This book presents performance-based projects as a systematic way to provide middle school and high school students both the structure and the freedom to become actively engaged in their own learning. The approach is based on the concept of authentic learning, which advocates a relevant, real world experience to personally engage students in…

The "Handbook of Research on ePortfolios" is the single source for comprehensive coverage of the major themes of ePortfolios, addressing all of the major issues, from concept to technology to implementation. It is the first reference publication to provide a complete investigation on a variety of ePortfolio uses through case studies and…

This book addresses the issue of quality in vocational education in the United Kingdom. Part 1 explores the concept of quality in relation to vocational education and discusses the managerial and industrial perspectives on quality. Included in Part 2, which examines quality in the context of students as clients, are the following articles:…

The skills, understandings, and special attributes that a competent college student should acquire are described. General skills in writing, reading, speaking, and calculating are primarily the responsibility of elementary and secondary education, and these skills must be mastered by every college student. In addition to a specification of these…

This book examines embedded support in course material. The focus is on self-study and associated concepts such as independent learning, distance education, and open education, and the general context is adult and higher education. The seven chapters cover: (1) general introductory material, including a description of the future, distance…

This book provides a critical account of the psychological theories that have informed contemporary adult education theory and practice. Chapter 1 discusses the importance of balancing description, critique, and comments on each theory's influence on adult education and the need to understand psychological development throughout the life span. The…

Selected papers presented in this book are: "Changing Concepts of Self-Direction in Learning" (Long); "The Transition from Learner-Control to Autodidaxy: More than Meets the Eye" (Candy); "Self-Directed Learning and the Theory of Adult Education" (Jarvis); "On the Theme and Variations of Self-Directed…

Focusing on teaching and learning (the learning process rather than selection of learning content), this book provides a comprehensive perspective on the process of adult and higher education. Part 1 explores the transactional relationship between the personal reflective world of the learner and the collaborative shared world of the educational…

This book presents methods business organizations and educational institutions can use to prepare their learners to become successful e-learners. "Preparing e-Learners for Self- Directed Learning" (Long) discusses self-direction as a prerequisite to e-learning and gives a list of ways to help enhance learners' self-directedness.…

This new book supports the professional development and training of Modern Languages teachers in higher education. It links insights from pedagogical and applied linguistic research to the practicalities of the undergraduate language syllabus. The aim is to interpret research for the classroom practitioner so that teaching can be based on sound…

This book contains 40 papers from an international symposium on improving the quality of higher education teaching and learning. Part 1 contains three papers on using research to improve student learning covering some Canadian projects, the use of research on student learning, and ways to evaluate and improve learning. Part 2 contains 10 papers on…

This resource guide deals with open education at the secondary level. It concentrates on open education schools and programs in the Boston area, as its intended audience is Massachusetts Educators. The "open" concept in education is discussed, and a scale designed to measure the extent to which a given program embodies the open school…

This book presents a blueprint for using a quality assurance-based approach to planning and developing open and distance learning (ODL) courses in the United Kingdom. The following are among the specific topics discussed: (1) typical aims of ODL (opening access to education; responding to student needs; designing self-study materials; student…

This publication seeks to give practical assistance to teachers and administrators responsible for teaching large classes at collges and universities in the United Kingdom. Areas covered include class size, problems related to learning and teaching, teaching strategies in specific disciplines, field study experience and other subjects. The 12…

This volume provides information on 434 institutions which offer academic credit for 4,176 media-assisted courses. Institutions include: colleges and universities, consortiums, public broadcasting stations, and statewide telecommunications services. The book includes a brief foreword that relates some of the history of distance education; an…