This paper discusses the benefits of a community of practice (CoP) approach to graduate education in engineering and examines guidelines for implementation. Community of practice theory and applications to practice are presented. Journal clubs, groups of faculty and students who meet regularly to discuss literature, are identified as one specific…

This article presents the results from a research project on the host community impact of college students participating in university-sponsored international experiences. It finds that little reliable data is available on the impact that our students have on host communities. The article concludes that nondamaging international experiences…

CD-ROM affordances are explored in this article through participation in classroom interaction. CD-ROMs for shared reading of animated stories and language work were introduced to all Malaysian primary schools in 2003 for the Year 1 English Literacy Hour. We present classroom interaction extracts that show how the same CD-ROMs offer different…

While there is considerable research on the first-year experience, much less has been written about the impact of assessment and feedback practices on that experience. This paper explores how formative assessment and feedback might be used to enhance the first-year experience and enable students to develop the skills needed for self-regulated…

We developed a rubric to assess several of our department's undergraduate student learning outcomes (SLOs). Target SLOs include applications of principles of research methodology, using appropriate statistics, adherence to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, and written communication skills. We randomly sampled 20…

This publication is designed to provide assistance in the acquisition of facilities and program development in environmental education. The descriptive material is grouped under three headings: planning the program, developing the facility, and utilizing and maintaining the outdoor laboratory. Appendices include sources of environmental education…

Proper maintenance of a scale established in the baseline year would assure the accurate estimation of growth in subsequent years. Scale maintenance is especially important when the state performance standards must be preserved for future administrations. To ensure proper maintenance of a scale, the selection of anchor items and evaluation of…

The Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) "Guide to Accreditation" includes a full description of TEAC's principles and standards, the accreditation process and audit, and detailed instruction on writing the "Brief." This revision includes expanded information on (1) preparing an "Inquiry Brief Proposal" and the audit of the "Inquiry…

Identifying academic misdemeanours and actual applied effort in student assessments involving practical work can be problematic. For instance, it can be difficult to assess the actual effort that a student applied, the sequence and method applied, and whether there was any form of collusion or collaboration. In this paper we propose a system of…

In today's Web 2.0 world, teachers are perpetually struggling with how to incorporate technology into the classroom effectively in order to meet the diverse literacy needs of 21st-century learners. Utilizing the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE, 2008) Position Statement addressing these needs, the theoretical framework of Lankshear…

Some states are developing alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) to measure the academic achievement of some students with disabilities (Albus, Lazarus, Thurlow, & Cormier, 2009; Lazarus, Thurlow, Christensen, & Cormier, 2007). These assessments measure the same content as the general assessment for a given…

In recent years, policymakers have begun to emphasize the goal that all students graduate from high school college- and career-ready (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Association of State Boards of Education, & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2008). Research…

The mission of the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) is to increase educational opportunities and enhance learning by providing collegial expertise and leadership in K-12 online teaching and learning. "National Standards for Quality Online Teaching" is designed to provide states, districts, online programs, and other organizations…

A case study was conducted in 2006-07 to explore how one US campus implemented a centralised e-assessment system. The study specifically measured the extent of adoption by faculty members, identified their reasons for adoption and evaluated the impact on teaching and learning. The purposes of the system, entitled researching learning (REAL, a…

The purpose of this study was to explore secondary school teachers' perceptions of interactive whiteboard (IWB) training workshops in Taiwan. This study also sought to identify potential problems associated with the design of IWB training workshops in order to improve their effectiveness. This research employed observations and interviews to…