Outlines an approach for post-secondary educators to improve the quality of electronic discussion groups. Using a template of macros constructed in Microsoft Word, the authors explain a system of coding called cognotes and discuss an evaluation method where higher order critical thinking skills are given greater value toward higher grades.…

Describes a study conducted at Illinois State University that compared the results achieved by library users searching the ERIC database on CD-ROM with the results achieved by individual and teamed skilled intermediaries. Evaluation of library services is discussed, patron search strategies are examined, and strategies for improving patron…

To close the achievement gap, the "No Child Left Behind" law calls for all students to make appropriate yearly progress. This presumably means that progress is being made by capable readers at the same time progress is being made by struggling readers. However, there appear to be unintended effects of "No Child Left Behind"…

The authors examine the promises and prospects of using student engagement data to promote success at minority-serving institutions.

A former chancellor outlines how he successfully transformed the culture of his campus to enhance retention and student success.

Minority student attrition and underachievement is a long-standing and widespread concern in higher education. It is especially acute in introductory science courses which are prerequisites for students planning to pursue science-related careers. Poor performance in these courses often results in attrition of minorities from the science fields.…

This paper reconsiders long-term, national or socially contextualized trends in a number of important education areas commonly addressed by policy interventions. These include widening participation, teacher training, school performance, the use of targets, and student assessment. In each case, it is very difficult to sustain an argument that…

True excellence in technology implementation emerges when IT, administrative, and academic leaders link IT to mission-critical institutional objectives, investing in hardware and software to serve an explicit purpose and a distinct population of users. This article illustrates that at public institutions of higher education in New Hampshire as…

The Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund was established by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, UK, with the declared aims of enhancing the quality of teaching and learning and raising the status of teaching among higher education institutions. This paper considers the three strands of the initiative--subject, institutional, and…

This article presents new systems produced by systemic change. First is Systemic Changes in the Chugach School District by Wendy Battino and Jo Clem. Second is Systemic Changes in Public Schools through Brain-Based Learning by Renate N. Caine. Third is A Vision of an Information-Age Educational System by Charles M. Reigeluth. Fourth is Systemic…

The study that we report in this paper, named as learning study, is a hybrid between a design experiment as characterized by Brown and Collins, and a Japanese lesson study as characterized by Yoshida, and Stigler and Hiebert. This paper aims at tracing the development of the learning study and examining its impact on teacher professional learning,…

The Classroom Assessment Project to Improve Teaching and Learning (CAPITAL) examined teacher change and development with regard to classroom assessment. The National Science Foundation supported the four-year effort to study how teachers modify their practices to create the conditions for the kinds of assessment that foster learning. The authors…

Self-managed learning groups are regularly used in higher education. However, there is little direct evidence as to strategies that can enhance their efficacy, or the factors that influence students' engagement with the process of self-management. If students are expected to manage their out-of-class collaborative learning experiences, then…

This multimethod study generated and tested a "best evidence" model of school improvement processes (SIP) capable of improving student achievement. Initially developed through the review of a comprehensive body of previous empirical research, the model was further refined through a 2, 5-year longitudinal study in 10 schools. A quantitative test of…

"Learning how to learn--in classrooms, schools and networks" (LHTL) was a major school based development and research project within the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme. As such it was expected to work towards fulfilment of TLRP aims to work for improvement in learning outcomes, in authentic learning and teaching contexts,…