In this study, we examined the effectiveness of an innovative approach to literacy instruction in Malawi on teachers' perceptions, attitudes, and instructional practices. Two groups participated in the study: Treatment teachers received complementary teaching and learning materials, workshops, and directive coaching, and control teachers received…

The purpose of this article is to describe the Doctoral Student Leadership Institute, an initiative developed to hone the leadership skills of doctoral students from a wide range of disciplines. The components of the Institute and preliminary assessment measures with findings are discussed. We particularly were pleased with the outcomes of the…

The development of Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) practices with young children from birth to eight years is an emerging area in academic and professional literature. ECEfS practices reflect growing awareness of the imperative for twenty-first century societies to respond to the pressures of unsustainable patterns of living.…

The earthworm is ideal for studying action potential conduction velocity in a classroom setting, as its simple linear anatomy allows easy axon length measurements and the worm's sparse coding allows single action potentials to be easily identified. The earthworm has two giant fiber systems (lateral and medial) with different conduction velocities…

This paper reports the evaluation of an arts-based programme designed to encourage parental participation in an urban Children's Centre. The programme was aimed to explore the possible beneficial effects of arts-based activity as a means of engaging "hard to reach" parents more fully in the services of the centre. Practical workshops…

This article describes the materials and training program that Extension created to assist current and potential Latino immigrant entrepreneurs in starting businesses in Arkansas. The content-based educational materials describe the process for starting a new business, government regulatory requirements, start-up costs and considerations, and how…

The press to integrate mathematics and science comes from researchers, business leaders, and educators, yet research that examines ways to support teachers in relating these disciplines is scant. Using research on science and mathematics professional development, we designed a professional development project to help elementary teachers improve…

In this project, teachers use mini-speeches, or monologues, as if told by famous scientists from the past, as a springboard to motivate children to think about these scientists as everyday people. The introductory speech describes or introduces the kinds of behaviours, skills, and knowledge the scientists possessed. Talking about the way they…

This paper documents a teaching innovation addressing the challenges of embedding and assessing reflective practice in work-integrated learning, specifically marketing internships. We identify four issues relating to this problem: lack of knowledge or skill for reflection, limitations of physical journals, facilitation of different forms of…

With No Child Left Behind Legislation, the United States Department of Education defined a Highly Qualified Teacher as a teacher who has earned a bachelor degree, full state certification, and demonstrated competency as defined by the state in each core academic subject he or she teaches (USDOE, 2002). The Obama Blueprint for Education (USDOE,…

Students' cognitive ability, the learning environment, and the relevance of the writing assignment influence their writing abilities and engagement in writing instruction. Currently there is a limited amount of knowledge about youths' dispositions to and experiences with writing instruction in juvenile detention centers. The purpose of this study…

In this article, we use the findings of a study conducted in a university in the southeast of Mexico to examine strengths and limitations of portfolios to assess formatively the quality of teaching. The research is part of the study: Model for the Development and Evaluation of Academic Competencies, involving researchers from six Mexican…

Across the UK, fewer than 5.8% of people with a learning disability have a job, and many of those who are employed only work part-time. Yet most people indicate that they want to work. Many miss out on the basic right to aspire to a career, the wider social networks, the better emotional and physical health, and the independence that come from…

Design-based research is being used to develop and refine the principles used in professional learning workshops with teachers from three different Papua New Guinean ecologies: highlands, coastal, and inland in a coastal province. The appropriateness of the design of principles for Papua New Guinean Elementary Schools is tried over several phases…

This paper explores community artists' pedagogies in relation to time and material. Thirteen unstructured interviews were conducted with eight artists under the auspices of an organisation that facilitated community-based workshops in Cambridgeshire, UK throughout 2011 and 2012. Concepts salient to the artists emerged, and six of the eight artists…