Infusing creativity elements into regular classroom was an important movement in recent Asian educational reforms. A large-scale research study was conducted in Hong Kong to explore the possibilities, outcomes and difficulties of this kind of curriculum change from students' perspectives. Based mainly on Western creativity literature, this study…

This paper describes how a cluster of nine secondary science teachers and lecturers from five schools and colleges in the United Kingdom designed and undertook small-scale action research projects as an approach to their own continuing professional development. The participating teachers identified a range of topics for investigation such as:…

What general principles should inform a socioculturally sensitive pedagogy for teaching English as an International Language and what practices would be consistent with these principles? This text explores the pedagogical implications of the continuing spread of English and its role as an international language, highlighting the importance of…

With the rapid growth of international trade and globalization, English language has been emphasized in Asia countries, thus professionals with a good command of English has become essential and important. This study aimed to establish a blended model combining face-to-face (F2F) instruction for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course: English…

Teachers often engage in curricular planning by critiquing and adapting existing curriculum materials to contextualize lessons and compensate for their deficiencies. Designing instruction for students is shaped by teachers' ability to apply a variety of personal resources, including their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This study…

Today's children spend less and less time in the outdoors, leading Richard Louv in 2008 to coin the term "nature deficit disorder." Louv pointed out that experiences with nature are essential to a child's physical and emotional development and that the lack of these types of experiences has led to an increase in child obesity, attention…

As a lens through which to read and understand a subject area and its curriculum content and issues, a sociocultural perspective is a recent and arguably significant change for the Health and Physical Education (HPE) Key Learning Area (KLA) in Australia. Its significance lies, first, in the fact that it seems to represent a notable departure from…

The term "assessment" sends shivers down academic spines. For faculty, it signals marching orders from external parties who may or may not appreciate the subtle and not always quantifiable value of faculty efforts. For administrators, it means the dual challenge of recalibrating internal measures to meet external mandates but also…

James Moffett's influence in Australia is shown here manifested in a particular Syllabus for Years 7-10 from the 1970s. Moffett is discussed in terms of the totalising nature of the theory presented in "Teaching the Universe of Discourse" and it is argued that not only the details of Moffett's theory, but also its totalising nature were…

Moodle and Blackboard are two of the most famous and widely-known Learning Management Systems (LMS) over the world especially in the universities and other educational organizations. They have lots in common, but also have some key differences which make each one special in its own way. We note these differences below. If you have used any one of…

Many would say that while there are two ways to enter the teaching profession--traditional and alternative--there seems to be a common way to leave it: quickly. Across the board, more than half of beginning teachers leave teaching before their fifth year, and that percentage is even higher in urban public schools and for those prepared by some…

Competence-based education is becoming increasingly popular. Competencies are used more and more as the starting point for designing curricula and instructional methods, especially in vocational education and training, to realize authentic and self-steering study programmes. Despite its popularity in both research and educational settings, there…

Use was made of adapted problem-based learning (PBL) practical exercises to address the disengagement of apprentices with the existing assembly-style electronic laboratory programme. Apprentices perceived the traditional routines as having little real-world relevance. This detracted from the value and benefit to them of the practical component of…

This study examined the professional development opportunities that about eighty mathematics teachers of junior high schools were provided with in the national curriculum reform of China and explored how their beliefs in mathematics instruction and instructional practice were affected by the professional development opportunities available to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on research into the challenges for leadership in implementation of a new curriculum in a remote region of Queensland, Australia. Design/methodology/approach: Data for the research were gathered through an online survey and semi-structured interviews with teachers and principals involved in the…