We illustrate a very recent research study that demonstrates the value of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as vehicles for research. We describe the development of the Indiana University Plagiarism Tutorials and Tests (IPTAT). Our new design has been guided by "First Principles of Instruction": authentic problems, activation,…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Culture of Poverty vs. Culture of Possibility and includes: (1) Open Source Learning Tools Make STEM Possible in Underserved Schools…

Online and blended learning are becoming more important in k-12 public schools because of their flexibility and increased opportunity for students in urban as well as rural environments. Implementing and sustaining technology-based learning is a complex process that requires educational leaders to have a broad spectrum of knowledge and skills…

Enacted in 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) brought numerous changes to existing federal employment and training programs, including requiring the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Education (Education) to implement a common performance accountability system across the six WIOA-designated core programs. WIOA…

With the passing of Act 82, the state of Pennsylvania has provided school districts with Danielson's Framework as a tool for principals to evaluate teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived professional development needs of Pennsylvania principals as they implemented the new educator effectiveness system. Three hundred…

This case is based on the research project I conducted for my PhD dissertation. The research objectives were to examine the process of cultural knowledge creation and to address the role of social capital in this process. While many studies discuss global social capital and its role in the development of global mindset and expatriate adjustments…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact on program improvement of systematically gathering P-12 student learning data over a 5-year period. This study was completed over 5 academic years (2008-2009 to 2012-2013) in a teacher preparation program in northwest Oregon. Data were gathered from two student teaching experiences of teacher…

Many school leadership programs are set and delivered in specific modules or workshops in order to achieve a pre-determined set of competencies, knowledge, and skills. In addition, these programs are driven by the faculty member and the prescribed content. As Singapore schools become more complex in the roles and responsibilities to educate the…

This article presents the case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan's former North-West Frontier Province, and its provincial educational assessment policies and practices. These policies and practices affect millions of Culturally Linguistically Diverse and Exceptional (CLDE) children who live in rural and remote areas, and areas afflicted by…

Two professors from two disciplines--education and sociology--analyzed the commonalities, differences, successes, and challenges of conducting cross-disciplinary Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research at the course level (micro-level). This case study of their collaboration resulted in a series of lessons learned which add to the…

What do you do when you want to get your Stage 3 students authentically and enthusiastically engaged in the active construction of their understanding and fluency with measurement, data collection, representation and interpretation? How do you enable them to make choices about their learning, to measure with purpose, to record and organise the…

Stories have been one means by which qualitative researchers have attempted to engage participants and construct, analyze and present data or findings in a meaningful way. In this article, I look at the impetus for, and potentials of crafting and sharing researcher-written "factional stories" with research participants as a…

As pressure builds to assess students, teachers, and schools, educational practitioners and policy makers are increasingly looking toward student perception surveys as a promising means to collect high-quality, useful data. For instance, the widely cited Measures of Effective Teaching study lists student perception surveys as one of the three key…

This essay explores inclusive education and explains the role of United Nations for imparting it to different nations. Undoubtedly, the UN and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) strive for all children to have equitable access to education as a basic human right. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) combined with the Convention…

This paper presents the first joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies of the Committee on Homeland Security and the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. The subcommittees met to examine data collection…