This document describes the mentoring relationship from the perspectives of several virtual schools that have built mentoring programs to assist their new teachers. Each school's mentoring program is unique and has been designed specifically for the school's staff, size, and instructional approach. These schools have learned that a successful…

Freshmen Pre-Orientation Programs (FPOPs) can be powerful outreach tools for incoming college students and provide an exciting introduction to the field of engineering. The benefits reach not only the first year students, but also the upperclassmen who help to run the programs and the departments that sponsor them. A family of three engineering…

As schools shift to a performance-based model of language instruction, your world language programs will be challenged to keep up with new instructional activities and assessments. This new volume in our "Priorities in Practice" series can help. Explore the new directions schools and districts are taking in designing and implementing flexible…

Remediation is the most common policy designed to prepare students academically and socially during their early stages of college. But despite its profound importance and its significant costs, there is very little rigorous research analyzing its effectiveness. The goal of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for evaluation of remedial…

There is little theoretical or experimental research on how beginner-level trainees learn CAD skills in formal training sessions. This work presents findings on how trainees develop their skills in utilizing a solid mechanical CAD tool (Pro/Engineer version 2000i[squared] and later version Wildfire). Exercises at the beginner and intermediate…

Increased focus on assessment of student learning in the accreditation of higher education institutions offers new, challenging opportunities for institutional researchers. This article explores how institutional researchers can maximize these opportunities by offering methodological guidance in the assessment process and by designing new studies…

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), formerly the Center for Instructional Design at Brigham Young University (BYU), partners with faculty to help improve teaching and learning. The CTL currently supports a broad range of faculty projects to maintain and improve on-campus instruction. It has more than 35 full-time employees and…

To enhance student performance, prevent attrition, and build a learning community, two courses were linked together by requiring concurrent enrollment. "Writing Effectively," an upper-division composition course, was linked with "Abnormal Psychology," an upper-division clinical psychology course, requiring concurrent enrollment in both. In short,…

Comprehensive school reform (CSR), a federally funded program, is designed to raise student achievement via the implementation of whole school reforms. Unfortunately, although close to 400 CSR models have been adopted by schools nationally, there is relatively limited empirical evidence from rigorous research studies regarding the effectiveness of…

This article presents evidence from a national evaluation of the effects of 21st Century Community Learning Center after-school programs. The study was conducted in 12 school districts and 26 after-school centers, at which 2,308 elementary school students who were interested in attending a center were randomly assigned either to the treatment or…

Background: Experiential learning has been posited as an approach to influencing preservice teachers' understanding of diversity and social justice. The research reported here examined the impact of a field-based experience in Poland focused on the Holocaust as it pertained to the beliefs and actions of 12 future education professionals. This…

The report summarizes results of an evaluation of "The Cutting Edge," a workplace education program operated by El Paso Community College (Texas) with funding from the National Workplace Literacy Program. The project had tow main goals: to field test and refine curricula at a number of workplace sites, and to prepare products and…

Dynamic Online Performance Support Systems (DOPSS) are a new class of intervention that can meet the needs of a quickly changing work force in an information age environment. These systems are customized for the target population, with unique meta tags, unique function sets, and dynamic growth for and by users in use. These unique tag sets allow…

This survey comprised of two volumes of the first year of implementation of the Federal Direct Loan Program among institutions of the first cohort was designed to assess institutions' experiences in transition to the new program and their satisfaction with the program overall. Results included: (1) the overall level of schools' satisfaction with…

The phenomenal growth in enrollment at community and technical colleges during the past decade has had a distinct impact on the role that counselors must play to continue to provide a viable contribution to the colleges. Specifically, Mesa Community College (MCC), in Arizona, has identified three trends which provide opportunities for counseling…