Today's ever-changing learning environment is characterized by the fast pace of technology that drives our society to move forward, and causes our knowledge to increase at an exponential rate. The need for in-depth research that is bound to generate new knowledge about curriculum and program development is becoming ever more relevant.…

What separates successful leaders from unsuccessful ones is their mental models or meaning structures, not their knowledge, information, training, or experience per se. Thus the development of leaders should focus on acquisition of new mental models, models that offer more valid and useful ways for effectively dealing with the complex challenges…

The purpose of this article is to explore the potential for fostering transformative learning in an online environment. It provides an overview of transformative learning theory, including the variety of perspectives on the theory that have evolved as the theory matured. Strategies and practices for fostering transformative learning are presented,…

In 2004, a large Midwest hospital was losing money, patients, employees, and physicians. A business consultant was hired to engage key employees in a process to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care. The improvement was negligible after the first year, so a 3-man consultancy was added in 2005 to engage all employees in an educational…

As is well known, it is network that has turned the traditional "man-man" educational system made up of by only teachers and students into a new system of "man-machine-man" composed of network as well as teachers and students. In the new system, teachers' authority has been lowered sharply because students also have access to…

A qualitative research study designed to understand, from the in-service teachers perspective, what it is like to open their classrooms and mentor a preservice teacher. This study utilizes feminist research methodologies and responsive interviewing to explore how teachers' perceive the experience of mentoring a preservice teacher, and then,…

Graduates from three Northern California private universities K-12 teacher preparation programs were invited to participate in an online survey to share their perceptions of the California Teaching Performance Assessment (CalTPA) as it influenced their K-12 beginning teacher practice. Self-selected respondents further volunteered to discuss their…

My research centers upon designing transformative learning environments and supporting technologies. Kitchen Science Investigators (KSI) is an out-of-school transformative learning environment we designed to help young people learn science through cooking. My dissertation considers the question, "How can we design a learning environment in which…

Will African farmers watch and learn from videos featuring farmers in Bangladesh? Learning videos on rice seed management were made with rural women in Bangladesh. By using a new approach, called zooming-in, zooming-out, the videos were of regional relevance and locally appropriate. When the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) introduced them to…

Changes in governmental financial support are causing many would-be students to question the value of higher education or to consider attending a local university. Oral history testimonies provide a source for understanding the role that living, as well as working, within an academic community plays in the learning lives of its alumni. An…

How do college professors prepare for class? Teachers often approach the lesson planning process differently. Some, though quite different in their methods, come out with remarkably similar results. Two highly effective teachers engaged each other in peer-reflection as they explored their own methods of lesson preparation. As they conferred with…

Inner-city public school classrooms, group homes, juvenile detention centers and facilities will be with Americans forever. Their populations can deflate, challenge, or improve any artist's skills and expertise. The author thinks of teaching artists who work these strenuous communities as soldiers of service, dedicated individuals who fight with…

Reflective journal writing is acknowledged as a powerful method for promoting student learning in higher education contexts. Numerous scholars highlight the benefits of reflective writing and journaling for students and teachers in a wide range of teaching areas. There is however, little discussion of how reflective writing is used in teaching and…

Women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) areas in university settings; however this may be the result of attitude rather than aptitude. There is widespread agreement that quantitative problem-solving is essential for graduate competence and preparedness in science and other STEM subjects. The research…

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to and ways in which student participants in Alternative Break (AB) programs report that their AB experience influenced their intentions or plans to volunteer, engage in advocacy, or study or travel abroad, or their major or career plans. Additional analysis explored the specific program…