Researchers, organizations, companies, non-profits, practitioners, and to some extent, the public, are clamoring for massive reform in developmental coursework in higher education (American Association of Community Colleges, 2018; Edgecombe et al., 2014; Complete College America, 2012). One such reform is the push for integrated reading and…

Developmental education is the starting point for many 1st-year college students, especially from underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation populations. One such 1st-year program linked block-scheduled academic skill-development courses with a required interdisciplinary general education science course where instruction was provided…

The authors of this article concede that Annmarie Guzy's lead article for this volume of "Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council" speaks of a familiar challenge in the Eastern Kentucky University Honors Program. The nearly universal and dramatic increase in the number of AP, IB, and/or Dual Enrollment credit hours among their…

The Indiana Science Initiative (ISI) is a systemic effort to reform K-8 science education. The program provides teachers with professional development, reform-oriented science modules, and materials support. To examine the impact of the initiative's professional development, a participant observation study was conducted in the program's pilot…

The Finnish education system has received worldwide attention due to the top academic performance of Finnish school students. Physical education, as an integral part of the Finnish education curriculum, potentially contributes to the overall success. The purpose of this article is to summarize Finnish physical education reform during the past…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceived implications that principal leadership has on transforming a large comprehensive high school into smaller learning communities (SLCs); and to speculate on possible factors that contribute to the change process after the implementation of SLCs. The study explores the roles,…

In 2009, the federal government committed over $3 billion nationwide to help states and districts turn around their worst-performing schools. The U.S. Department of Education intended for the School Improvement Grants (SIGs) to spur dramatic change.This report looks at the results of a field study of the first-year implementation of those grants…

To platoon or not to platoon? That's the question facing Irving Hamer, Deputy Superintendent of Academic Operations, Technology and lnnovation for the Memphis City Schools. This year for the first time, the state's achievement test, Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), will include algebraic concepts on the 5th-grade test. Of the…

Teacher professional development is one of the most powerful influences on student achievement, and professional learning communities can be an excellent vehicle for high-quality PD. Mindich and Lieberman examine ways to implement effective PLCs. Education research has found that collegial work is connected to teachers' professional growth and…

Block scheduling was established in response to educational reform measures and is the restructuring of the school day in longer class increments with fewer number of classes per day. The FFA, an intra-curricular component of the agricultural education, provides leadership opportunities and involvement within the classroom setting. This study…

Two schools in Michigan received ARRA SIG (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act School Improvement Grants) funds to enable them to implement their improvement efforts. This paper describes the outcomes of these two ARRA SIG recipient schools: (1) Phoenix Elementary-Middle School; and (2) Arthur Hill High School. The experiences of these…

In 2002, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) initiated an innovative and ambitious program for improving student learning through the effective use of instructional technology. Until that point, most technology projects in schools were geared toward integrating technology into the curriculum, and they tended to focus on…

A study compared scores on identical tests in internal medicine for two groups of graduating University of Toronto (Canada) medical students: those in a traditional, lecture-based curriculum (TC) and those in a redesigned curriculum with less didactic instruction and more clinical experience (NC). All comparisons showed a significantly higher…

A 3-year project analyzed the Arkansas postsecondary vocational-technical education system to determine how effectively delivery was meeting the objective of providing vocational training. Two postsecondary vocational-technical schools in Northeast Arkansas were selected as pilot schools to test the innovative strategies that evolved from the…

Research funded by the Flexible Learning Advisory Group during 2000-2002 on issues related to online learning and delivery in vocational education and training in Australia was consolidated. Key findings included the following: (1) most students who experienced online learning did so in a conventional class, using face-to-face and other strategies…