To demonstrate the significance of cultural crossings in Texas and how cultural exchanges can inform teachers and students in the areas of history, fine arts, geography, and social studies, the author constructed a Summer 2013 teacher workshop for Texas K-12 teachers through the Smithsonian Affiliated Institute of Texan Cultures. The author…

Approaches to teaching and learning are increasingly influenced by the introduction of new technologies and innovative use of space. Recognising the need to keep up to date many institutions has created technology-rich, flexible spaces. Studies so far have concentrated on how students use such facilities; however, their availability also strongly…

In entry-level university courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, students participating in associated laboratory sessions generally do better than those who have no related lab classes. This is a problem when, for various reasons, not enough lab sections can be offered for students and/or when students opt out of…

This paper explores whether teachers' habits and assumptions about their practice can be enhanced by continued professional development through nurturing self-awareness of lived experiences. Within the paper a practical understanding of critical reflection as a process is explored and particular attention is given to Moon's assertion that one…

We report the student response to a two-year transformation of a one-semester organic chemistry course for nonchemistry majors. The transformed course adopted a peer led team learning approach and incorporated case studies. Student attitudes toward the course transformation were assessed throughout the semester, and adjustments to the methods were…

Which academics benefit from participation in formal mentoring programmes? This study examined the needs and mentoring networks of new academics with evaluative data from a pilot mentoring programme. Themes from these data point towards re-envisioning initiatives for academic staff development. First, an examination of the expansion of mentoring…

Academic listening skill is an indispensable necessity for English for academic purposes (EAP) students in English-medium universities and also critical for their future success in comprehending conference lectures. But due to the specific nature of such academic lectures, nonnative students all too often face challenges in getting a full command…

The Logic Model Workshop Toolkit is designed to help practitioners learn the purpose of logic models, the different elements of a logic model, and the appropriate steps for developing and using a logic model for program evaluation. Topics covered in the sessions include an overview of logic models, the elements of a logic model, an introduction to…

This paper explores ways of including indigenous knowledge systems in the teaching of English First Additional Language (EFAL). The aim is to use a socially inclusive teaching strategy in such a manner that the imbalances that past oppressive regimes brought into the teaching and learning of a second language, EFAL in this case, is challenged and…

Higher education institutions are charged with creating one million more STEM professionals over the next decade, a 34% increase in undergraduate STEM degrees annually (PCAST 2012). Examining why college STEM courses manifest high attrition rates, interdependencies emerge that begin in early childhood education. Those of us in higher education…

Student participation in real-world problems promotes "a sense of their own agency andcollective capacity to alter their neighbourhoods or communities for the better" (Smith, 2007).This paper describes student engagement in a two-week summer workshop conducted in June2016, where they used geospatial technologies and community mapping to…

Social capital, an important mechanism for the creation and maintenance of healthy organizational life, may be developed through initiatives such as leadership development as effective leadership development not only enhances individual effectiveness, but serves to build relationships, coordinate actions, and extend and strengthen the social…

The study investigated daylight illumination in the school workshop as a determinant for effective students' task performance in workshop practice. 183 NCE Technical students in 300 Level which comprised of 73 and 112 students from Federal Colleges of Education (Technical), Asaba and Omoku, Nigeria respectively during the 2008/2009 academic…

This article presents a pedagogical practice for noticing and negotiating error in a multilingual classroom. Two examples from a classroom are compared to demonstrate the importance of "noticing" in the context of translingual pedagogy. The author's first example offers an attempt to negotiate an error with a multilingual writer without…

Although there is a clear body of evidence supporting the idea that undergraduate students benefit from participation in original research projects, many units of study--particularly in the creative arts and humanities--have been slow to embrace curriculum renewal along these lines. In this paper, we detail a pragmatic approach to meeting this…