Virtual school enrollment continues to increase in the United States although the efficacy of this school model remains highly debated. The majority of research conducted about virtual schooling focuses on high school and adult online learners. Recent literature highlights the need for quality research that provides an understanding of the…

With the loss of revenue and education cut backs, school districts have faced the loss of supplemental academic supports such as after school tutoring and summer school programs. Up until recently research has focused on improving student outcomes by implementing supplemental instruction. There was little research available that examined the…

Many colleges and universities have seen increases in students identified as having autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or Asperger's syndrome (AS). The purpose of this study was to analyze the needs of college students with autism spectrum disorders. The study implemented a naturalistic inquiry design incorporating three data collection formats. A…

Much progress has been made in creating informal learning spaces that incorporate technology and flexibly support a variety of activities. This progress has been principally in designing the right combination of furniture, technology, and space. However, colleges and universities do not design services within learning spaces with nearly the same…

This report explains the key role that school librarians and libraries should play in state- and district-wide efforts to transition to digital learning, or the effective use of technology to improve teaching and learning. The report calls for district and school leaders, policymakers, and boards of education to support, encourage, and fund the…

This Special Issues Brief from the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (GTL Center) offers recommendations for the design and implementation of educator evaluation systems that support the academic and social growth of students with disabilities. Teachers of students with disabilities work closely with specialized instructional support personnel…

A baccalaureate degree is essential to success in the contemporary United States. The degree offers improved economic security and the development of capabilities such as critical thinking, effective communication, quantitative reasoning, creativity, problem solving, personal and social responsibility, and social and cultural capital. Failure to…

Universal Institute Charter School, a Title I school in South Philadelphia, uses instructional software for reading that offers diagnostic features so that teachers can quickly identify individual students' needs and respond to them. Because of the success students experienced in the learning support and summer school environments, the program was…

The Crimson Connections Learning Community was designed as a means of providing support to a select population of students as they became members of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) community. The program provided students who were exploring majors with a shared experience, strived to blend the academic and residential experience, and…

This qualitative study utilized a meta-ethnographic approach to synthesize findings of five dissertations that focused on distance learning support services. The history of ethnographical studies stemmed from an anthropological background. Researchers have applied ethnographical approaches to examine and document various phenomena. This…

According to Gilroy (2007) individuals with learning disabilities (LD) represent the fastest growing population of disabled college students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate and to report the types of support services offered to LD students enrolled in four Western Pennsylvania universities. The researcher conducted…

Along with their students, faculty have become co-learners and pioneers in the classroom. With no models to work from, they have had to explore, practice, and discover the iPad's potential for expanding learning. Given the recent and rapidly growing access to a dazzling array of intellectual technologies, faculty and staff at Seton Hill, a liberal…

The latest installment of the Fordham Institute's "Creating Sound Policy for Digital Learning" series investigates one of the more controversial aspects of digital learning: How much does it cost? In this paper, the Parthenon Group uses interviews with more than fifty vendors and online-schooling experts to estimate today's average…

Will the digital-learning movement repeat the mistakes of the charter-school movement? How much more successful might today's charter universe look if yesterday's proponents had focused on the policies and practices needed to ensure its quality, freedom, and resources over the long term? What mistakes might have been avoided? Damaging scandals…

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50…