Mobile instructional spaces such as retrofit buses, customized trucks or trailers, and repurposed shipping containers are innovative, unique venues for teaching and learning. STEM-focused mobile instructional spaces have emerged as vehicles for providing students and teachers with high-quality integrated STEM learning experiences that emphasize…

This guide is a companion to the "Adult Learning Planning Framework. Toolkit" (ED614137). It works in partnership with the framework while considering the unique challenges associated with the development of engaging and effective online, asynchronous learning experiences that have become embedded in the fabric of learning for all. The…

The Region 5 Comprehensive Center worked in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education to develop a professional learning framework and toolkit. Although they were developed to meet the needs of education staff in Tennessee, the guidance can benefit other state education stakeholders in their efforts to ensure all professional learning…

This Handbook serves as a starting point for critical analysis and discourse about the status of women in outdoor learning environments (OLEs). Women choose to participate actively in outdoors careers, many believing the profession is a level playing field and that it offers alternatives to traditional sporting activities. They enter outdoor…

Applied learning projects and programs are serving as a driver for advancing sustainability in communities around the world. The challenge, however, is that many of the projects and programs are only reaching a small portion of their full potential to influence change. This guide was developed to respond to that challenge, and to help scale the…

Why are equity visits such a critical first step to increasing opportunity and access for our under-served students? Because they take instructional rounds to a new level, providing a powerful lens for investigating the intersections of equity and instruction. After all, how can we possibly deliver equitable learning experiences. That is where…

This book has been structured to build a framework to guide the practitioner and to encourage their creation of tools that can be effective in guiding practice. It has been written and organized to prepare critically reflective teachers to take their place in society and to do that with the knowledge, personal framework and tools to be successful.…

Every student must be given the opportunity to participate in physical education and develop the skills and knowledge competencies to become skillful movers for a lifetime. Students with disabilities have unique needs that must be addressed in the least restrictive environment. With the adoption of the "National Standards and Grade-level…

A recent issue of "Educational Leadership" highlighted the lack of current focus in schools on humanities education (Ferrero, 2011). As the young lives of gifted children become ever busier with extracurricular options, parents are left with the question of how to best complement their child's academic life with his or her social and emotional…

Online learning continues to grow rapidly across the United States and the world, opening new learning opportunities for students and families. Informed estimates put the number of K-12 students in online courses at over 1 million, as parents and students are choosing online courses and schools for a variety of reasons that grow out of their…

The ability to use language (speak, read, write) is not something that children suddenly or automatically develop. It is rather a culmination of experiences with language that begin at birth. Sharing stories (oral storytelling, books) and "story experiences" (conversations, songs, poems, rhymes) with infants and toddlers is critical to building…

Out-of-school time programs can enhance academic achievement by helping students learn outside the classroom. The purpose of this practice guide is to provide recommendations for organizing and delivering school-based out-of-school time (OST) programs to improve the academic achievement of student participants. The five recommendations in this…

Solutions to two problems are proposed: (1) a lack of help in social services due to the state of the economy, rising unemployment, and cuts in government support; and (2) fewer opportunities for career preparation and training programs. It is suggested that increased volunteerism would alleviate the problems while helping people learn job skills,…

Parental coaching with homework of gifted children is considered. The coaching process involves planning, teaching, reflecting, and applying what has been learned to the next situation. The parent's role is described as providing the right environment for working, providing help when desired, and being nonjudgmental. (SW)

Notes that guided participation is not a new instructional technique, and that "apprenticeship" best illustrates the concept. Cites as key how teachers create a context for active participation in socially constituted practices. Points out that accent is on relationships, not individuals, shifting attention to learning experiences with a…