This writing is an investigation into the use of action research methods and tools as a means for preparing 26 preservice teachers to effectively link assessment to instruction. Two concepts emerged from the data: the importance of developmentally appropriate practice and documenting and validating student learning. This study suggests the power…

By taking a postmodern ontology that elevates becoming over the modern ontology of being, the author of this article proposes a theory and describes a method that teachers can use to enhance students' cooperative learning of management principles. The author asserts that the social construction of learning groups is an effect of organizing…

Implementing best practices like cooperative learning, using concrete manipulatives, problem solving, technology, active learning, multi-age grouping, and team teaching have shown benefits for students when learning mathematics concepts within the curriculum (Zemelman, Daniels & Hyde, 1998; NCTM, 2000). What started as a professional development…

Open and distance learning is experiencing rapid growth throughout the world. China in particular is undergoing a massive expansion of its distance EFL programmes. This global phenomenon challenges all those involved in delivering distance learning materials to examine current practice and the assumptions and expectations that underlie it, with…

The aim of the study was to explore characteristics of 5- to 6-year-old kindergartners' peer dynamics during a seven week learning experience in a computer-based technology-rich classroom in the US. The children (9 boys and 9 girls) were placed in pairs by the classroom teacher, based on her perception of the their friendships. Measures of each…

Cohorts are increasingly popular management tools for recruiting students into professional education programs, for organizing their learning experiences, for promoting performance-based outcomes, and for developing and using innovative teaching-learning practices. This article explores the role of a cohort leader in ensuring that the curriculum…

This article presents a large sample, control group study of student success in distance learning. The data sample consists of a very large distance education sample (76,866 individual student observations) and an invaluable control group of students who took the identical course at the same time from the same instructor, but did so "in…

The main objective of this project was to provide a Web-based tool that included practical resources for faculty in education at one Canadian university who were seeking ways to make effective use of learning technologies to enhance learning environments. The site includes online tools and resources and integrates ideas from people in the faculty…

What role can online communities play in meeting the informal learning needs of a professional association? This article presents the results of an interpretive study of the experiences of coordinators of Alberta Community Adult Learning Councils who participated in an online community of practice designed to support informal workplace learning.…

Colleges are increasingly interested in ways to better engage students in their academic careers. This article reports 20 college students' experiences as mentors for at-risk fourth-graders through a mentoring program called The Learning Connection (TLC), run by the Community Services Office at Moravian College. The study describes students'…

Despite a rapidly growing trend in universities to offer flexible learning options, limited attention has been given to hearing students' voices and learning from their perceptions of their learning experiences. This study sought to learn about students who enroll in external study (off-campus learning) in the School of Early Childhood at the…

This paper reports the responses of 235 tertiary commerce students to a questionnaire in relation to their learning and assessment experiences. Significant correlations between measures were used to identify underlying constructs within the overall set of variable measures. Logistic regression incorporating the factors was then used to further…

Most developing countries have embarked upon the implementation of new models in the teaching and learning arenas, and South Africa is no exception. Because the economic empowerment of a nation depends on the success of its educational strategies, the introduction and development of outcomes-based education (OBE) at all levels of education in…

Mediated learning describes what parents and teachers do to teach and includes four components: (1) intent to teach; (2) competence; (3) transcendence to promote high level thinking; and (4) mediation of meaning, helping children to focus on the importance of what is being focused on. Mediated learning is assumed to be universal for all cultural…

Although much is written about reasons why students drop out of online courses, little is said about what makes them stay. This article reports on an experiment whereby online students were exposed to a learning experience modelled on the US television series "Survivor." Twenty-four students were put into "tribes" and allowed…