New computer software for physics, mathematics, computer science, and statistics courses at North Carolina State University and in some high schools allows students to solve problems on the computer, recording every answer submitted to provide faculty with a record of student performance, and providing immediate feedback to students. Computerized…

The major objective of this study is to identify a methodology that will help educators in marketing to efficiently manage the design, impact, and cost of case studies. It is my intention is to examine the impact of case study characteristics in relation to the degree of learner involvement in the learning process. The author proposes that…

This article summarizes the findings of the National Research Council (NRC) report "On Evaluating Curricular Effectiveness" and examines the reviews in middle grades mathematics undertaken by the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The NRC report reviewed and assessed 147 key evaluations of 13 National Science Foundation-supported K-12 mathematics…

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to explore the development of belief systems as related to racial and ethnic identities of preservice teachers as they crossed cultural borders into science teaching. Data were collected throughout a yearlong teacher preparation program to learn how early life experiences and racial and ethnic identities…

The work we report in this special issue attempted to exploit the power of technology and cognitive theory to help make conceptual systems taught in large college courses truly useful in students' future lives. Facing evidence that traditional instructional models have not succeeded in this regard, we sought feasible course designs and…

This study focuses on the case of The Heritage Academy (THA), a predominantly white charter school in rural North Carolina. Through a critical race analysis, this article suggests that predominantly white charter schools like THA benefit from colorblind educational policies in a whitestream and white supremacist society. Specifically, this case…

We describe a case study of an in-service professional development project with four experienced biology teachers in two upper secondary schools. The objective was to better understand the role of laboratory work (labwork) in science education with a special emphasis on assessment. Research questions include the following: 1. What does the teacher…

This article describes the conversational interactions of one online learning group whose task was to identify themes of human development from life histories of the group members. The data were analyzed by a research team using the hermeneutic circle, which involves continually looking at parts of the text in light of the meaning of the larger…

This study explores novice teachers' experiences as team leaders for school-community partnerships. Six focal teachers who were enrolled in an MA program in teacher development and leadership were recruited for the study. The focal teachers volunteered to serve as leaders of a reading-focused community involvement activity as members of their…

The aim of the research is to derive a framework for the evaluation of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tool learnability in educational environments. Drawing from the literature of Human Computer Interaction and educational research, a framework for evaluating CASE tool learnability in educational environments is derived. The two main…

As demand for school reform have grown in Malta in recent years we have noticed increased focus being given to quality issues. As a result the education authorities, due to two main policy initiatives--the introduction of the National Minimum curriculum and school development planning--are encouraging a decentralised form of governance that…

Misuse of English conjunction related to incoherent writing, according to the literature, comes from learners' first language interference, improper mechanical exercises, and misleading lists of connectors in textbooks demonstrated as if mutually interchangeable without contextual constraints. Form-focused instruction with explicit semantic,…

Purpose: While a number of universities in Australia have embraced concepts such as project/problem-based learning and design of innovative learning environments for engineering education, there has been a lack of national guidance on including sustainability as a "critical literacy" into all engineering streams. This paper was presented…

National policy in higher education requires higher education institutions to widen access to adult learners alongside other previously excluded groups, yet gives few indications as to how this should be done. The assumption seems to have been that broadening access is sufficient in itself. In this article we argue that it is possible to construct…

Much recent research and funding have focused on building Internet-based repositories that contain collections of high-quality learning resources, often called "learning objects." Yet little is known about how non-specialist users, in particular teachers, find, access, and use digital learning resources. To address this gap, this article…