The post-secondary educational system has undergone dramatic changes and experienced immense stress in the past two decades. Once regarded as the logical next step toward career opportunities and financial security, higher education is a subject of growing uncertainty for millions of people across the United States. It is more common than ever to…

New tools and technologies are being developed to cater to the e-learning triangle of content, technology, and services. These developments (in technology, needs of students, emergence of new modes of education like MOOCs or flipped classrooms, etc.) have resulted in a change in the approach to teaching. "Innovative Applications of Online…

Communities across the country are grappling with different approaches to improving their schools. Introducing or expanding charter schools is one of the approaches that states and school districts have considered or implemented. Charter schools serve more than 5 percent of public school students nationwide and make up close to 7 percent of all…

The American educational system is credited by many well-known leaders and educational writers as being responsible for the success of American democracy and industrial society. They say that education builds the state as a democratic society that rests upon the education of all people and builds a foundation for freedom by the opportunity…

The context of staff development programs should be selected from options promising substantial increases in student learning and aptitude. This article introduces the "effect size" concept and reviews recent research on teaching models (cooperative learning, information-processing models, synectics, nondirective teaching, and DISTAR). Includes 55…

Focusing on the role of the educational developer, the 19 essays in this collection provide a forum for educational developer practitioners: (1) to share their practices and insights; (2) to explore what it means to be an educational developer and instructional designer, and to give some philosophical reflection of the role; and (3) to clarify the…

Three case studies show innovative education programs that provide quality basic education with equity. After explaining the significance of educational innovation of democracy in Latin America and the constraints to educational development, the investigation of the three programs follows. The program of Fe y Alegria (Faith and Joy) in 12…

This document discusses educational assessment and accountability in current educational reform efforts and the implications for students with disabilities. A preface addresses common educational reforms, new laws promoting education reform, and how today's reforms fit with special education. The paper then describes three types of assessment:…

This 1963 article, reprinted from the "Journal of Geography" lamented the lack of geographic education. Urged geographers to promote the subject and ensure its place in the curriculum. Claimed school administrators failed to understand geography's vital role. Discussed current status of the field and mentioned poor student test scores. (NL)

As part of the Directory of Innovations Series, this volume provides information about programs and practices for educational improvement and school restructuring. It provides brief overviews of about 150 high school or district-wide programs with descriptions of the following: (1) goals; (2) location; (3) demographics; (4) how it works; (5) how…

This project sought to test the feasibility and effectiveness of experimental teaching in resource programs, by determining whether teachers could use continuous data to test successive hypotheses and empirically determine which reforms in an individual student's educational program produce the best performance outcomes. The project also evaluated…

Provides a thorough introduction to the origin, ideas, and current state-of-the-art of discipline-based music education (DBME). DBME expands music education beyond performance to include aesthetics, history, and criticism. Discusses the music specialist's role in this process, gives guidelines for implementation, and includes a list of resources.…

This publication contains interim reports from 26 programs developed at 22 British higher education institutions in response to a government "White Paper" that called for development of more flexible patterns of teaching and learning. Each description includes the institution's title, names of key personnel, short description of the…

Reviews research literature that defines cooperative learning and substantiates many educational benefits to be derived from it. Outlines eight selected cooperative learning methods. Reports that research shows cooperative learning methods improve students' academic achievement, self-esteem, and social skills. Also suggests that cooperative…

This synthesis of recent literature on school effectiveness offers educators empirical research on which to base plans for staff development and school improvement. The introduction notes the limitations of effective schools research and points out its potential to clarify thought about schools. A section on instruction reviews research on…