This report provides a positive picture of how colleges have responded to the needs of these young people in their local area. It illustrates the types of ethos, commitment and planning which, over the last three to five years, have contributed to providing highly responsive programmes and services. However, there is still progress to be made in…

In his work as a professor, Stephen Downes used to feel that he was helping those who least needed it. His students at places like the University of Alberta already had a leg up in life and could afford the tuition. When a colleague suggested they co-teach an online class in learning theory at the University of Manitoba, in 2008, Downes welcomed…

This reflective study explores the history and outcomes of a teacher education collaboration between the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and Lehman College of The City University of New York (CUNY), in the Bronx, NY, USA. AMNH developed and teaches a Lehman course, Museum Resources for Teaching Science, for Master's degree candidates in…

Many undergraduate programs require students to complete an independent research project in their major field prior to graduation. These projects are typically described as opportunities for integration of coursework and a direct application of the methods of inquiry specific to a particular discipline. Evaluations of curricular projects have…

Effective teaching and learning of science depends on the selected teaching method touching students' most learning senses. This study investigated the effects of cooperative learning on eighth grade students' achievement and attitude toward science. Participants were 68 students from two different eighth grade classrooms in an elementary school.…

Assessment plays an integral role in teaching and learning in higher education and teachers have a strong interest in debates and commentaries on assessment as and for learning. In a 1-year graduate entry teacher preparation program, the temptation is to emphasize assessment in an attempt to ensure students "cover" everything as part of…

This paper reports the findings from a study of teachers and students' views regarding self-worth in the primary school learning environment. The revised New Zealand curriculum recognises the importance of self-worth in students' motivation and ability to learn. While the need to enhance self-worth in the classroom has been well established in the…

Although the Head Start program places great emphasis on family involvement, educators do not currently have a brief but comprehensive measure to collect information from families about the kinds of learning experiences they provide for children at home. The current study explored the utility of the Family Literacy Survey, a parent-report survey…

Couples can improve their marriages by implementing relationship building skills they learn while participating in a marriage education program. This study addresses how marriages improved as a result of participating in the marriage education program, Married and Loving It![R] and what specific components of the learning experience facilitated…

e-Learning has some restrictions on how learning performance is assessed. Online testing is usually in the form of multiple-choice questions, without any essay type of learning assessment. Major reasons for employing multiple-choice tasks in e-learning include ease of implementation and ease of managing learner's responses. To address this…

Using a grounded theory research design, the author examined 180 reflective essays of teacher candidates who participated in a "Learning Process Project," in which they were asked to synthesize and document their discoveries about the learning process over the course of a completely new learning experience as naive learners. This study explored…

Background and Rationale: Student withdrawal and non-completion in institutions have been an issue of considerable concern. The lack of mathematical ability has been identified as a factor resulting to non-completion in higher institutions. Several students in higher education approach mathematics with a lot of anxiety. This has created the need…

In this paper, a Hong Kong primary school lesson on area and perimeter is analysed with a perspective to discuss the meaning for students to have rich mathematical experiences and how pre-designed pedagogical tools could enrich mathematics classroom learning environment which promote re-shaping, shaping and even creation of mathematical knowledge.…

This paper explores the concept and practice of interaction within a blended problem-based learning (PBL) module for academic professional development in higher education. A qualitative study spanning two years of the lived experiences of 17 academic staff in a blended PBL module was considered likely to provide a much-needed analysis of current…

The designers of our future built environment must possess intellectual tools which will allow them to be disciplined, flexible and analytical thinkers, able to address and resolve new and complex problems. In response, an experimental and collaborative design studio was designed to inspire and build on students' knowledge and their creative…