A compilation of articles from a decade's worth of NSDC's newsletters and "JSD" that will aid school leaders in honing their skills for instructional leadership. This comprehensive collection is organized so that school leaders can explore the topic in chunks and learn from real examples. Interspersed tools will help leaders take action. A…

This paper provides a defense of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). It first examines the roots of SoTL. It then offers examples of SoTL investigations that can be pursued in any discipline and places them within a taxonomy of SoTL questions. It suggests that SoTL might serve as a natural and organic response to the changing…

Building on insights of Seymour Fox, I explore the often-decisive role of "good timing" in the introduction of potentially powerful innovations (ideas, practices, etc.) into practical domains like education. After examining key readiness conditions that make for good timing, I argue that the field of Jewish education is in many ways now ready to…

For the forty-second time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains 37 papers dealing…

In a struggling atmosphere for education, one college is optimistic about the future by offering school districts its PRISM Principles professional development as a means to ensure that "no child is left behind." Pacific Oaks College & Children's School is known for its premiere programs in early childhood education, human…

The free and open publication of course materials (OpenCourseWare or OCW) was initially undertaken by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and other universities primarily to share educational resources among educators (Abelson, 2007). OCW, however, and more in general open educational resources (OER), have also provided well-documented…

Background/Context: Over the last ten years, a convergence of laws and decrees has impacted the development and implementation of Arizona's current program for English language learners (ELLs): the four-hour Structured English Immersion (SEI) model. Arizona's new model, while being touted by some as the most effective program for ELLs (Clark,…

The promise of university-public school partnerships as contexts for mutually beneficial learning, or "simultaneous renewal," has been well established (Goodlad, 1994, 1999). However, difficulties in creating and sustaining these kinds of collaborative contexts for teacher education are also well known, including practical challenges…

High-stakes testing has created challenges for teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other related education stakeholders in recent decades (Nichols & Berliner, 2007). While high-stakes tests have a long history (Ravitch, 2009) it was not until No Child Left Behind was signed into law in 2002 that the tests became law for most…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent an extraordinary opportunity for education in the U.S.: Not only do they provide for the first time a common platform for states to collaborate and to compare performance, but they also align expectations for student achievement with the demands of college and careers in the 21st century and the…

Improving student performance is the goal of any chemistry educator. With the proliferation of internet technologies in recent years, educators have been struggling with providing effective learning materials to students online. These materials also have not always had the intended effect of improving student performance. Either students do not…

Across the globe, students learn with digital texts, classrooms connect through the world-wide web, and elementary students apprentice in highly technical skills such as moviemaking or animation. As education embarks on the second decade of the 21st century, technology is becoming more sought after than ever before as countries prepare their youth…

What do we mean by reflective practice? What does it involve? How can it help you develop as a teacher? "The Teacher's Reflective Practice Handbook" is an essential source of advice, guidance and ideas for both student and practising teachers. Helping you to translate pedagogical knowledge into practice, this "Handbook" guides you through studying…

For the last 25 years, research on the effects of community colleges on baccalaureate degree attainment has concluded that community colleges drastically reduce the likelihood of attaining a bachelor's degree compared to the effects of four-year institutions on this likelihood. The thesis of this dissertation is that community colleges have…

For over 17 years, Boston Day and Evening Academy has served a population of young people often left behind: those who are off track to high school graduation or who have dropped out altogether. Through its competency-based approach, BDEA has tackled one of the toughest education conundrums of our time: how to recover low-skilled students two or…