This article reports on the implementation of a professional development program in emerging technologies for librarians at the University of Western Australia. Set up in 2008 to address a lack of pedagogically grounded training in this area, it has now graduated three cohorts. A qualitative analysis of participants' online contributions and…

A field trip is a common strategy used by educators to bring out-of-school learning experience into schools. Many research studies suggest a field trip will not only bring an individual close to the real-world, but may also increase an individual's environmental knowledge and responsible behaviors. Program evaluations usually focus on the…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of six children using technologies in their education. Data were collected via in-depth interviews, classroom observations, and home observations. The results showed that students have common perceptions toward their experience with technology integration. Furthermore, the…

Using the story of a fight between an African American male student and a white male student in a high school classroom, I trace not only the raced and classed actors involved, but also the story of my sense making as a practicing teacher and researcher. Drawing on the concept of intersectionality, I show how a story that seems as simple as a…

At the University of Pittsburgh, the author and his colleagues have been exploring a range of approaches to design challenges for implementation in high school science classrooms. In general, their approach has always involved students working during class time over the course of many weeks. So, their understanding of what works must be…

Wikis are a supporting tool for pupils' learning and collaboration. Tasks such as cooperative authoring, joined workbooks creation, document review, group assignments, reflection notes and others have been tried out using wikis as a facilitating tool [1]. However, few studies have reported how students actually perceive some well-claimed benefits.…

One goal of 21st-century education is to develop mature citizens who can identify issues, solve problems, and communicate solutions. What better way for students to learn these skills than by participating in a science and engineering fair? Fair participants face the same challenges as professional scientists and engineers, even Nobel laureates.…

Shifting from an emphasis on teaching to learning is a complex task for both teachers and students. This paper reports on a qualitative study of teachers in a nurse specialist education programme meeting this shift in a distance education course. The study aimed to gain a better understanding of the teacher-student relationship by addressing…

Influential voices, from the published literature, to blogs, and conference keynoters, describe e-learning that is technology rich, mobile, individualized, social and democratic. Classrooms, many note, are disappearing--and should. Blogs, feeds and blends enable this movement from a central function to lessons, information and coaching available…

Outdoor education has received greater attention in the United Kingdom with the launch of the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto. However, teachers' lack of confidence and competence appear to be key factors underpinning the extent of outdoor learning provision in schools. This paper reports on a partnership project in which student teachers…

This study describes and analyzes the experiences of four secondary students during an urban summer school program. In the previous summer, over 90% of program participants passed the state course-end exam, compared to the city Department of Education's summer school pass rate of less than 36%. The study examines the ways in which different…

Teaching practice is a decisive event in a student teacher's training and shapes the beginnings of their life in the teaching profession. It is widely recognized that student teachers' learning opportunities can be maximized during teaching practice by cooperating teacher contribution (Hardy, 1999; O'Sullivan, 2003; Rikard and Veal, 1996;…

The authors describe a one-on-one online mentoring project that matched preservice teachers with English language learners to help them improve their writing skills. Online writing became a practical, engaging forum for the preservice teachers to discuss language learning and teaching and to learn how to effectively teach writing to ELL students.…

The importance of first language (L1) and second language (L2) test takers' experience with large-scale literacy testing has been well documented in educational research. Our study focused on the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT), a cross-curricular literacy test that is one of the graduation requirements for Ontario high school…

In German-speaking Central Switzerland, French used to be the only foreign language (FL) taught in primary schools (from Grade 5 onwards). According to the ongoing school reform, a second FL should be introduced in primary schools. Some cantons have now implemented a programme including English as the first FL to be learnt at school (from Grade 3…