The purpose of this study was to examine professional learning practices of school districts that have included choice and differentiation in their approaches to professional learning, and to examine the impact educational leaders' knowledge of andragogy, or adult learning theory, may have had on program development. Andragogy is often ill-defined…

This post-professional development evaluation study (based on in-depth interviews) assessed the experience of ten educators who had participated one year earlier in workshops about the use of museum digital resources through the Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL) for curricula development. The project focused on creating SLL collections to integrate…

Launched in June 2016, the Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL) provides access to the digital resources from across the Smithsonian's 19 museums, 9 major research centers, and the National Zoo, to be used as real-world learning experiences. It is designed to aid students in building lasting knowledge and critical skills that take learners from simply…

Research-based learning in a teaching environment is an effective way to help bring the excitement and experience of independent bench research to a large number of students. The program described here is the second of a two-semester biochemistry laboratory series. Here, students are empowered to design, execute and analyze their own experiments…

By examining one writing center's role in student success, this project offers two examples of the way writing centers impact student engagement. This analysis models a methodology that writing and learning center directors can utilize in order to foster effective communication with stakeholders. By conducting data-driven assessment, directors can…

Evolutionary processes can be studied in nature and in the laboratory, but time and financial constraints result in few opportunities for undergraduate and high school students to explore the agents of genetic change in populations. One alternative to time consuming and expensive teaching laboratories is the use of computer simulations. We…

In this article, the author talks about the concept of school library as a place of learning for students. He contends that a school library must be conceived in terms of three aspects. First, it should have a creative school library media specialist to lead the principal through a meaningful vision of what the library could be in terms of…

This is the report of a qualitative emergent-design study of 2 different Web-enhanced science methods courses for preservice elementary teachers in which an experiential learning strategy, labeled "using yourself as a learning laboratory," was implemented. Emergent grounded theory indicated this strategy, when embedded in a course organized as an…

In this study, researchers evaluated the usability of game environments for teaching and learning about mathematical functions. A 3-Dimensional multi-user computer game called as "Quest Atlantis" has been used, and an educational game about mathematical functions has been developed in parallel to the Quest Atlantis' technical and…

Project CREATES, an open school within the framework of a public school system, has been an attempt to develop a unique educational program with emphasis on role development of personnel and curriculum development. It is seen by parents and children as an important alternative to the self-contained classroom concept of education. Its goals have…

This is the report of an attempt to develop and teach a high school American history course based on inquiry techniques. Chapter I and II discuss recent changes in teaching methodology and the author's interest in the problem. Chapter III details the search for materials. Chapter IV describes the new method being tested in the classroom. Students…

This is one unit of the series described in SO 000 378. To insure that his unit will go beyond the general treatment of government thought in Civics or American History classes, emphasis has been placed on the methods of inquiry which will help the student achieve the self-realization of his own role in government. An examination is made into the…

The Advancement School staff tried to discover why urban secondary school students are underachievers and how their enthusiasm for learning can be rekindled. As a result they have developed these suggested curriculum materials and techniques to encourage acceptance of self and to help students discover their style, aptitudes, and good…

The development process of an alternative to high school government courses included the elaboration of a two-semester course called Comparing Political Experiences. The discussion of a competency-based approach to instruction and learning used in this course specifies, in diagram and in theoretical terms, three phases in achieving political…