This paper describes how a technology-based case using Microsoft Access can aid in the assessment process. A case was used in lieu of giving a final examination in an Accounting Information Systems course. Students worked in small groups to design a database-driven payroll system for a hypothetical company. Each group submitted its results along…

A professor at a college for women recently was named a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. Her innovations in mentoring college women in science are the focus of this case study. Using data collected from faculty interviews, classroom observations, student feedback sheets,…

As the use of 3D immersive virtual worlds in higher education expands, it is important to examine which pedagogical approaches are most likely to bring about success. AET Zone, a 3D immersive virtual world in use for more than seven years, is one embodiment of pedagogical innovation that capitalizes on what virtual worlds have to offer to social…

The professional expertise of educational leaders has been defined through the lens of problem-solving processes. Problem-based learning has therefore become an increasingly popular instructional approach in principal preparatory programs. As such, this study represents an initial attempt to explore learning from success (i.e., success-based…

Pedagogical and scholarly representations of collaborative writing and knowledge construction in technical communication have traditionally recognized consensus as the logical outcome of collaborative work, even as scholars and teachers have acknowledged the value of conflict and "dissensus" in the process of collaborative knowledge…

In this problem-based learning activity (PBL), students embark on a science trek to answer the question "Where is the science in my neighborhood?" The project serves as an excellent review of science curriculum in anticipation of Virginia's year-end standardized test--the Standards of Learning (SOL). This has proved to be an interesting…

Using the "Boxed Voices" project as one way to connect traditional and non-traditional literacies, the author examines her work with preservice and inservice teachers (university students) as they develop and sustain collaborative, literate learning communities. In her multiliteracy process, the author takes the reader from theory to practice as…

There has long been a call for schools to prepare students for the twenty-first century where skills and dispositions differ significantly from much of what has historically characterized formal education. The knowledge based economy calls for policy and pedagogical efforts that would transform schools. Schools are to foster communities of…

This article reports research from an innovative university-secondary school partnership, the Web Pen Pals Project, which pairs preservice English teachers in online chat rooms with local middle school students to talk about young adult literature. The analyses reported here center on the type of dialogue that results during such online…

In an effort to compare team-level learning performance resulting from different instructional variables and settings, this study examined how online and blended delivery learner groups compared in terms of learning outcomes, collaboration, and perceived quality of instructional variables. Results indicated that the two teams were not different in…

Group projects form a large and possibly growing component of the work undertaken for assessing students for postgraduate degrees in business. Yet the assessments sources, methods and purposes result in an array of combinations that the literature on assessment fails to capture in its full complexity. This paper builds on a new framework for…

Children live in a highly sophisticated world composed of interlocking complex systems. An appreciation and understanding of such systems is critical for making effective decisions about everyone's lives as individuals and as community members. This article addresses one approach to introducing children of all achievement levels to introductory…

This paper describes the challenges faced by frontier technology education, typical among large integrated EU projects. These include an evolving nature, the scarcity of experts and established material, and the need for relevant material. Classical approaches to learning seem to not adequately address the needs of frontier technology alone.…

The aim of this research was to study (a) trends in culturally sensitive factors (gender equity, collaboration, deference, competition, modeling, and congruence), of students in lower secondary (LS), upper secondary (US), and tertiary (TS) learning environments and (b) the gender differences in these trends. The study included 2,212 subjects (LS,…

We report findings from the second phase of a study of co-operative, group-based assessment in Pharmacology for second-year undergraduates at The University of Queensland, Australia. Students (n = 285) enrolled in the 2006 Bachelor of Science degree program completed a group-based assessment task (weighted 10% of their course). Blended teaching…