This paper reports on an interview study of 18 Grade 10-12 students' model-based reasoning of a chemical reaction: the reaction of magnesium and oxygen at the submicro level. It has been proposed that chemical reactions can be conceptualised using two models: (i) the "particle model," in which a reaction is regarded as the simple…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the conceptions of integrated STEM education held by in-service science teachers through the use of Photo Elicitation Interviews (PEIs) and to examine how, if at all, those conceptions were reflected in teacher-created integrated STEM curricula that include an engineering design challenge.…

Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond is the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at the Stanford Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. She is former president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and member of the National Academy of Education and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also served as a…

The present article examines the general debate on curriculum differentiation and individualisation. Based on a policy ethnographic case study of class 9a at Forest School, it critically analyses how curriculum differentiation and individualisation are enacted in and interfere with classroom practice. The results show how Forest School's…

There has been a nation-wide push for an increase in the use of integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. With this shift in epistemological, pedagogical, and curricular content, there is a need to develop an understanding as to what integrated STEM education is, particularly among…

Institutional effectiveness (IE) is required for colleges and universities by the six regional accrediting agencies for education in the United States, but the creation of cyclical, systemic, ongoing IE plans has proven to be a challenge for institutions, and especially for community colleges. The literature indicates faculty resist IE work when…

The current emphasis on curriculum leadership implies the need to update school leaders' pedagogical knowledge. This paper will interest local and international readers because it highlights both essential content and the importance of the pedagogy employed to convey it. The study explored the initial effects of an introduction to Cognitive…

While program-level assessment has become common in higher education, questions remain about the impacts of assessment on teaching and learning in academic programs. Despite the considerable assessment activity happening in higher education, assessment scholars still have difficulty finding evidence of programs "closing the loop," that…

Carbon cycling is a key natural system that requires robust science literacy to understand how and why climate change is occurring. Studies show that students tend to compartmentalize carbon movement within plants and animals and are challenged to make sense of how carbon cycles on a global scale. Studies also show that students hold faulty models…

The author interviewed Dr. Carolyn Callahan, an eminent scholar in gifted education. The interview focused on Dr. Callahan's work on implementing gifted program in rural areas, and illustrated her suggestions for teachers, researchers, and parents on how to advocate for gifted students.

Strategy-deficient language learners struggle to develop their language proficiency through limiting and inappropriate strategies. This study aims at exploring experienced teachers' perceptions of strategy deficiency syndrome among EFL learners. To this end, the perspectives of a purposive sample of experienced teachers teaching in private…

This study examines physical education (PE) curriculum development in an elementary school. Our goal was to understand the daily construction of a curriculum. We sought to analyse the theoretical and methodological framework and documents that a PE teacher uses each day while putting a curriculum into practice (lived curriculum). The data…

This article presents a case study of how systems thinking and the instructional systems design ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and assessment) model were used to design and develop one of the first MOOCs at a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States. Contemporary issues surrounding MOOCs at both the macro…

This qualitative, multisite case study used Dee Fink's taxonomy of significant learning as a lens through which to examine the curricular structure, academic practices, and graduate outcomes for honors programs at Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. Special attention was given to the distinctive quality of Ignatian pedagogy and…

Quranic schools (QS) play a central role in the education system in the Islamic world. Despite their relatively small numbers, QS teachers play a major role in introducing Islamic values to the public. Thus, working with QS becomes a key strategy in influencing local Islamic discourse. This article introduces a case study of a program integrating…