In the past, educators almost always looked for best practices in classrooms. In fact, when educators say "practice," they are generally talking about teacher practice. Yet 12 years of work at Springboard Schools (and its predecessor, the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative, or BASRC) argues that administrators, as well as teachers,…

Difficulties in finding, keeping, and ensuring the competence of the direct support workforce in community developmental disability services has long been a challenge for individuals, families, providers, and policy makers. Direct support staff recruitment, retention, and competence are widely reported as one of the most significant barriers to…

Audience response systems (ARS) or clickers, as they are commonly called, offer a management tool for engaging students in the large classroom. Basic elements of the technology are discussed. These systems have been used in a variety of fields and at all levels of education. Typical goals of ARS questions are discussed, as well as methods of…

The principles, difficulties and challenges in control education are discussed and compared to the similar problems in the teaching of mathematics and systems science in general. The difficulties of today's students to appreciate the classical teaching of engineering disciplines, which are based on rigorous and scientifically sound grounds, are…

Training of direct care workers (DCWs) varies depending upon the setting in which they work and the state in which they are trained. Evidence points to the importance of adequate training as critical to DCW job satisfaction and reduction in turnover. Several approaches have been taken to enhance the training of DCWs with the objective that as job…

Background/Context: Recent research has shown the importance of professional development for teacher learning and has documented the qualities that make professional development effective for improved instruction and student achievement. But there is little research to suggest how the policy environment shapes teachers' choices to participate in…

Distance learning is enabling individuals to earn college and graduate degrees, professional certificates, and a wide range of skills and credentials. In addition to the rapidly expanding role of distance learning in higher education, all types of organizations now offer Web-based training courses to employees, clients, and other associates. In…

With the growth over the past 25 years in the establishment of residential environmental education (EE) centers, what factors EE center directors identify as important to the success of these centers merits discussion. Research in environmental education is still relatively new, with few continuously contributing researchers and a lack of…

European education today is characterized by two dominant trends. First, e-learning has made impressive advances in the past five years. Second, European higher education has become increasingly internationalized. The authors wanted to determine how e-learning is used in higher education in The Netherlands, their home country, to increase and…

We suggest that there is a powerful and affirming socialization taking place in African American communities that could be instructive to schools. This article illustrates how educators can build on the strengths found in the black community to effectively teach African American students. Relating the ethos of the barbershop to tenets of…

Service learning has become a prominent feature of the K-16 educational landscape. Service learning is seen to enhance student outcomes, foster a more active citizenry, promote a "scholarship of engagement" among teachers and institutions, support a more equitable society, and reconnect K-16 schools with their local communities. Yet…

The Woodrow Wilson Foundation does not like to write reports. Typically, Woodrow Wilson translates ideas into academic practices. This said, having engaged 14 (and ultimately 20) graduate schools to work on the Responsive Ph.D.--as the authors called their initiative--it is time to report on what they have accomplished, and on what they have…

In this collection of the best writing on teaching and teachers from the "Harvard Educational Review", authors discuss the multiple demands, distractions, desires, and dilemmas that teachers face in their daily work. Geologists study volcanoes for years yet cannot predict exactly which will be the next to erupt. Meteorologists use highly…

Purpose: This conceptual paper aims to explain how "project management centres of excellence (CoEs)", a particular class of knowledge network, can be viewed as providing great potential for assisting project management (PM) teams to make wise decisions. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a range of knowledge network types and…

This paper offers the perspective of a group of Primary One children in Singapore on their transition from preschool to formal schooling. It examines their impressions of school expectations, adjustments in daily routine, and the best and worst aspects of school. Data obtained from a structured interview indicates that children regard school as a…