduras, describe and interpret their service-learning experience in the context of life…

Mark Van Doren, the noted literary scholar, once remarked, "The college is meaningless without a curriculum, but it is more so when it has one that is meaningless." Many current critics of undergraduate curricula in America assent to the crucial need for programmatic renewal in our colleges and universities. They bemoan the cookie-cutter…

A research group at the University of Alberta is attempting to apply the Community of Inquiry framework to all components of courses, rather than only the online discussion component.

In the evolving world of higher education, both online and in the classroom, the discovery and integration of effective new practices is crucial in preparing today's growing number of adult students for tomorrow's dynamic and evolving workplace and to meet the educational demands of busy adult students. In "Authentic Instruction and Online…

Argues that the conflicts and contradictions of community outreach (such as service learning) call for an intercultural inquiry that not only seeks more diverse rival readings, but constructs multivoiced negotiated meanings in practice. Presents a case study in which students use the practice of intercultural inquiry to go beyond a contact zone…

This paper argues that academic service learning at the undergraduate level provides an accessible and powerful crucible for exploring a career in teaching while also providing needed literacy experiences for children. Undergraduate service learning programs can include direct and authentic experiences that enroll, engage, and stimulate both…

Introduces a program that brings inquiry-based, hands-on activities to middle school science students through the participation of volunteer college students. Explains fall and spring activities for 5th and 6th grade students. (Contains 16 references.) (YDS)

This volume discusses the ways in which teacher preparation programs around the country are actively embracing civic education from the belief that teacher education is inherently tied to both the preparation of civil servants and the work of preparing citizens. In the field of education, specifically the work of preparing teachers, there has been…

This volume contains papers submitted to the 12th Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES), held in Sofia and Nessebar, Bulgaria, in June 2014, and papers submitted to the 2nd International Partner Conference, organized by the International Research Centre 'Scientific Cooperation,' Rostov-on-Don,…