Idaho secondary students learn the scientific method through outdoor environmental projects related to water quality monitoring. A program trains teachers to design project-based learning and provides extensive followup support. Five-day summer workshops immerse teachers in the types of projects they will orchestrate with their own students.…

Describes how the Hershey Montessori Farm School in Huntsburg, Ohio, developed an advanced biology course, which begins with an experience-based, task-oriented approach within different biomes of the surrounding environs while incorporating high school content and scientific method. Concludes that integrating place-based and contextual inquiries…

Over the past decade calls for reform in higher education have emphasized that education should become less instructor centered with students taking a more active role in their learning. Moreover, there is increasing pressure on university professors to implement student centered teaching strategies that negate time and place restrictions of the…

This article presents four cases of journeys of discovery and renewal, and the unexpected learning that results from exploring our practice with others. The authors are three classroom teachers--Steve, Stephanie and Bennyce--all of whom took part in a year-long action research sequence and the two professors--Helen and Mary--who co-taught these…

Those who are most marginalized, both culturally and economically, in society are concentrated in the nation's largest urban centers and have the least opportunities to be successful in school science or to pursue higher education and career trajectories in science, mathematics, or engineering. This article shares the results of a study in which…

I conducted surveys, focus group interviews, and analyzed the yearbooks of fifty four yearbook students from five rural high schools to investigate students' process of yearbook construction and to determine what was meaningful and memorable to them throughout their high school experience. Chang's (1992) construct of an adolescent ethos, including…

The Webfolio project was developed at James Cook University to extend students' professional learning beyond what is taught in lectures or gleaned through the practicum. Through web based case studies, early childhood and primary preservice teachers explored topics of professional significance to their growth as teachers. Each case study included…

In this year-long qualitative study we found that most early childhood student teachers involved children with special needs in project work and realized its benefits. The factors that promoted children's involvement were familiarity and interest in the topic, comfort with the size and composition of the small group, and the use of open-ended,…

The conference proceedings include the following papers: (1) The Arts Metaverse in Open Croquet: Exploring an Open Source 3-D Online Digital World (Ulrich Rauch and Tim Wang); (2) Beyond World of Warcraft: the Universe of MMOGs (Ruben R. Puentedura); (3) ClevelandPlus in Second Life (Wendy Shapiro, Lev Gonick, and Sue Shick); (4) Folksemantic:…

Many researchers and practitioners contend that all institutions respond to changing market need and can create competitive advantage through innovation and creativity. Each year, institutions expend significant resources developing new products and processes and yet research shows that more than half these initiatives fail. Successful…

In this article, we draw on the example of the Friday Absenteeism Project, a photo voice project with sixth grade learners in a rural KwaZulu-Natal school, to interrogate the nature of participatory process and cultural production. In so doing, we explore a number of critical issues related to youth participation, including ethics, citizenship and…

This study addresses changes in student perceptions when team leaders are incentivized. Although the benefits of groupwork have been thoroughly studied and documented, minimizing dysfunctional teamwork may prove difficult because of leadership incentives, social loafing, and organizational justice implications. Using an innovative pedagogical…

The impact of project-based learning has been shown to be effective in increasing pupil motivation, improving problem-solving skills and thinking skills in studies by Barrows and Williams. "Project Hour" was set up in order to conduct a longitudinal study over the course of one academic year, to observe and record progress and…

Mapping Our City is a two-year project in which middle school teachers and students in Boston explore the uses of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in project-based science, environmental education, and geography. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation and is being field tested in three Boston middle school science classrooms.…

The Internet is an international computer network composed of thousands of smaller networks. State and regional education networks and commercial providers have made the vast resources of the Internet increasingly available to administrators, school library media specialists, and classroom teachers. This updated digest lists a selection of no-cost…