In this document we discuss 19 university league tables and ranking systems from around the world. Sixteen of these are "national" league tables collected from ten countries (Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States); three are "international" or…

This paper describes the theories and social factors that contributed to the development of competency-based training (CBT). These include behaviorism (Edward L. Thorndike), scientific management (Frederick Taylor), progressive education (John Dewey), and derivative theories including operant conditioning (B.F. Skinner), objectives-based…

This guide is designed to help teachers develop an inquiry-oriented program for studying the animal kingdom in which live animals are collected locally, studied, observed, and then released completely unharmed back into their natural habitats. This book addresses such concerns of life science teachers as the environmental soundness of methods and…

This document is the outcome of a conference that examined promising practices in services for children with developmental delays (DD) and gathered input for making policy recommendations related to the implementation of DD as a specific disability category for children ages 3 through 9. It begins by discussing changes to the Individuals with…

This document proposes a revision of the Carnegie Classification of Higher Education Institutions in its classification of Associate of Arts colleges with reliance on readily available data. Based on the findings of a nationwide study of community college curriculum, the document outlines a new classification system developed according to…

This paper reviews the American Association on Mental Retardation's (AAMR's) presentation of issues surrounding the field of early intervention. AAMR's publications are the primary sources of information in the paper. Specific sections address: (1) the impact of public laws on the rights of children and families to a free and appropriate public…

Educators and learners have diverse thinking style preferences. Recognition of this difference in preferences is very important in the design of a curriculum and the way it is taught. Educators are often unaware of the way learners think and learn. Cataloging and classification can only be taught effectively if the diversity in thinking style is…

This article discusses the results of a survey that queried 34 Hungarian teachers of gifted children on the definition of gifted children, developing giftedness, behavior problems of gifted children, enrichment activities, and parent participation. The teachers were attending in-service training on giftedness. Findings of the survey indicate that…

Having a good command over basic computer applications is essential for teachers to integrate technology in school. Teachers should learn how to maximize the power of computers for their teaching and administrative work. This paper focuses on some effective approaches that can help teachers learn to use computer applications successfully. First,…

The Measuring and Recording Student Achievement Scoping Group was established by Universities UK and the Standing Conference of Principals (SCOP), with the support of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in October 2003 to review the recommendations from the UK Government White Paper "The Future of Higher Education"…

Much significance is attached to college degrees in modern society. The fact that many individuals have become victims of fraudulent institutions that award degrees without the rigorous courses of study prescribed by legitimate institutions, suggests that there may be too much emphasis upon the form rather than the substance of higher education.…

Determined extent to which eighth-grade students' (N=35) knowledge of concepts relevant to mineral classification influenced their ability to classify minerals and which concepts were most influential. Results showed that 58.7% of variance in correct mineral classification was accounted for by students' knowledge of relevant concepts, particularly…

The relative effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic goal structures were compared on achievement and the acquisition of high-level cognitive reasoning strategies. Results indicate that cooperative interaction, promoted higher achievement and the discovery of superior cognitive reasoning strategies. (Author/GK)

Twenty studies of the effects of teacher questions on student achievement were reviewed. Internal validity of experiments and integrity of treatments were less adequate than population and ecological validity. Whether teachers used predominantly higher cognitive or predominantly fact questions was found to make little difference in achievement.…