The library landscape is changing at a fast pace, with an increase in the demand for study space including quiet, individualized study space; open group study space; and as enclosed group study space. In large academic libraries, managing limited high-demand resources is crucial and is partially being driven by the greater emphasis on group…

Agile development has received increasing interest both in industry and academia due to its benefits in developing software quickly, meeting customer needs, and keeping pace with the rapidly changing requirements. However, agile practices and scrum in particular have been mainly tested in mid- to large-size projects. In this paper, we present…

Every year at Oakland Hebrew Day School (OHDS), a dedicated group of middle-school students comes together to study the Holocaust through art. This study culminates in an installation piece to be displayed at community commemorative events. The art curriculum at OHDS is choice-based, requiring students to assume responsibility for their art…

The Seaford School District, Seaford, Delaware, determined that a component of their "reinvention" of Seaford High School would be the creation of a New Tech Academy, affiliated with the New Tech Network and housed in an addition to that building. The New Tech Network, headquartered in Napa, California, is a rapidly growing association…

This dissertation identified the practices utilized by three exemplary instructors in a Northern California Community College. The case study approach was the method of choice based on the questions that this study sought to answer. The methodology included interviews, focus group sessions, classroom observations and document review. Eight…

They sat in the Cubberley Education Lecture Hall to hear visiting experts. More often they could be found meeting in reduced-size classes, or working on small-group activities. They usually took notes; sometimes they took field trips. They memorized lists and sat for exams, but they also watched films and acted out scenarios. Rather than take…

The continued downward spiral of enrollment in physical sciences in the USA and Europe has science educators concerned on both sides of the Atlantic. Physics has been particularly hard-hit, with the percentage of students choosing to major in the subject at the lowest level in decades. University physics has a reputation as a difficult, abstract…

Children's sense of a community is essential in elementary schools. This helps gives students a sense of belonging and control over their environment. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of several strategies from the Toolbox Project and their effect on building community in the classroom. Collin (2003b) discusses his Toolbox…

This combined quantitative and qualitative study examined the responses of students to participation in literature circles and the use of trade books in a university classroom. Students in an adolescence course participated in this strategy throughout the semester. The literature circles involved small groups of students who had chosen to read the…

In developing a tool to help address academic language development, the author and his team began by identifying the challenges of presenting science text to English Language Learners and students who struggle with reading. The goal was to balance the practical and logistical challenges of identifying, teaching, and learning academic and content…

We present an analysis and discussion of the "tanda," a multiperson pooled credit and savings scheme (a rotating credit association or RCA), as described by two informants from Mexican immigrant communities in California. In the tanda, participants contribute regularly to a common fund which is distributed to participants on a rotating…

Group activities are an excellent way to enhance learning. When students are actively involved in a relevant project, understanding and retention are improved. The proposed activity introduces a timely and interesting project typical of the type encountered in statistical practice. Using the computer to successfully developing an appropriate model…

Project-Based Learning (PBL) connects standards-based content to real-world scenarios through the use of projects to improve student achievement. By engaging students in authentic problems that do not have a predetermined solution, students learn both subject matter and critical 21st-century skills. This "Focus On" addresses what…

Numerous articles have been written about the impact of community-based work and self-esteem, self-efficacy, and gardening in an educational environment. Empirical data suggest that when students have become involved in a group effort designed to improve a school, community, or society, a sense of interdependency and loyalty to that institution…

Although it is clear that parental incarceration has adverse effects on children, there is limited information about effective services for helping this population. With an increase in the number of parents of minor children in jail, there is a need for schools to assist affected students in a structured and comprehensive manner. The purpose of…