Various approaches to the professional development school (PDS)--each designed for its respective audience, mission, and purpose for engagement--have shaped the professional development school effort during the past 25 years. Central to these approaches is improving teacher quality in the service of student learning. This provides direction for…

The Laboratory Management Institute (LMI) at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) was an experiment designed to enhance the leadership and management skills of researchers and thereby enhance the overall quality of the academic research enterprise. The educational programs that resulted provide examples of how research administrators can…

This article reports that last month at the NASA-Ames Research Center, a group of top scientists and business leaders gathered to plan a new university devoted to the idea that computers will soon become smarter than people. The details of Singularity University, as the new institution will be called, are still being worked out--and so far the…

There are many competencies necessary for success as a 4-H agent. The 4-H Professional Research, Knowledge, and Competencies (PRKC) Model organizes competencies into six domains: (a) Youth Development, (b) Youth Program Development, (c) Volunteerism, (d) Partnerships, (e) Organizational Systems, and (f) Equity, Access and Opportunity (National 4-H…

It is a health education truism that instructional material will be more effective when audience characteristics are taken into account at the outset of program development. One strategy for disseminating relevant health information to individuals is known as "tailored messaging," which accounts for intra-individual information processing needs.…

In this paper, the authors outline a project that they initiated in a mainstream primary school to promote cooperative learning throughout the school by using a lesson process to teach social and emotional skills. In doing so they provide a brief overview including research of the benefits of cooperative learning, followed by a description of how…

In its most basic form, strategic planning is a process of anticipating change, identifying new opportunities, and executing strategy. The use of mixed methods, blending quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques and data, in the process of assembling a strategic plan can help to ensure a successful outcome. In this article, the author…

Despite the unique adjustment challenges facing international students' spouses, little research has focused on their adjustment experiences or their programming needs. Understanding the adjustment of these individuals is important both in itself and because spouses play a key role in the adjustment and academic success of international students.…

Transmountain Early College High School (TMECHS) opened in August 2008, created by a partnership between the El Paso Community College (EPCC) and the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD), and supported in its conceptualization, start-up, and first few years operation by grant funding and guidance from the Texas High School Project (THSP)…

Higher education has become more accessible than ever before, although students from some demographic groups still face challenges in attending college. To help improve access to higher education for minority and low-income students, Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act, as amended, provide grants to strengthen and support institutions…

Copious educational technology projects have been implemented in several low-income communities by multilateral institutions, individuals, and governmental agencies. Statistics show that the majority of these initiatives fail to accomplish their objectives, thereby wasting colossal amounts of money, talent, and resources. Scholars aver that poor…

This book explores the perspectives of experienced practitioners, sharing ideas about building and sustaining organizational strength through workforce development practices and systems. As the saying goes, a company's greatest resource is its people. When managers really believe that and work to develop organizational capabilities, productivity,…

Determining the most effective methods and techniques to facilitate the spoken language development of individuals with hearing loss has been a focus of practitioners for centuries. Due to modern advances in hearing technology, earlier identification of hearing loss, and immediate enrollment in early intervention, children with hearing loss are…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Opencast Community, a global community of individuals, institutions, and commercial stakeholders exchanging knowledge about all matters relevant in the context of academic video and promoting projects in this context. It also gives an overview of the most prominent of these projects, Opencast…

The collection of articles in this special issue on relational aggression gives a glimpse into the complex social networks, first, of children's relational aggression and, second, of the collaborators who develop and validate children's prevention programs. The programs described in this special section are among the first to address relational…