This article explores the pattern of formal study activities over a period of 11 years for a group of adult learners. It is based on a two-phase study of students who enrolled in 1999 on courses run by the Faculty of Continuing Education at Birkbeck, University of London. Taking a longitudinal perspective, conducted retrospectively for 1994-1999,…

Created by teachers for teachers, the Math Academy tools and activities included in this booklet were designed to create hands-on activities and a fun learning environment for the teaching of mathematics to students. This booklet contains the "Math Academy--Can You See It in Nature? Explorations in Patterns & Functions," which a teacher can use to…

Providing detailed, constructive and helpful feedback is an important contribution to effective student learning. Quality assurance is also required to ensure consistency across all students and reduce error rates. However, with increasing workloads and student numbers these goals are becoming more difficult to achieve. An automated feedback…

This research, conducted with an introductory sociology class at the University of British Columbia during the 2001-2002 academic year, explored community service-learning as a pedagogy and philosophy. The theoretical focus of this paper is Nancy Fraser's (1997) criticisms of Jurgen Habermas' (1992) bourgeois liberal model of the public sphere. We…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose and demonstrate an evidence-based scenario design framework for assessment-based computer games. Design/methodology/approach: The evidence-based scenario design framework is presented and demonstrated by using BELLA, a new assessment-based gaming environment aimed at supporting student learning of…

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, project strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities…

The faculty learning community project at Howard University involved a diverse group of men and women, tenured, tenure-track, and future faculty across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The purpose of the group was to engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning by learning about teaching, reflecting on…

This brief, based on a presentation by New York City Board of Education member Dr. Luis Reyes, describes the work and findings of the Latino Commission on Educational Reform, a special commission of the Board. In an effort to gather information for 1990-91 on Latino students in New York City schools, the Commission found that: Latino students…

The Weekend College (WEC) at Virginia's John Tyler Community College (JTCC) is an 8-week program offering classes every other weekend as well as student-directed learning activities outside the classroom. The program was begun in spring 1995, offering 9 courses and enrolling 152 students. To judge the effectiveness of the WEC, data were collected…

This study reports on the results of a survey of current graduate students at Boise State University (BSU) in Idaho, seniors with good grade point averages, and individuals working in the Boise area mainly in the areas of technology and education. Survey respondents (N=297) were asked what obstacles kept or had kept them from enrolling in graduate…

This study examined some factors influencing college students' choice of field of study. A model of student choice of major focused on students' perceptions of labor market conditions, personality development, college campus experience of academic and social integration, and use of information available on campus was established. The issues…

This paper investigates the effect of engaging students in designing interactive multimedia programs. The design process has been shown to heighten motivation and to develop skills in project management, research, organization and representation, presentation, and reflection. At the same time, previous studies have also revealed that it is…

The use of modern technologies has become common in mathematics education and is considered necessary for good mathematics instruction. To effectively integrate technology into the curriculum, teachers must learn new behaviors and practices and discover that the changes result in positive student outcomes. The inherent difficulties involved with…

This study compares the attitudes of academically gifted rural students with those of their classmates with regard to their communities and their aspirations for a sense of place. Although West Virginia, a largely rural state in Appalachia, is considered by outsiders as a place of deprivation, despair, and backwardness, an aspiration for a sense…

This study examined the efficacy of a class discussion conducted by listserv which was used instead of classroom meetings for a graduate seminar. Research focused on whether this mode of communication was successful for the purpose of the course, and how this mode of communication could be improved as a means for replacing or supplementing…