This study evaluated syllabi (N = 87) from introductory advertising and public relations courses to examine to what extent and how stated course goals and assignments signal the overall learning orientation of a course and which type of learning orientation--mastery or performance--was most common. Mastery orientations emphasize intrinsic rewards,…

Background/Context: Despite decades of research, the persistence of the gap in student achievement between disadvantaged minority students and their middle-class peers remains unexplained. Purpose/Objective: The purpose of the current article is to propose a new model of the achievement gap. Research Design: Data were analyzed from three…

Most higher education institutions offering programmes in music performance organise master classes for their students. It is commonly agreed that master classes offer valuable learning opportunities for the students performing, but what do they offer for students in the audience? In this article, theories of learning by observation as well as…

In 2012, Touchstone Education opened its first school, Merit Preparatory Charter School of Newark ("Merit Prep Newark"), in New Jersey, with 84 sixth-graders, 90 percent of whom are low-income, with most entering Merit Prep several years behind grade level. In reading and science, Merit Prep Newark has shown strong early results in its…

When Rocketship Education, a pioneering, rapidly expanding charter school network, looked at its results, it could have rested on its laurels. With seven schools in California together ranking as the top public school system for low-income elementary students, Rocketship had proof that its blended-learning model--combining online learning with…

Authors and co-directors of "Public Impact," Emily Ayscue Hassel and Bryan C. Hassel state that, looking back over the decades, no one is really getting what they want. Teachers are no closer to achieving the societal respect and substantial, sustainable rewards for their contributions that they deserve, and student achievement has…

The rapid population growth of under-represented minority groups and the continued under-utilisation of women mean that future growth in the domestic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce is linked to greater diversity. Subject-matter mastery is important but insufficient for a student to pursue a STEM profession --…

Competency education, an educator-led reform, is taking root in schools and districts across the country. In some states, state leadership has cleared the path with policies to advance competency education. This paper seeks to map out the terrain of the district implementation strategies being used to convert traditional systems into personalized,…

When low test scores demanded a hard look at the curriculum, literacy became a focus for improvement at Brockton (MA) High School. Schoolwide training for teachers and a rolling implementation model ensured consistency and reinforcement of the skills. Results came in improved scores and national recognitions, including selection as a National…

The intensifying attention to college and career readiness of late poses many challenges for public education, but it also presents opportunities for innovative changes in the quality and type of education provided to students. To take full advantage, educators must have a clear answer to this question: What does college and career readiness mean…

Over the last decade, Colorado has emerged as a national leader in crafting innovative solutions for challenges facing its public school system. From implementing the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reforms to more recent legislation including standards and assessments for a preschool-through-college…

Explores outcome-based education, tracing its historical basis in competency-based education and mastery learning. Discusses the results of an ongoing dialogue between the authors (a classroom teacher and a university researcher). Although OBE offers some powerful ideas, it is not radical enough. OBE is based on behavioral objectives determined by…

A study of 120 teachers who participated in a staff development program explores the relationship between perceptions shared by effective teachers and teacher attitudes toward implementing new instructional practices. Implications for instructional improvement efforts are discussed. (JL)

With the education spotlight shifting to secondary schools and conversations about dropout rates, high school redesign, and workforce readiness taking place in government agencies, schools, universities, businesses, and foundations across the country, teenagers have become a focus of serious policy discussion. It is imperative that the evolving…

Over a three-year period every school system in Maryland received State Department of Education support in putting into practice research on effective teaching, using strategies and processes from the research on effective staff development and planned change. This paper summarizes some of the findings of an intensive study of this program, School…