Prior Learning Assessment, or PLA, is an important and often overlooked strategy for helping adults progress towards a degree. PLA is the process by which many colleges evaluate for academic credit the college-level knowledge and skills an individual has gained outside of the classroom (or from non-college instructional programs), including…

Teaching about racism creates challenging issues for educators and students alike. Using experiential learning and a public-access curriculum to teach about racism and social inequality, graduate and undergraduate students participated in this elective course. The hybrid "minimester" course focused on affective responses to classroom activities,…

This research examined the change in the perceptions of preservice teachers regarding the use of digital minigames to support middle school level social studies learning. The results of a Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test for matched pairs revealed that participants' (N = 18) perceptions were positively modified by participation in a series of digital…

Traditional approaches to learning have often focused upon knowledge transfer strategies that have centred on textually-based engagements with learners, and dialogic methods of interaction with tutors. The use of virtual worlds, with text-based, voice-based and a feeling of "presence" naturally is allowing for more complex social interactions and…

This paper is concerned with teacher collaboration in Higher Education. Specifically, it focuses on how a "community of practice" emerged and developed during the process of enhancing first year transition for pre-service teachers. It is written from the perspective of five teacher educators and is situated within the literature of the…

Background: Seventeen pre-service teachers from The Hong Kong Institute of Education involved in a service education project during the summer vacation in 2008. They spent seven weeks in an orphanage and a commune in Vietnam to provide various services for disabled children and to help constructing a house for the poor villagers respectively. They…

The purpose of this study was to examine the possible enhancement of compassion in college students as a result of participating in community-based learning immersion trips. In two separate experiments, a total of 123 college students were given a series of questionnaires immediately before and after university-sponsored immersion experiences to…

Community engagement has been used for many years to enhance and strengthen teacher education courses, preparing student teachers with real life learning experiences as they work with community groups in mutually beneficial projects. This research examines a community engagement project that involved 13 undergraduate creative arts students who…

School counseling programs must provide counselors-in-training with effective and multifaceted leadership skill-building opportunities (Brott, 2006; DeVoss & Andrews, 2006; Dollarhide, Gibson, & Saginak, 2008; Kaffenberger & Murphy, 2007). The Girls' Leadership Experience Camp (GLEC) was created by the authors to enhance the leadership abilities…

One purpose of professional conference attendance is to enhance social support. Intentionally fostering this support is an important political aim that should be developed. Although many multifactor definitions of social support exist (Cobb, 1979; Cohen & Syme, 1985; Kahn, 1979; Shaefer et al., 1981; Weiss, 1974), all distinguish between an…

Ground rules need to be recognized in order to make the contributions of public relations volunteers successful. Before beginning, public relations volunteers needs to know what the organization expects of them. Volunteers also should: identify the resources available to them; define and identify the tasks that apply to the specific situation;…

As measured by the Mathias Township School's student participants, the total life simulation project was successful. Among the 11 tasks required were opening both a savings and checking account or establishing an average weekly income by getting one or more jobs or applying for food stamps and/or welfare. (JC)

Describes an "Adventure Education" class that involved elementary students in the study of a political-environmental issue. The class included field work. (IRT)

Addressed to the bookkeeping/accounting instructor, this article discusses seven suggestions for emphasizing more learning in the learning-by-doing approach. (SH)

A biographical sketch of William G. "Cap'n Bill" Vinal is presented, followed by an interview with Dr. Phyllis Ford about her experiences as a student of Cap'n Bill. He was the great teacher who seized every moment, showed up unexpectedly at conventions, and helped people feel okay, even when they made mistakes. (JMM)