The importance of constructively aligned curriculum is well understood in higher education. Based on the principles of constructive alignment, this research considers whether student perception of learning achievement measures can be used to gain insights into how course activities and pedagogy are assisting or hindering students in accomplishing…

As college presidents face the challenges of a turbulent and uncertain economy, they are working to assess the impacts on their strategic financial positions and to develop response plans that reflect their institutional missions and values. How can college presidents navigate during these difficult economic times as they seek to hold on to the…

The purpose of this study was to describe elementary teachers' attitudes and perceptions toward agriculture and its use as a context for teaching across the grade level content area standards. Further, this study sought to probe more deeply the stages of concern possessed by kindergarten through eighth grade teachers with respect to their use of…

Atkinson and Geiser (2009) make a strong argument for moving to a new form of college admissions testing using curriculum-based achievement tests. In making their case, however, they exaggerate the weaknesses of current tests such as the ACT and SAT by minimizing these tests' predictive utility and claiming a stronger relationship to socioeconomic…

The purpose of this study was to empirically test the posit that students who participated in a contextualized, mathematics-enhanced high school agricultural power and technology (APT) curriculum and aligned instructional approach would not differ significantly (p less than 0.05) in their technical competence from students who participated in the…

There is a missing piece to America's education agenda, and children will continue to be left behind until that piece is addressed. Furthermore, children are not being systematically prepared for their complex roles as citizens in our democracy. A growing body of evidence from research and practice suggests reconceptualizing education as an…

Federal regulations concerning the development and implementation of alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards include a set of safeguards intended to ensure that eligible students have access to grade-level general curriculum. These regulations concerning curricular access and opportunity to learn for students with…

Teachers plan for instruction in band, choir, and orchestra; this typically includes selecting repertoire and planning outcomes and strategies for achieving those goals with a vision toward excellent musical performance. Teachers in school music ensembles plan instruction that will lead to student learning. In the ensemble setting, this learning…

Studies of classroom behavior and learning outcomes have demonstrated that student discussion leads to better learner outcomes. Do these effects, which are based on studies of face-to-face interaction, transfer to the virtual classroom? Existing studies of online postings in asynchronous discussion forums have primarily studied the effects on the…

New teachers need help. From day one, new teachers, largely on their own, are responsible for running a classroom and ensuring student learning, as well as fulfilling administrative requirements. Little wonder that 14% of new teachers leave by the end of their first year, 33% leave within three years, and almost 50% leave in five years (Ingersoll,…

Literature on school reform has emphasized the need for principals to expand beyond their traditionally administrative role and become instructional leaders. This article examines the relationship between the practice of site-based instructional leadership and the professional development that teachers received in the context of a district-wide…

This paper investigates the relationship between learning style, as determined by Kolb's Learning Style Inventory, age and one measure of academic performance in design assignments for two cohorts of first- and third-year architecture students. The paper focuses on the results of a cross-curriculum learning style survey conducted as part of a…

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, close to 1.8 million people, or 77% of all computer professionals, were working in the design, development, deployment, maintenance, and management of software in 2006. The ACM [Association for Computing Machinery] model curriculum for the BS in computer science proposes that about 42% of the core body…

This article discusses the theoretical framework, instructional design, formative assessment results, capacity for national distribution, and generalization of the Blending Assessment with Instruction Program (BAIP) model to other content areas such as science. The BAIP, developed and validated at the University of Kansas, employs technology to…

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) has primary responsibility to ensure that Information Technology (IT) is acquired and information resources are managed in a manner consistent with statutory, regulatory, and Departmental requirements and priorities. This Department Information Resources…