Technology has become embedded in all aspects of students' lives as they increasingly rely on mobile technology devices such as cell phones to access and share information. Cell phones function as portable, affordable, and ubiquitous mini-computers, yet few teachers have leveraged the benefits of cell phone technology for teaching and learning…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Integrated Data Systems Link Schools and Communities: Researchers Combine School and Non-School Data to Inform Interventions and Policy (Patti Hartigan);…

As the method we use to measure the effectiveness of educational institutions changes to focus more on learning outcomes rather than learning processes, teaching styles may need to adapt to facilitate this approach to evaluation. This paper proposes several strategies to build a more student-focused classroom including the…

Teaching in higher education increasingly requires greater accountability, the utilization of contemporary learner-focused teaching models, and transparent grading methods for nonstandardized learning products. This article describes learner-centered evaluation and assessment strategies and illustrates how these approaches emphasize learners'…

Recent research has touted the benefits of learner-centered instruction, problem-based learning, and a focus on complex learning. Instructors often struggle to put these goals into practice as well as to measure the effectiveness of these new teaching strategies in terms of mastery of course objectives. Enter the course evaluation, often a…

"Differentiating Instruction With Menus Grades 3-5" offers teachers everything they need to create a student-centered learning environment based on choice. Addressing the four main subject areas (language arts, math, science, and social studies) and the major concepts taught within these areas, these books provide a number of different types of…

"Differentiating Instruction With Menus Grades 3-5" offers teachers everything they need to create a student-centered learning environment based on choice. Addressing the four main subject areas (language arts, math, science, and social studies) and the major concepts taught within these areas, these books provide a number of different types of…

Investigates classroom practices of 38 teachers enrolled in university masters' degree programs in educational technology and in other areas of education. Practices related to five key concepts related to educational technology: learner-centered instruction, instructional design, media and technology, assessment, and instructional alignment.…

"Differentiating Instruction With Menus Grades 3-5" offers teachers everything they need to create a student-centered learning environment based on choice. Addressing the four main subject areas (language arts, math, science, and social studies) and the major concepts taught within these areas, these books provide a number of different types of…

Presents an example of a complete Patchwork Text assignment assembled by a student during the module "Perspectives on Research and Knowledge in Professional Practice." The example illustrates the Patchwork format of a sequence of writing tasks produced at intervals during the course and ending with an attempt at a retrospective synthesis. (AEF)

Presents a process-based framework for evaluating students' efforts in online discussion. Delineates criteria for evaluating students' contributions to an online discussion and describes processes for implementing student-centered evaluations and professor-centered evaluations. Offers implications for future theoretical and empirical endeavors.…

"Differentiating Instruction With Menus Grades 3-5" offers teachers everything they need to create a student-centered learning environment based on choice. Addressing the four main subject areas (language arts, math, science, and social studies) and the major concepts taught within these areas, these books provide a number of different types of…

This paper addresses the concept of blended learning, an approach that has been gaining popularity in recent years with the advancement of computer-mediated training solutions. It begins with an effort to define blended learning and a description of its historical context. A discussion of blended learning as a learner-centric approach follows,…

The early childhood education field is changing rapidly, and the theories and methods used in preschools and kindergartens--such as child-centered, hands-on learning--are now influencing the way primary school is taught. This book is designed to be a brief overview of the field of early childhood education. Chapter 1 describes the historical and…