In 2002, Principal Candy McCarthy of Alisal High School took a big risk on behalf of her teachers and students. Because her school had been designated "under-performing," she received supplemental funding for school improvement purposes. McCarthy decided to use all of the additional funds to purchase collaborative planning time for…

This paper proposes a theoretical, yet practical, framework for managing the formation process of students unrealistic expectations in a college course. Using relational contracting theory, alternative teacher interventions, aimed at effective management of students expectations about the course, are described. Also, the formation of the student…

Service learning--a pedagogical technique combining academic learning with community service--offers many benefits to students, faculty, educational institutions, and the community. Relative to social sciences and liberal arts faculty, however, business faculty have been slow to incorporate it into their coursework. Service learning may be…

Although teaching is a primary function of social work educators, most instructors receive little training in teaching methods and, once engaged in teaching, have few opportunities to hone their craft and engage in dialogue about their classroom experiences. Teaching Circles are an example of ongoing curricula designed to improve classroom…

In this article, the authors describe a unique approach to gaining high student involvement in advanced and MBA level business courses. Most participation occurs at the discussion and activity levels, with the instructor as the "director" who plans, implements, monitors, and evaluates activities. In a student-partner approach, students are brought…

This paper offers a review on effective instructional methods from educational and psychological research. Thirteen instructional principles are presented which should help teacher and educators to improve the quality of their instruction. Principles 1 to 4 concern general conditions of successful instruction. Principles 5 to 8 consist of…

This Practice Guide is the third in a series of Institute of Education Sciences (IES) guides in education. Much of teaching is about helping students master new knowledge and skills and then helping students not to forget what they have learned. The recommendations in this practice guide are intended to provide teachers with specific strategies…

The "School Administrator's Guide to Implementing Language Programming" serves as a starting point to plan for and implement language programming. It provides a general overview; suggests practical strategies for working with students, parents, teachers and the surrounding community; and includes details on areas to address in selecting…

The convergence of mobile technologies into student-centered learning environments requires academic institutions to design new and more effective learning, teaching, and user experience strategies. In this article we share results from an mLearning design experiment and analysis from a student survey conducted at the National College of Ireland.…

Research spanning the last thirty years confirms that people learn better by active enquiry, collaboration and experimental problem solving than by passive reception and acceptance of information. Empirical evidence, as well as the pressing demands of pervasive social and technological change, requires learning and teaching approaches that combine…

Background/Context: Recent research indicates that social studies is being "squeezed" from the elementary curriculum as instructional time is shifted to language arts and mathematics in response to state testing and the federal No Child Left Behind Act, especially in schools serving poor students and students of color. However, less is…

While almost any educator would agree that students deserve access to equal educational opportunities, many schools still sort students based on test scores or other criteria. There's a better way: one built on offering all students access to the best curriculum. In this first-ever practical book that shows how educators can make detracking work,…

Persons with disabilities are among minority groups who frequently experience marginalization and disenfranchisement. As a paradigm, social justice attempts to address marginalization through equitable redistribution of resources, policy and legislative revisions, and personal empowerment. The limited response of rehabilitation counseling to…

Guidance and verbal directions, usually received in a face-to-face (F2F) classroom, are often conspicuously absent from online courses. Like their peers in traditional classroom settings, students in online classes need clear, concise instructions (Cramer, Collins, Snider, & Fawcett, 2006). Screen capture and recording technologies, such as…

The role of contemplative practice in adult education has a long history if one includes traditional monastic education in Asia and the West. Its use in American higher education is, however, more recent and more limited. Nonetheless, on the basis of evidence from surveys and conferences, a significant community of teachers exists at all levels of…