This paper analyses how the mathematical knowledge needed by a teacher has been described by several mathematics educators, all based on Shulman's notions of Subject Matter Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge. In particular, it looks at the notion of Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching, as elaborated by Ball and her research group. It then…

This article builds on a previous 2004 "Journal of Vocational Education and Training" (JVET) contribution by Biemans et al., in which several possible pitfalls in designing and implementing competence-based education (CBE) were discussed. The present article reports on the results of an extensive research programme on competence…

Technology has opened a wide range of possibilities for the college classroom. Thus, the classroom has changed in a variety of ways. Some courses have been converted to fully online courses. Students and instructors do not have any face-to-face contact in these courses. Other courses have converted a portion of their courses to online. These…

The ever-expanding use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) is especially significant to professional education in relatively isolated nations such as Taiwan. Interaction with university faculties outside the country would vastly improve the Taiwanese education of architects, for example, and this is sufficient reason for the…

This study examined the tensions surrounding the implementation of a technology-rich educational innovation called Quest Atlantis (QA) in a local public elementary school. Three qualitative case studies of three classrooms implementing the innovation and a subsequent cross-case analysis were undertaken to illuminate: 1) the reasons why teachers…

This article examines the goals and consequences of an educational reform introduced in all Japanese schools beginning in 2002. The Integrated Studies (IS) programme was designed to increase teacher autonomy and to augment student interest in learning. The reform has the potential to alter significantly the way education is organised and delivered…

Case studies have been used in undergraduate science education as a way to develop students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, little empirical evidence exists on whether this teaching method is having the desired impact on students in plant pathology courses. This study evaluated the influence of the case teaching method on…

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of high-quality instructional and formative assessment tools to support teachers' incorporation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Lessons from the first generation of standards-based reforms suggest that intense…

In spring 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) began planning a pilot of an application for the Apple iPad, "HMH Fuse: Algebra 1," which was then in development. The application was to be piloted in four California school districts during the 2010-2011 school year. HMH contracted with Empirical Education Inc. to conduct a one-year…

This study reports findings from a year-long pilot study during which 991 students in 9 core courses in the Virginia State University School of Business replaced traditional textbooks with openly licensed books and other digital content. The university made a deliberate decision to use open textbooks that were copyrighted under the Creative…

An increasing number of higher educational institutes are offering remedial, bridging, preparatory or transitional courses in a blended and online format to remediate and enhance students' knowledge and skills. This article addresses how teachers and institutes design and implement these courses. The descriptions of transitional courses were…

hapTEL, an interdisciplinary project funded by two UK research councils from 2007 to 2011, involves a large interdisciplinary team (with undergraduate and post-graduate student participants) which has been developing and evaluating a virtual learning system within an HE healthcare education setting, working on three overlapping strands. Strand 1…

A traditional approach centred on weekly lectures, perhaps supported by tutorials, still predominates in modern legal education in Australia. This approach tends to focus on the transmission of knowledge about legal rules and doctrine to students, who adopt a largely passive role. Criticisms of the traditional approach have led to law schools…

In response to the challenges created by the implementation of a new medical school curriculum at the University of Otago in 2008, we aimed to develop a blended learning course for teaching rheumatology within the existing musculoskeletal course. We developed a multimedia online learning resource structured to support class based problem-based…

"Early Childhood Curriculum" addresses current approaches to curriculum for infants, toddlers and young children, ages birth to eight. It provides a comprehensive introduction to the curriculum issues that student teachers and emerging practitioners will face and equips them with the decision-making tools that will ultimately enhance and promote…