Response to Intervention (RtI) came into the national forefront in the late 1990s as an alternate approach for identifying students with specific learning disabilities. In brief, RtI assumes that a broad system of early intervention and support is in place, one possible component of which is evaluating a student for suspected learning…

Despite a decade of simplification efforts, students and families are often still baffled by the student aid process and cringe at the sight of financial aid application forms. Contrary to its purpose of helping students to access college, the student aid application process causes families frustration and confusion that has been cited as an…

We report on the development of a middle school life sciences inquiry module, Sensing the Environment. This "data-enriched" inquiry module includes a series of activities exploring the nature of science, photosynthesis, transpiration, and natural selection, which culminates in students' querying authentic environmental data to support a scientific…

This article reports the findings of a recent empirical study that was conducted at a large university in the United States. The study compared the findings from modern learning theories to reported perceptions of undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in online learning environments. The intention of the study was to compare perceived…

A novel participatory workshop methodology was adopted in this qualitative study of the intersection of disability and diversity in the lives of individuals. Social service recipients, parents, educators, service providers, and policy makers in three Canadian cities were conjoined in daylong discussions designed to investigate if the realities of…

A survey of 277 speech language pathologists (SLPs) investigated beliefs and practice regarding parents' involvement in service planning and delivery for children with speech impairment. Although the SLPs frequently involved parents in service delivery for speech intervention, parental involvement in service planning was less frequent. SLPs…

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the implementation process for Parenting Plus, an early intervention program in a rural, western Canadian health district. Parenting Plus, as modeled after Hawaii Healthy Start, provides strength-based paraprofessional home visitations to overburdened parents of newborns. The general inductive…

Members of the committee on disabilities of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) contacted 107 of 126 American Medical Schools to determine the number of students requesting accommodation for a disability, the time at which the request was made, the type of disability, and the type of accommodation offered. The survey determined that…

In implementing broad community initiatives, the ability to assess the delivery of services is a distinct challenge. Yet, understanding both the magnitude and cross-usage of services by target populations is often a precursor to effective program evaluation, program improvement and additional program planning. This research examines the extent to…

This article presents the results of research conducted at the first place where autism was diagnosed in China, the Nanjing Child Mental Health Research Center. The purpose was to examine the development of service provision for children with autism in this state-run medical institution. Specifically, the specific intervention model for autism,…

Responsibilities placed on a governing body are profound--starting with governors' own performance and the achievement of the pupils. In recognition of the weight of duty placed upon them, every governing body has, by law, to appoint a clerk who is not a governor. Committees of the governing body may be clerked by governors, but the main meeting…

This article presents a reciprocal model of mentoring as an alternative approach to more traditional mentoring models. A mentor, experienced with online course delivery and pedagogy, worked with six online instructors over two academic terms within a reciprocal mentorship model. This model was designed to build a collaborative learning…

In a 2004 interview with the late Everett Rogers, author of the book "Diffusion of Innovation", Rogers lamented that in 1963, he and other members of a prominent research group expected to solve the remaining international development problems and end poverty within ten to fifteen years. Now, forty-five years hence, it is time for a "reality…

In today's era of accountability, test scores are top-in-mind for educators. Educators must do all they can to help English language learners succeed in literacy, math, science, and so much more. However, education is not just about the brain; it's about the whole child. In this article, the author describes how school district leaders can set the…

This article explores the implementation of the Victorian Youth Employment, Education and Training Initiative (YEETI). This statewide initiative delivered brokerage funds to homeless young people through their housing advocates. One of the findings of the project was that the main barrier to young people achieving a stable continuum in their lives…