While classroom instruction can and should still be used to teach students the fundamentals of engineering, the key to their ultimate success is learning to use that knowledge in a real-world setting. Out-of-class activities, like the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) National Concrete Canoe Competition, not only give students a hands-on…

Virtual teams have become an integral part of many organizations because of an increase in corporate restructuring, competition, and globalization. A virtual team is defined as one that conducts its work almost entirely through electronic technology. Virtual team members, who are typically dispersed both geographically and organizationally, rarely…

Demand for improved student performance and accountability in the face of growing numbers of students with learning or behavioral difficulties creates a challenge for secondary school administrators and staffs. Principals who strive to be effective instructional leaders must find ways to provide knowledge and support that help teachers meet all…

This study reports findings from a content analysis of the activities and tasks of a school-based problem-solving team. Analyses of observational data collected over the course of five months found that team tasks and activities fell into the following five clusters: (1) needs identification, program development, and planning; (2) intrateam…

We discuss teachers' perception of the use of group work in the Information Technology (IT) classroom. We describe the current situation regarding the implementation of group work in IT classrooms in South Africa as well as the challenges that IT teachers face when implementing group work. This information will be used in further research to…

This case study covers a wide variety of challenges facing administrators as they make an effort to improve the learning environments of impoverished communities. It may be used in an introductory course for aspiring school leaders and practitioners in the eld of school leadership. This case also presents myriad complex organizational issues that…

A correlated science lesson is characterized as an integrated science lesson in that it may incorporate traditionally integrated activities and use math as a tool. However, a correlated math-science lesson also: (1) has the pertinent math and science objectives aligned with state standards; and (2) teaches parallel science and math ideas equally.…

The authors describe the premises, processes used, and outcomes of a K-16 simultaneous renewal model, as implemented through the Kansas State University Professional Development School Partnership Project. The goal of this partnership is to improve K-12 teaching and learning while improving a university teacher-preparation program through…

There are those in the school community who believe that the anxious feelings and heightened sense of anxiety experienced by sixth graders as they transition from elementary to junior high school constitute a rite of passage. Teachers and school administrators in the Indiana Area Junior High School in Pennsylvania believed differently. During the…

Our business communication classes will continue to be enriched by students from various cultural backgrounds, many of them ESL learners. Among the numerous benefits of this diversity are opportunities for all students to develop essential life skills through course-embedded community service learning (CSL) projects. This study analyzes students'…

Experiences in designing and teaching a reformed abstract algebra course are described. This effort was partially a result of a five year statewide National Science Foundation (NSF) grant entitled the Rocky Mountain Teacher Enhancement Collaborative. The major thrust of this grant was to implement reform in core mathematics courses that would…

When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 2004, one of the significant amendments concerned Individual Education Program (IEP) team attendance. A member of an IEP team may be excused if "the member's area of the curriculum or related services is not being modified or discussed in the meeting." The…

Many schools across the United States are attempting to implement some form of decentralization and shared decision making. This paper identifies some of the challenges associated with implementing school-based decision making and describes ways in which some schools and their principals have dealt effectively with them. Three particular…

This set of four short videocassettes promotes the use of promising practices advocating fully inclusive education for students with diverse learning abilities in their neighborhood schools. The first video, titled "Seven Steps to Problem Solving," presents a problem-solving process that empowers teams to work together to meet diverse…

These lesson plans describe some of the basic conflict resolution lessons developed and used over the past years. The collection focuses on seven communication skills, sequenced from skills and activities that generally require the least amount of trust to those that require more. The skills identified include: (1) attention; (2) observation; (3)…