The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify critically important factors that affect the meaningful assessment of student learning outcomes and study why these factors were critically important. A three-round Delphi process was used to solicit the opinions of individuals who were actively involved in student learning outcomes assessment…

In 2004, the UK government launched a new programme for early years leaders in England--the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL). In collaboration with the National College for School Leadership, Pen Green led the development, pilot and rollout of this M-level training programme, which by 2006-07 involved 17…

Robust leadership is increasingly recognised as a critical element of healthy professions, yet some research suggests that early childhood practitioners do not readily identify with the concept of leadership. This article explores some dimensions of leadership in early childhood and how it is understood and practised in Australian early childhood…

The field experience component in a teacher education programme serves both a gate-keeping function and a formative purpose that supports student teacher development. The authors were members of a research team which took care of the re-design of the assessment instrument for the field experience component of a teacher education programme, as well…

When preservice teacher programs are failing to adequately prepare collegiate students towards becoming thriving teachers, what can be done? After many complaints were voiced from my student body, a survey was constructed, which revealed student satisfaction levels were lowest in the following areas: 1) The variety of opportunities to teach…

The purpose of this study was to assess early childhood preservice teachers' caring dispositions. In this pilot project, 35 preservice teachers were involved. They spent 30 hours in the field. The tool for assessment--Caring Teachers' Components and Characteristics--was developed on the basis of the theory of caring per Noddings (1992) and…

All states that meet federal criteria will now be allowed to take part in the U.S. Department of Education's 2-year-old experiment with "growth models," which let states measure individual students' achievement gains as a way of ensuring accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act. After originally capping participation at 10…

Two and a half years ago, the author relates how their middle schools embarked on a student laptop initiative that began as a pilot program and has continued to develop into a model for successful technology integration. Although they entered uncharted waters as far as laptop technology is concerned, there were some known principles that have…

Background: Cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) seems to be becoming the treatment of choice for non-disabled sex offenders. Nevertheless, there have been relatively few evaluations of such treatment for men with intellectual disabilities (ID) and sexually abusive behaviour. Method: A pilot study providing CBT for two groups of men with ID is…

New video and computer game ideas reach the stage of production by a company when they are "pitched" by game developers to game publishers. Learning how to "pitch" technology products has great educational value for technology education students. In this article, the author shares his experience with helping his students master…

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of a pilot social marketing program to increase preschoolers' willingness to try new foods. Methods: Four Head Start centers participated (2 experimental, 2 control) in a study using a quasi-experimental design. Experimental sites received a 12-week intervention developed using social marketing…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiential learning e-portfolio's potential to promote connections between academic and workplace learning (Brown, 2000, 2002). Sometimes referred to as the Digital Notebook, the e-portfolio allows learners to trace the development of their thinking and learning over time and to show their competencies…

This paper presents a study of the experiences of a group of teacher educators during the 2006-2007 academic year, when they participated in a project to try out and implement digital individual development planning (which in Swedish is digital "Individuella Utvecklings-Planer" or IUP) in a teacher education faculty at a Swedish…

Students with disabilities and special needs have faced challenges in accessing educational content, and in taking traditional pen-and-paper tests. How might technology improve the process, while making statewide tests truly accessible to all students? NimbleTools is the first computer-based test delivery system that incorporates principles of…

The Increasing Course Rigor Pilot Project, a joint initiative of the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and ACT, Inc., is one component of Phase Two of the NGA Center for Best Practices Honor States Grant Program. The project, which began in winter 2006 and concluded in summer 2007, was designed to improve the quality…