Response to intervention is meant to be broad-based and preventative. However, as formulated and practiced the approach often is too limited in how it frames what needs to go on to enable learning, engage students, and keep them engaged. In particular, it pays too little attention to the need to strengthen the classroom and schoolwide context in…

Teacher learning, whether in-service, continued education, or experience based, is a key component of school reform. Specific research on the use of teacher learning to improve student achievement and instructional practices in and across schools is limited. The research questions addressed in this study were: (a) the degree to which teacher…

From October 2003 to April 2008 a systemic reform of the Mechanical Engineering program at The City College of New York was undertaken with the goal of incorporating emerging technologies (such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), intelligent systems) and new teaching methodologies (such as project based…

Worldwide, there is an emerging interest in sustainability and sustainability education. A popular and promising approach is the use of systems thinking. However, the systems approach to sustainability has neither been clearly defined nor has its practical application followed any systematic rigor, resulting in confounded and underspecified…

Policymakers and educators are increasingly expressing concerns that the U.S. is lagging behind other countries in educating the next generation of mathematicians and scientists. In response, the federal government, private foundations, and many "institutions of higher education" (IHEs) are encouraging STEM (science, technology,…

Through in-depth interviews with a group of accomplished teachers of color who emphasized the need for their students to access the "culture of power" as a means to work toward racial justice, I attempt to represent the purposefulness of their practice within the context of what one participant termed the "millennium form of slavery." I argue that…

The purpose of this article is to present a systems-based mentoring model of technology integration that follows a research-based path. The model moves teachers through four specific stages of technology adoption toward using technology to support learning in more student-centered ways. The model describes how a mentor can negotiate the interplay…

The purposes of this study were to determine preservice physics teachers' instructional beliefs and to investigate the relationship between their beliefs and practices. The theoretical framework was based on the combination Haney & McArthur's ("Science Education," 86(6):783-802, 2002) research and Ford's (1992) motivation systems theory. A…

Many reform initiatives adopt a reductionist, proceduralized approach to cultural change, assuming that deep changes can be realized by introducing new classroom activities, textbooks, and technological tools. This article elaborates a complex system perspective of learning culture: A learning culture as a complex system involves macro-level…

Traditional teaching models based on linear approaches to instruction arguably are of limited value in preparing students to handle complex, dynamic real-world problems. As such, they are undergoing increased scrutiny by scholars in various disciplines. The author argues that nonlinear approaches to higher education such as those founded on…

Now that most states have adopted the new Common Core State Standards, the next major challenge is to simplify and implement them by 2014. That is why it is important to begin this work now. Joe Crawford, Milken Award-winning educator and author of "Using Power Standards to Build an Aligned Curriculum", shares his proven process for…

Background: In Europe, Internet and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) open a world of possibilities for children, and expose them to various risks as well. The Safer Internet Programme promoted by the European Commission aims to protect young people online. Goal: The study seeks to identify how European national education systems…

This paper presents a new laboratory-based module for embedded systems teaching, which addresses the current lack of consideration for the link between hardware development, software implementation, course content and student evaluation in a laboratory environment. The course introduces second year undergraduate students to the interface between…

Technology implementation research indicates that teachers' beliefs and knowledge, as well as a host of institutional factors, can influence technology integration. Drawing on third-generation activity theory, this article conceptualizes technology implementation as a network of planning and integration activities carried out by technology…

Given the current striving for "sustainability" and the corresponding paradigms shift in science, technology, R&D, environment perception, economy and politics; e.g., from unlimited growth-to-sustainable development, correction-to-prevention and passive consumption of "goods", culture and education--to active participation,…