Creative thinking is essential for career success in the information age. According to the World Economic Forum, creative thinking ranks as the fastest growing and second-most important skill among employers. Creative thinking also ranks above artificial intelligence (AI) and big data in terms of companies' skills-training priorities for workers.…

Teachers' knowledge has been an important research focus for many decades. Although many empirical studies have been carried out regarding content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, less attention has been paid to general pedagogical knowledge (GPK). The focus of this study is the exploration of different definitions and dimensions of…

There is a growing interest in conceptualizing, defining, and assessing what are often called 21st century skills or deeper learning competencies. The purpose of this literature review is to explore the conceptualizations, definitions, and understandings in the research literature related to self-directed learning. Key initial questions include:…

As the global economy transforms into a knowledge-based society with an enhanced focus on information and innovation, success will depend on the ability of global citizens to work effectively with knowledge and technology (Drucker, 1993; Sawyer, 2006; Schwab, 2017). Working effectively with knowledge and technology requires thinking critically and…

Alignment to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) is essential in efforts to interpret the standards and to compare curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment efforts with respect to the standards. However, relatively little work has explored the alignment implications of NGSS. This article is a conceptual analysis that gives an overview of…

Appreciating that a significant amount of assessment-related literature has focused on the 'what' of assessment (i.e. what to assess), 'the systematic use of assessment to improve learning remains the exception rather than the rule' [Wiliam, D. (2018). Assessment for learning: Meeting the challenge of implementation. "Assessment in Education:…

Purpose: While the number of entrepreneurship education programmes offered around the world is on the rise, research into the assessment of entrepreneurship education programmes is still lacking. The purpose of this paper is to take the stance that entrepreneurship education has to focus on a set of transversal competences aimed at teaching…

Collaboration is increasingly identified as an important educational outcome, and most models of twenty-first-century skills include collaboration as a key skill (e.g., Griffin, McGaw, & Care, 2012; Pellegrino & Hilton, 2012; OECD PISA Collaborative Problem Solving Expert Working Group, 2013; Trilling & Fadel, 2009). Such widespread…

The purpose of this piece is to provide the research and rationales behind Practice Profiles. To achieve outcomes and develop effective implementation supports, innovations need to be "teachable, learnable, doable, and assessable." Practice Profile methodology facilitates the development of innovations and their necessary infrastructure.…

Education has a long-standing practice of turning worthwhile learning goals into lists of bits. One might even say that this practice is the original sin in curriculum design: take a complex whole, divide it into small pieces, string those together in a rigid sequence of instruction and testing, and call completion of this sequence…

The main purpose of this article is to provide educators with clear definitions of motivational factors in reading so that instructional planning can capitalize on important distinctions. The authors present definitions of a small set of related motivational concepts (including attitudes, interests, self-efficacy, self-concept, goals, and value)…

This article outlines a rational for responsive, differentiated writing instruction that targets students' identified needs with respect to various dimensions of the writing process. Discussed is a cycle that requires ongoing assessment, instructional decision-making, responsive, differentiated instruction, guided practice, and assessment.…

The term "multiple disabilities" is general and broad. From the term, you cannot tell how many disabilities a child has; which disabilities are involved; or how severe each disability is. Many combinations of disabilities are possible. The different disabilities will also have a combined impact. That is why it is also important to ask:…

This paper, fundamentally a procedural paper, outlines pedagogical practices which others may want to adapt for their own purposes. We demonstrate how a strong form of task-based language learning and teaching (TBLT), classroom implementation of the CEFR, cyclical learning, and assessment fulfilling roles, such as informing the next learning…

In the years since the publication in South Africa of White Paper Six: Special needs education (Department of Education (DoE) 2001) various schools in the state and independent sectors have begun to implement inclusive policies and practices. With reference to the Guidelines for full-service/inclusive schools issued in 2009, and by discussing a…