"Working together for every child, every day," Beasley Elementary School's mission/motto embraces the philosophy of developing core ethical values and critical thinking of students. Beasley Elementary is a public school in Missouri with diverse demographics. In the last 5 years, students have faced many challenges at home that make…

Preparing teacher candidates to analyze achievement data is necessary to develop the understanding of how academic data is collected and used to inform instruction. Collecting achievement data in the area of literacy includes a variety of assessments focused on reading and writing. A critical component of analyzing data involves working in…

Laboratory capacity is an issue that has plagued education for more than a century. New buildings, late night classes, and virtual laboratories have offered transitory relief at great expense. Missouri University of Science and Technology is employing blended strategies to increase capacity and student success. Blended strategies expand learning…

New teacher attrition is a serious problem, with some studies estimating that 50 percent of teachers leave the profession within their first few years. This high attrition rate means that many schools have large number of inexperienced teachers and that districts must spend scarce funds for recruitment and replacement costs. Springfield Public…

The study reported here is an evaluation of the public value of a regional public policy engagement program. Data were obtained through surveys and document analysis. The study observed peer-learning and networking opportunities as some of the most impactful elements of GNWD at the Capitol in creating public value. Building coalitions of interest…

The author discusses how high school social studies teachers can have their students investigate local history topics and share their findings by producing Web pages, using a cooperative learning structure. The author discusses his firsthand experiences using this approach with high school students at Warrensburg High School. He emphasizes the…

This paper describes an interdisciplinary undergraduate curriculum innovation that links classroom learning to hands-on business and community service work. The program, called the Integrative Business Experience (IBE), requires students to enroll concurrently in three required core business courses and a practicum course in which they develop and…

This paper contains results of an empirical study that tested the efficacy and acceptability of two templates designed to fully involve students in proper and fair peer-assessments of their group project work (GPW) by providing concrete evidence of independent progressive documentation of their peers' contributions to the work-process and…

Purpose: Teaching advanced technical concepts in a computer science program to students of different technical backgrounds presents many challenges. The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed experimental pedagogy in teaching advanced computer science topics, such as computer networking, telecommunications and data structures using…

Capstone courses in MIS, CIS and CS programs are commonly incorporated into curriculum these days as they can be used effectively to assess several program objectives. In this paper, the authors discuss the usefulness of a combined Capstone Experience class consisting of CS/CIS and MIS students. The authors point out how this class provided…

The ability to do problem solving is an important concept that educators need to teach their students because that's what they do in the corporate world. When they're sitting in collaborative groups, they have the opportunity to bounce ideas off of each other, complete tasks, and work together effectively. That's the same idea that educators need…

Communication of scientific and medical information and collaborative work are important skills for students pursuing careers in health professions and other biomedical sciences. In addition, group work and active learning can increase student engagement and analytical skills. Students in our public health microbiology class were required to work…

This qualitative study describes the experiences of SI leaders in science courses. Analysis of data using Colaizzi's phenomenological approach has indicated the following advantages of the SI experience for SI leaders: (a) greater appreciation of the diversity of student learning styles, (b) increased understanding of the subject matter, (c)…

As a Missouri school's experience shows, mastery learning and cooperative learning can produce more positive results when applied together than when used separately. An agenda for success depends on a strong mission statement, parent involvement, and teacher teams to develop corrective and enrichment activities. (five references) (MLH)

A superior learning environment provides students with an opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and experience of an instructor and encourages them to engage in research into the subject matter of the course. Collaboration between a course instructor and a library liaison using online courseware can lead to the creation of a "learning…