Mentoring research and development often uses a mentor-protégé model, but research often takes place in teams. In this exploratory study, the authors identify the structures and prevalence of multi-mentoring teams by surveying undergraduate researchers about the people who helped them and the support they received. Research teams were common, and…

States have begun to incorporate careers pathway programs into their workforce and professional development systems in order to strengthen and support the early childhood workforce. A career pathways approach offers career advancement through a progression of educational qualifications, training, and credentials that build on each other and are…

Online education has a relatively short history in the grand history of education. With options for online delivery modes developed over the last two decades, understanding student motivations for choosing one option over another will be helpful to any institution of higher education planning new offerings. This reflective paper presents the…

Required first-year English courses present instructors with a challenge common in the humanities: How do we motivate students to engage in active reading rather than passively scroll down online guides? Introductory literature courses aim to develop students' critical thinking through close reading, analysis, and argumentation--skills demanding…

This article discusses factors to consider as we evaluate the professional learning occurring in our schools. The article describes how a committee of six teachers and one administrator at Hershey Middle School in Pennsylvania's Derry Township School District adapted an activity for use in a two-hour professional learning session called "The…

This report presents strategies for providing efficient and affordable interlending of actual physical items from special collections for research purposes, as well as advice on determining if a loan is the most appropriate way to fulfill a particular request. Lending physical items ranks among the most divisive issues in the field of archives and…

Consistent with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSI 2010), the authors write that they have asked students to do statistics projects with real data. To obtain real data, their students use the free Web-based app, Census at School, created by the American Statistical Association (ASA) to help promote civic awareness among school…

This report is intended to help governors, legislators, department secretaries, and advocates find information on ways to strengthen the structure and function of their existing cabinets, or create a new cabinet. The survey in this report is the nation's only survey of state child and youth policy coordinating bodies. The biennial survey assesses…

The glory days of high school sports are no longer reserved for dream team athletes, as athletic directors are increasingly opening up sports to all students, regardless of ability, and seeing winning results on the field and off. This push is reflected in the most recent National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) survey, which…

The authors draw on two surveys conducted in 2009-10 with graduates from the BA in Professional Writing at Penn State Berks, a branch campus of Penn State University. The surveys led the authors to understand a set of common attributes among our alumni (what they call a "rhetoric of professionalism") while at the same time problematizing…

The green chemistry course taught at Westminster College (PA) incorporates nontraditional teaching techniques and texts to educate future chemists about the importance of using green chemistry principles. The course is designed to introduce green chemistry concepts and demonstrate their inherent necessity by discussing historical missteps by the…

On November 19, 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it would invest $290 million to support effective teaching as a means to ensure all students receive the education they need to succeed in high school and beyond. The foundation made six-year grants to support four Intensive Partnership for Effective Teaching (IP) sites…

Major supermarket chains increasingly are requiring their produce suppliers to provide evidence of compliance with on-farm food safety standards, known as Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). To develop a relevant GAP training curriculum that meets the needs of Pennsylvania growers, supermarkets that operate in the state were surveyed to determine…

One of the primary challenges in developing effective accountability systems is determining how best to include students with disabilities. The purpose of this paper is to report on the initial implementation of one option for including students with disabilities into the accountability system in the United States. In 2007, federal guidance…

An initial look at work being done in a reform project sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation finds that evaluations of teacher performance aren't as unpopular with teachers who have experienced the new system as some would have us believe. Leaders acknowledge that the new approach to teacher evaluation takes more time than…