The principles of course redesign that were applied to a gateway Cell Biology course at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are applicable to courses large and small, and to institutions of any size. The challenge was to design a content-rich science course that kept pace with present and future content and at the same time use principles of…

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate Building-Based Teams for General Education Intervention or BBT for GEI. BBT for GEI is a team problem-solving process designed to assist schools in conducting research-based interventions in the general education setting. Problem-solving teams are part of general education and provide support…

Despite an overall increase in college enrollment over the past 50 years, low-income and first-generation students have not achieved the same success. In fact, the gap between low-income and high-income enrollments has increased during the same time period of apparent gains. Educational Talent Search, is a federally funded outreach program that…

While there is a wide body of research to support the effectiveness of schoolwide positive behavior support (PBS), there are significant challenges to facilitating sustainable implementation. The present study begins to address these challenges by exploring PBS implementation in a diverse, regionally isolated elementary school that previously…

It is suggested that a more specific emphasis should be placed in undergraduate education on the explicit development of the ability to make evaluative judgements. This higher level cognitive ability is highlighted as the foundation for much sound and successful personal and professional development throughout education, and in lifelong…

Recently, there has been increasing criticism concerning academic computer science education. This paper presents a new approach based on the principles of constructivist learning design as well as the ideas of knowledge transfer in communities of practice. The course "High-tech Entrepreneurship and New Media" was introduced as an…

A university-community collaborative initiative to provide an interdisciplinary approach to personnel preparation is described. Twelve students (i.e., undergraduate, graduate) from various academic disciplines participated in early intervention coursework and practical experiences. Specifically, students were prepared to provide early intervention…

This article presents key findings from a Joint Information Systems Committee-funded project, which aimed to identify existing practices where technologies contribute to formative assessment and identify processes that take place around formative assessment where technologies play a significant role. Using a design pattern methodology, the project…

In this article, the author explains how she used online blogs with more than 263 students over a period of four semesters in an introductory social problems course. She describes how she uses blogs to enhance student participation, engagement, and skill building. Finally, she provides an overview of students' qualitative assessments of the blog…

This article reports on a study that was carried out in autumn 2007 with students in a professional nurse education distance course at a Swedish university. The study aimed to develop a greater understanding of the student-teacher relationship based on research questions addressing the teachers' role, the learning process, and the assessment…

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…

It is the moral responsibility of educators to work diligently to provide every student with rich, challenging coursework in efforts to prepare them for post high school careers and education. The use of common formative assessments provides teachers with the valuable, timely information they need to make instructional decisions that will better…