In October 2009, The New York State Education Department (NYSED), in partnership with the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), was granted funding as part of the "Striving Readers Project" to address the literacy needs of adolescent struggling readers early in middle school. The goal of the project was to implement and examine…

Distance writing programs still struggle with assessment strategies that can evaluate student writing as well as their ability to communicate about that writing with peers at a distance. This article uses Kim, Smith and Maeng's 2008 distance education program assessment scheme to evaluate a single distance writing program at Old Dominion…

This article discusses the effectiveness of the case method when teaching online by comparing synchronous and asynchronous communication technologies with respect to how well they each embody Chickering and Gamson's Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. The authors also present their empirical study of the effectiveness of…

A review of vocational rehabilitation (VR) data from a Midwestern state was conducted to identify predictors of rehabilitation outcomes for African American consumers. The database included 37,404 African Americans who were referred or self-referred over a period of five years. Logistic regression analysis indicated that except for age and…

Objective: In this article, we estimate the effect of a multidisciplinary collaboration program on the length of sickness absence. The intention with the program was to avoid long-term sickness absence by providing an early and holistic evaluation of the sick-listed individuals' conditions. The target group was individuals who were at risk of…

This article explores the relationship between the lack of visible attention to formative assessment in degree specifications and its marginalization in practice. Degree specification documents form part of the quality apparatus emphasizing the accountability and certification duties of assessment. Ironically, a framework designed to assure…

The purpose of this research was to determine how teachers and administrators in a successful North Carolina district perceived the purpose and value of a school improvement plan (SIP) and the planning process. The SIP is the accepted best practice for school-wide improvement, and the perceptions of the purpose and value of the process…

Introduction: Despite an explosion of interest in improving safety and reducing error in health care, one important aspect of patient safety that has received little attention is a systematic approach to education and training for the whole health care workforce. This article describes an evaluation of an innovative multiprofessional, team-based…

Over the past few years, the focus group method has assumed a very important role as a method for collecting qualitative data in social and behavioural science research. This article elucidates theoretical and practical problems and prospects associated with the use of focus groups as a qualitative research method in social and behavioural science…

The authors utilized interviews, competency surveys, and document review to evaluate the effectiveness of a one-year, cohort-based faculty development pilot program, grounded in diffusion of innovations theory, and aimed at increasing competencies in community engagement and community-engaged scholarship. Five innovator participants designed the…

The study reported in this article draws upon data collected for the programme "Increasing the Efficiency of Mathematics and Science instruction" (SINUS-Transfer), a professional development project in Germany. This programme's approach requires teachers to improve their teaching in a cooperative manner and with regard to pedagogical…

Dispute about professional doctoral programs in education has increased, with much hinging on the design of educational doctorate (EdD) programs. In this study, the first cohort of graduates responded to a new, innovative EdD program designed to develop them as leaders, scholars, and practitioners. Twenty graduates completed an exit survey, and a…

Developing a culture of evidence to assess and improve teacher preparation programs is a critical issue in American education. Teacher education has been struggling with the challenge of preparing and retaining sufficient numbers of high-quality teachers who can work effectively with students from all cultural and racial backgrounds, raising the…

This article provides an overview of the Writers Matter program, which allows adolescents to use their life stories as a vehicle for self-expression and writing skill development. Evaluations of the program have show increased writing skills among participating students in the areas of focus, content, organization, and grammar. Additional benefits…

The University of Saskatchewan's Longitudinal Elderly Person Shadowing (LEPS) is an interprofessional senior mentors program (SMP) where teams of undergraduate students in their first year of medicine, pharmacy, and physiotherapy; 2nd year of nutrition; 3rd year nursing; and 4th year social work partner with community-dwelling older adults.…