This paper represents a conversation between a high school science teacher and a university researcher as they found common ground in the theory and experiences of designing powerful learning experiences. The teacher describes an instructional unit in which students designed a complex, interactive display showing what life may have been like…

Those growing up in the 1950s, 60s or 70s are familiar with how physically active children were before computers and video games were introduced. Each neighborhood had its own version of the various games that were played. Many of these games involved a pink rubber ball called a Spaldeen. They were everywhere and almost everyone had one. These…

The findings reported in this article form part of a wider comparative research project investigating the active learning of teachers and of pupils in the educational practices of eight countries. This article aims to describe what a small rural school in Finland understands by active learning. Data is presented from a qualitative research case…

The article reports on an action research project, informed by transformative learning theory. Transformative learning involves individuals gaining an awareness of their current habits of mind, and resulting points of views accompanied by a critique of their assumptions and premises, an assessment of alternative views, a decision to negate an old…

Purpose: This paper describes and analyses an attempt to engage in transformational learning, oriented to the development of a culture of innovation, at a medium-size software development organization in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: An action research methodology was used whereby continuous cycles of strategic social learning were…

In this article, we consider the efficacy of criticality in cultural context for transformative teacher education. We present data about how a small purposive sample of educators who participated in a culturally based university course found the experience to be pivotal in their personal and professional development. For this article we ask: (a)…

We are thesis examiners within the Australian academic system who formed a community of practice to try to resolve some of the issues we were facing. Stories of examiners reflecting on and examining their own practice are a notable silence in the higher degree research literature. In this study we have adopted a storytelling inquiry method that…

An in-depth, 2-year instrumental case study considered the degree to which ongoing reflection, within the context of mentoring relationships and administrative portfolio writing, supported the development of administrative leadership practice within an Administrative Leadership Academy: Entry Year Program. By observing the ways in which entry-year…

Purpose: To provide a history of the emergence of quality systems from the mid-1980s. To show how quality became a primary policy concern in higher education policy. To map the development of quality processes and raise questions about dominant approaches and express concerns for the future. Design/methodology/approach: Historical document…

Opportunities for future teachers to reflect on their own learning helps them be more thoughtful about their students' learning. Putting theory into action, Montclair State University developed a required course entitled "Program Planning in Early Childhood Education." The course, taken by all preservice teachers before their student teaching…

This paper, written in the twenty-first anniversary year of the journal "Educational Psychology in Practice", attempts to uncover those distinctive aspects of the discipline and the practice of applied psychology in general and educational psychology in particular. After considering some of the reasons for attempting this task at this point in…

Diversity and internationalization initiatives are priorities on most college campuses due to the need to prepare students to engage in a global workforce. Such initiatives seek to expose students to diverse perspectives and enable them to interact meaningfully with those very different from themselves. Colleges strive to achieve these outcomes…

A literature review was conducted to investigate the adult education and faculty development literature and research to discover what is known about changes or transformation in teaching assumptions and beliefs when faculty prepare to teach online or when they are engaged in online teaching, and to uncover any gaps in research involving these…

This article connects teachers' experiences of reflective school portfolio development to the idea of teachers' knowledge communities, the different groups and individuals with whom teachers negotiate meaning for their stories of experience, lived and told, and re-lived and re-told, over time. The reflective analysis makes the case that the…

As our understanding of learning focuses on the whole person rather than individual aspects of learning, so the process of learning is beginning to be studied from a wide variety of perspectives and disciplines. This handbook presents a comprehensive overview of the contemporary research into learning: it brings together a diverse range of…