This September 2010 article is a reprint of the original October 1998 article. Few reform initiatives focus on what goes on in the "black box" of the classroom, on what really happens in the interaction between teachers and students. This article is about the inside of the black box. The authors focus on one aspect of teaching: formative…

Wheat and soybean producers pay a small amount per bushel produced as a check-off. Funds are used for research, outreach, and crop promotion. Commodity organizations and Extension joined forces to develop multi-state educational outreach on spring wheat and soybean production. Participatory planning involved producers in developing these…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004 makes significant and controversial changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Two very significant changes in this law are provisions that (a) allow school districts to spend up to 15% of their IDEA Part B funds on early intervening services in…

The purpose of this pragmatic action research study was to explore our re-conceptualization efforts in preparing pre-service teachers to guide the inquiry process with formative assessment and subsequently use the understandings to improve our teacher preparation program. The process was guided by two questions: to what extent did course…

"Teachers Teaching Teachers" ("T3") focuses on coaches' roles in the professional development of teachers. Each issue also explores the challenges and rewards that teacher leaders encounter. This issue includes: (1) Building Bridges: Data Help Instructional Coach Make Vital Connections with Teachers (Theresa Long); (2) NSDC Tool: Instructional…

Like other members of the academy, accounting professors are challenged to improve student learning. We must help students move beyond the "bean counter" role and develop higher-level skills such as analysis, synthesis, and problem-solving. The Significant Learning Taxonomy was used as a template to improve learning in an introductory accounting…

Although student self-assessment is considered a critical component of assessment for learning, its use and related research are rare in higher education. This article describes an action research study of self-assessment as an instructional strategy in two university courses. Results indicate that self-assessment exercises provided students the…

In order to enhance the quality of teaching in higher education establishments, as "stakeholders" of the institution, the opinions of students related to the teaching they receive are given precedence. This is achieved by using mandatory SET questionnaires on a routine basis in colleges and universities throughout the world. This study…

This article discusses the use of self-assessment to chart the course of students' learning. Rather than experiencing school as a journey on an unknown sea to an unknown destination, it is possible for students to use formative self-assessment as a navigational chart and compass--to know where they are going, how they are going to get there, and…

Physical activity habits are established in early childhood. Increasing a child's fundamental movement skill confidence and competence may result in a trajectory of increased physical activity and a lower risk of becoming overweight. The evidence upon which the promotion of physical activity in early childhood settings is based is tenuous. This…

Professional schools prepare students to become competent professionals. Consequently, there is a need for assessments that can determine the acquisition of the relevant professional competencies. Although using performance assessment to replace traditional paper-and-pencil tests might provide one way to move forward, the use of performance…

Approved in 1999 by the Swiss Parliament, the Swiss Virtual Campus (SVC) project debuted in 2000 with the goal of promoting an information society in Switzerland. The University of Geneva has been actively involved with building the SVC and the European virtual campus e-LERU, a two-year project in which eight European countries partnered to…

The CourseMarker system has been used to assess free-response computer based assessment (CBA) exercises since 1998. The aim of the studies reported here was to evaluate the feasibility and usefulness of developing and deploying diagram-based exercises using DATsys, an authoring environment for diagram-based CBA, together with CourseMarker.…

Objective: The complexity and scale of health promotion interventions present challenges for the standardization of delivery. Furthermore, health promotion practice favours adapting interventions according to perceived client need. This paper examines the fidelity of intervention delivery within A Stop Smoking in Schools Trial (ASSIST),…

Over the course of three rounds of consecutive funding, the National Science Foundation (NSF) invested in the Traveling Exhibits at Museums of Science (TEAMS) collaborative. Since 1996, the TEAMS collaborative museums have developed traveling exhibitions and related education materials to circulate through each other's museums, and then more…