The Higher Education Opportunity Act (E2SHB 1795), passed by the Legislature in 2011, identified prior learning assessment (PLA) as an innovative means for improving degree and certificate attainment and improving cost effectiveness and efficiency within Washington's higher education system. The Act defines prior learning as "the knowledge…

This study examined the reflections of six university student teachers from a Catholic university who participated in an international student teaching setting and sought to evaluate how they developed a global teaching ideology while student teaching abroad. Thomas Groome's Shared Christian Praxis Learning Process was used as a lens to examine…

A university-wide suicide prevention program was implemented to provide students, faculty, and staff tools to identify, assist, and refer distressed and suicidal individuals. The study examined participant self-reports of suicide-related knowledge and prevention skills, group differences in suicide prevention knowledge and skills, group…

This longitudinal study investigated changes in reported language usage between Puerto Rican mothers and their preschoolers over a 4-year period. It also examined whether differences in language usage occurred depending on the timing of children's exposure to English and children's gender. Seventy-six mothers reported the languages they and their…

Emily Dickinson wrote, "I dwell in Possibility--A fairer House than Prose--More Numerous of Windows--Superior--for Doors" (p. 657). Dickinson's simple yet profound reference to the expansive nature of poetry over prose may be taken as a metaphor for the possibilities of information and communication technologies (ICTs) over written modes…

High school teachers who engage students through active learning in their classrooms can more fully understand this instructional practice by examining the theories and strategies underlying the cognitive perspective of educational psychology, which addresses the development of knowledge in the individual mind. Two theoretical explanations,…

To practice effectively, one must first know how to practice. The practice process is affected by one's ability to set goals, design strategies, self-assess, and to have an aural image of the music being learned. The author proposes a model reflecting the factors involved in practice and proposes a number of strategies that can be used to…

In February 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe had claimed 3,300 lives and infected 66,000 people--greater than the toll of that disease in the whole of Africa in most years. How is it possible that a disease such as cholera can have such a devastating effect in modern times? How should one…

Educational research highlights the importance of positive teacher student relationships and recommends teachers adopt teaching strategies that are more culturally inclusive, and allow for reciprocal teaching and learning where student prior knowledge is legitimized. Participants in this study experienced such an approach. Through a storytelling…

This resource is part of a series produced by the Center for Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) to assist teachers and those who support teachers to plan teaching and learning from College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS) for all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, academically at-risk students, students…

The researchers wanted to continue in their university's previous study of nature awareness and science achievement, specifically examining the effects of nature in the achievement of seventh-grade students. This further study offered valuable insight to the inconclusive findings of previous researchers of nature awareness and science achievement.…

Today the U.S. higher education system is facing a crisis regarding its perceived quality. One model for improving quality is competency-based education, in which an institution clearly defines the specific competencies expected of its graduates. A key challenge is how to help more people, particularly adults, succeed at the post¬secondary level…

This study investigated an emerging language learning culture by examining the relationship between teachers' pedagogical beliefs and perceived efficacy in two cities in southern Texas. Drawing on Bandura's (1994) theory of self-efficacy and Ashton and Webb's (1986) notions about teacher efficacy, a multi-sited case study was conducted to explore…

The author studied a public junior high school identified as successfully implementing authentic instruction. Such instruction emphasizes higher order thinking, deep knowledge, substantive conversation, and value beyond school. To determine in what ways higher order thinking was fostered both for students with and without disabilities, the author…

This study explored (a) pre-service teachers' perceptions of using concept mapping (CM) in one of their pedagogical courses, (b) the predictive power of such implementation in course achievement, and (c) the role of prior experience with CM, type of mapping, and gender on their perceptions and performances in CM and achievement. The subjects were…