Many teacher education programs are criticized for their failure to prepare pre-service teachers to utilize and transfer their knowledge of content and educational principles into authentic classroom teaching. Studies also consistently report that pre-service teachers' ability to identify what is noteworthy about a mathematics classroom situation…

This paper presents both the pedagogical design principles and the challenges faced during the development of a mobile app, Chinese Characters First Steps, to support recognising, learning and practising writing Chinese characters at beginners' level, including the difficult balance between pedagogy and technical affordances. We also present the…

The aim of this study is to investigate what characterizes the discourse on the role of the outdoor environment in young children's learning in educational policy documents in Iceland. Policy documents, laws and regulations, national curriculum guides for pre- and compulsory school levels, and documents from municipalities were analyzed. A…

In the first part of the discussion forum on extensive reading (ER) in "Reading in a Foreign Language" ("RFL") (April 2015 issue), many scholars in the field shared views regarding the core features to be considered when implementing ER, frequently referring to Day and Bamford's (1998, 2002) top 10 principles for teaching ER.…

This paper reports on the collaborative development of a "National Framework for Inclusion" under the auspices of the Scottish Teacher Education Committee by a working party representing each of the Scottish Universities providing initial teacher education. Recent research, international legislation and Scottish education policy have…

Librarians designed a biology tutorial not only to address an assignment, but also to make tutorials more accessible to students with various learning styles. The Science Librarian created the content by using aspects of the Information Literacy Standards for Science and Technology/Engineering, an informal survey of biology faculty, and…

This paper reports on the current experience of one higher education institution in Australia embarking on the path towards mainstreaming online learning opportunities by providing three complementary academic development initiatives that can inform strategies undertaken by other institutions internationally. First, an academic development program…

Many of the most inspiring documents are strongly associated with a date. The U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776; Charter 77 emerged in January 1977; Dogme 95 was crafted in 1995. Ideas transform and develop over time. This manifesto represents a snapshot of our ideas, visions for the future, and what we have learned to…

The concept of reciprocity permeates the literature on campus-community partnership as a matter of principle, aspiration, and--ideally--best practice. More recently, principles and practices of sustainability have pervaded scholarly and popular discourse, emerging from and applying to environmental studies, economic development, and social justice…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse various aspects of education for sustainable development (ESD) drawing attention to the approaching end of the UN Decade on ESD (DESD) in 2014 and to the necessity of the continuation of ESD activities. Defining the internationalisation of education as an ever more significant part of globalisation,…

The term "partnership" is increasingly used by governments, industry, community organisations and schools in supporting their daily businesses. Similar to the terms "ICT" and "learning," "partnerships" are now ubiquitous in policy discourse. Yet, the term remains ill-defined and ambiguous. This study reviews…

The integration of one's curriculum is an approach to education that ignores subject-matter lines of delineation, thus allowing faculty to bring together the separate pieces of a curriculum into a coherent whole that facilitates meaningful associations across subject matter. Before taking on the challenge of curriculum integration, faculty…

Purdue University--Mechanical, Engineering, and Technology (MET) faculty and Purdue Technical Assistance Program (TAP) staff partnered with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) to create a new workforce training program and certificate exam in the field of green manufacturing. This article describes how the body of knowledge for the…

In recent years, art education has been recognized as a suitable tool for enhancing emotional intelligence and nurturing a child's creative development. However, it seems that the education of art has lost the race against other primary school subjects, with only a minimal number of lessons being taught. The establishment of the afternoon art…

Reform of the College Entrance Examination is trending toward simultaneous unification and diversification. The objective of reforming the entrance exam is to establish a college enrollment examination system that is primarily based on a unified test, which would assess students' abilities, appraise them on multiple levels, and classify them.…