Letter writing is an integral component of narrative therapy practice. In addition to the benefits of letter writing in counseling practice, letter writing may hold interesting possibilities for use in counselor education. This article provides a brief review of the benefits of letter writing in counseling practice and discusses the potential use…

Assessment and evaluation activities are an integral part of early intervention services. These activities culminate in written evaluation reports that include information such as observations of skills and deficits, diagnosis, and recommendations for intervention. However, few guidelines exist to help guide early intervention providers in writing…

This 2005 conference dialog does not attempt to review the formidable "A History of the University in Europe, 1800-1945," edited by Walter Reggi. But it does use this magnificent piece of scholarship to open a discussion of the scholarship on the university, worldwide. The precipitating event was a book session at the Social Science…

This article expresses concern for the sloppy language that is often used by the media to describe numerical comparisons and suggests guidelines for how such comparisons should be described such that the meanings are unambiguous.

This handbook outlines procedures for sharing student data between schools and the Ministry of Education, and answers questions pertaining to provincial examinations. It supports the work of both educators and the Ministry, which works with schools to produce transcripts and administer provincial exams. The following are appended: (1) Forms; and…

This paper discusses the pedagogical and technological aspects of assessing wiki-based collaborative learning activities. The first part of the paper presents a general framework of collaborative learning assessment. The framework is based on four aspects of assessment, characterized by four questions: who, what, how and by whom. The second part…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB, 2002) has produced an explosion of interest in the use of assessment to measure and improve student learning. Initially focused on annual state tests, educators quickly learned that results came too little and too late to identify students who were falling behind. At the same time, evidence from the…

Designed to improve PK-12 professional learning and increase student achievement, Wisconsin's policymakers developed and implemented new educator licensing guidelines (PI 34) and a Professional Development Plan (PDP) system based on empirical research and national policy trends in 2004. As PI 34 and the PDP system are relatively new, the…

Wouldn't it be great if all your teachers were as good as your best? Teaching is often an isolated profession in which teachers work behind closed doors, doing their own thing. Peer coaching is a collaborative, ongoing process that can increase the effectiveness of all your teachers. This "Focus On" is designed to lead a faculty into the…

The purpose of this study was to develop guidelines for a new high school chemistry and physics teacher training program. Eleven participants were interviewed who attended daylong workshops, every other Saturday, for 10 months. The instructors used Modeling Instruction pedagogy and curriculum. All the instructors had high school teaching…

The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools ("ACICS" or "Council") supports the concept that periodic evaluation entered into voluntarily by institutions and their peers enhances the quality of the educational process and demonstrates that self regulation of a profession is superior to outside regulation. This has been the…

Sharing assessment data in schools typically takes the form of a short meeting to report results and give recommendations to school staff and parents. Such meetings are often dominated by a one-way flow of communication; i.e., from the clinician to the child's caregivers. Drawing on the theory and practice of Person-centered Planning and…

This dissertation presents two frameworks of what drives the ICT workers' decisions to terminate their employment with their employers, using in-depth interviewing of 38 ICT participants in different industry sectors in South Africa. The findings show external labor markets (ELMs) and internal labor markets (ILM) turnover factor across information…

The Obama administration's Race to the Top (RTT) competitive grant program has been heralded for revolutionizing the federal role in education and transforming state school reform efforts. This paper offers an initial analysis of the origins, evolution, and impact of RTT. In many ways, RTT is an attempt to circumvent the perceived failings of No…

The Obama Administration has signaled that it will include a $1.35 billion expansion of the "Race to the Top" (RTTT) fund in its FY 2011 budget. This is in addition to the $4.35 billion for RTTT included in last year's stimulus bill. Under the Department of Education's (DOE) guidelines for RTTT, states must meet certain requirements to…