This comprehensive exploration of theoretical and practical aspects of out-of-class teaching and learning, from a variety of perspectives and in various settings around the world, includes a theoretical overview of the field, 11 data-based case studies, and practical advice on materials development for independent learning. Contents of this book…

STEM--science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--is critical to and supportive of many education reforms being undertaken today, from adoption of common internationally benchmarked standards to better teacher preparation to enhanced coordination across the entire K-20 education system. In fact, STEM is not a separate reform movement at…

Instructor education has gained considerable attention over the years, as it has become apparent that it plays a vital role in learners' achievement and participation in higher education programs--especially for minority learners, and could hold one of the keys to enhancing the global economy (Sundberg, 1991; Brianard, 2007; O'Connel, 2007).…

This "at a glance" publication investigates the idea of "informal learning", which has been described as an iceberg: "mostly invisible at the surface and immense in its mostly submerged informal aspects" (Livingstone 2000). It does so in order to offer some definitional clarity for those needing to uncover that…

This dissertation asks how the communication dimensions of technological literacy are understood in three informal education programs in Texas that aim to bridge the digital divide for female and low-income minority youth. Technological literacy is a prerequisite for economic, political, and cultural equality, yet different rationales for…

How and why individuals adopt innovations has motivated a great deal of research. This article examines individuals' computing adoption processes through the lenses of three adoption theories: Rogers's innovation diffusion theory, the Concerns-Based Adoption Model, the Technology Acceptance Model, and the United Theory of Acceptance and Use of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore informal contexts of teachers' workplace professional learning and inform educational researchers, teacher educators, administrators and teachers about ways in which teachers learn to improve their practice. By questioning how teachers learn on-the-job to be better teachers and how school cultures…

This thesis is about a design process for creating "educationally relevant" tools. I submit that the key to creating tools that are educationally relevant is to focus on ensuring a high degree of alignment between the designed tool and the broader educational context into which the tool will be integrated. The thesis presents methods and processes…

The purpose of this research study was to acquire greater insight into how educational leaders learn to develop strategies for their institution. Through a better understanding of the process by which such learning occurs, the researcher sought to uncover the factors that facilitate or impede these learning opportunities, particularly with regard…

Hole-in-the-Wall as a concept has attracted worldwide attention. It involves providing unconditional access to computer-equipped kiosks in playgrounds and out-of-school settings, children taking ownership of their learning and learning driven by the children's natural curiosity. It is posited that this approach, which is being used in India,…

Background/Context: Research shows that teachers' understandings of students, subject, and teaching influence their classroom practice. Additionally, teachers' colleagues have a role in shaping individuals' approaches to teaching and their responses to reform. Focus of Study: To understand how interactions with colleagues support teachers'…

This study surveyed the perceived differences in the learning potential of different work experiences, and sought to determine if these differences were reflected primarily in the type of experience, the nature of the experience, or the type of outcome associated with the experience. Research has shown that employees acquire the largest portion of…

RARPA, recognising and recording progress and achievement in non-accredited learning, is a wonder tool that enthuses learners, providers, inspectors and policy makers alike. The staged process or anything one wants to call it, has made a positive contribution to the work with learners who have complex learning difficulties and disabilities. There…

Changing boundaries between categories of knowledge, together with changing relations with propositional and experiential knowledge, demand reconsideration of what counts as learning. Such re-contextualisation processes can be approached from three standpoints: deconstruction-decoding (learning as a differentiated set of related practices),…

Toward the end of his life, Donald Murray felt that his approach to writing instruction was no longer appreciated by journals in his field. Nevertheless, his emphasis on encouraging students to surprise themselves through informal writing still has considerable value. (Contains 1 note.)