Online learning is growing rapidly as states and districts are creating new online schools, and existing programs are adding new courses and students. The growth reflects the spreading understanding that online courses and programs can serve a wide variety of students and needs. These include: (1) Creating opportunities for small and rural school…

Schools are raising standards to improve academic and technical achievement and intellectual growth for all groups of students, particularly at-risk students. This newsletter contains tools and strategies that school leaders and teachers are using successfully to help students meet higher expectations. It organizes the techniques into five…

This article reviews research on the achievement outcomes of alternative approaches for struggling readers in grades K-5: One-to-one tutoring, small group tutorials, classroom instructional process approaches, and computer-assisted instruction. Study inclusion criteria included use of randomized or well-matched control groups, study duration of at…

The number of students taking online courses in K-12 has increased exponentially since the inception of virtual schools in 1996. However, K-12 virtual schooling is a relatively new concept for those involved in teacher education. As teacher education departments build pre-service preparation programs, in-service professional development…

In order to cultivate the kind of technology literacy in our students called for by leaders in the field, it must simultaneously be cultivated in our teachers. While the literature in the field of English education demonstrates the efficacy of computer technology in writing instruction and addresses its impact on the evolving definition of…

This article assesses religion teaching as a profession in terms of selected characteristics that scholars agree are common to all professions. The characteristics that are addressed include essential service, call to serve, special knowledge and skills, specialized and advanced university training, public trust and status, code of ethics and…

The mentoring of new teachers has proven to be an effective strategy in helping novice teachers succeed. This essay provides an overview of mentorship and suggests concrete, research-based techniques for implementing a mentorship program.

The purpose of this report is to describe the main mechanisms currently in use in Scotland's colleges to ensure that the adoption of good practice actually happens. It investigates how colleges identify and promote good practice in their own institutions; how they develop strategies and processes to ensure good practice is shared, adopted and…

Federal law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 1997) requires that states participating in Part C, Services for Infants and Toddlers, "…maintain and implement a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system…". The challenges of preparing and maintaining trained personnel to provide these…

This article describes the process of implementing a community collaborative HIV prevention intervention research project targeting Asian and Pacific Islander (API) men who have sex with men (MSM). This article traces the genesis of the project--which linked university researchers with an API-focused community based organization--starting from its…

This paper starts from the premise that using learning outcomes to organise the curriculum has been demonstrated to be beneficial to both students and teachers. Accepting, however, that there are legitimate concerns over the extent to which the use of learning outcomes can inhibit originality and critical thinking of students, this paper uses the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide details on Simon Fraser University's new School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) approach to creating a culture that supports rapid development of high-quality e-learning materials, why it has been successful, and what has been learned. Design/methodology/approach: Describes how, over a…

Polygraph testing is becoming increasingly important in sex offender treatment. Polygraph advocates cite dramatic increases in historical disclosures that presumably allow more precise targeting of treatment interventions, earlier detection of risky behaviors that often lead to new offenses, and improved treatment and supervision compliance. Based…

In this paper we offer an overview of reintegration policies in both Australia and New Zealand. We describe the rehabilitative practices of both countries, and their basis in the Risk-Needs-Responsivity model of offender rehabilitation, before outlining the recently developed Good Lives Model of offender rehabilitation. Our conclusion is that the…

This article offers information about a district's school improvement efforts to reculture as a professional learning community, which we believe exemplifies the school and district levels of Fullan's (2004b, 2005) tri-level model. We use Fullan's eight elements of sustainability to organize the data gathered in interviews with school and district…