Sustainability is a contemporary term that calls attention to climate change and dwindling natural resources. Concerned about the urgency of sustainability and the long-range impact that non-sustainable efforts could have on the environment, and convinced that sustainable concepts could be taught to young children, the authors introduced an…

The value of reflective journaling as an effective strategy to enhance learning has been explored by several writers. Many see it as a way of approaching learning to enhance the understanding of factors influencing or hindering the learning process and the development of meaning through critical thinking skills. The underlying purpose of the study…

This article describes the development and qualitative student outcomes of an intergenerational service-learning course designed to promote social work gerontological competencies. Efforts focused on creating a learning environment to actively promote learning opportunities for students and older adults. The course was hosted at a local, private,…

This study investigates the role of task-based learning in the study abroad experience in order to enhance interaction with the host family. Tasks were incorporated into a Family Interaction Journal and implemented under four evolving, though different, conditions over a 5-year period. The conditions were: (1) home campus administered/student…

This qualitative case-study explores the ways in which an innovative M.Ed. program facilitated the development of future ECE reflective leaders. Using case study methodology, it presents the transformational process two recent graduates underwent during their studies. The findings indicate four main sources that initiated the deep student…

This study examined how a group of ten middle school teachers implemented a technology enriched problem-based learning (PBL) environment. The goal was to understand their motivation, document their implementation techniques, and identify factors that teachers considered important in using technology-based PBL tools in their teaching. The analysis…

The purpose of this study was to determine ways "Digital Biographies," a Project Based Learning Unit, developed 21st century skills while simultaneously supporting NCLB accountability standards. The main goal of this study was to inform professional practice by exploring ways to address two separate, seemingly opposing, demands of…

The current student achievement gap can be attributed, in part, to the perceived and actual shortage of highly qualified principals prepared to be effective instructional leaders (Kearney, 2010). Most school districts within do not offer consistent targeted professional development programs for mid-career principals that will develop…

Latino males are the least likely to attend, persist, and attain a baccalaureate degree compared to other male groups in higher education. Moreover, they tend to have the lowest degree aspirations of any major race or ethnic group (Saenz & Ponjuan, 2009; Driscoll, 2007; Swail, Cabrera, & Lee, 2004; Laanan, 2000; Kao & Tienda, 1998). To…

This quantitative and qualitative interpretive exploratory case study investigates whether exposure to an Internet based "Extended Cyberhunt" strategy enables teachers to attain a set of outcomes similar to Prensky's "Essential 21st Century Skills" and the "Critical Outcomes of the South African National Curriculum…

Student learning is enriched by problem-based service learning (PBSL) projects. For Hispanic students, the learning that takes place in PBSL projects may be even more significant, although the research published in academic journals about client-based projects for Hispanic students is limited. This article begins to advance an understanding of how…

An in-depth qualitative study with nine secondary pre-service teachers from an undergraduate "Language and Literacy" class was conducted to examine the potential of simulation using Second Life (SL) in teacher education. Games and simulations were operationally defined in the broadest sense to distinguish key characteristics between…

This descriptive article explores the uses of poetry and journaling exercises as means of helping students develop their self-reflective capacities within the context of international social work. First, self-reflection and its importance to social work practice and education is discussed. Second, the importance of self-reflection in international…

Reflection is essential to deep learning and problem solving. From a socio-cultural perspective, reflection is developed through social interaction and semiotic mediation (Vygotsky, 1978; Wells, 1999). To reflect, students need to be given opportunities to review their own and others' mental processes and to use techniques such as writing or…

The study reported here investigated whether Year 6 boys were engaged through the use of an online journaling tool. This journaling tool allowed the students to self reflect on their behaviour and affective reaction in an online environment. Case study methodology was used with twelve boys from a regional primary school in Victoria, during the one…