I report on a pilot study on the use of Google Maps to provide virtual field trips as a component of a wholly online graduate course on the history of astronomy. The Astronomical Tourist Web site (http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/sao/tourist), themed around the role that specific locations on Earth have contributed to the development of astronomical…

This paper describes the practices and outcomes of a pilot graduate student seminar on teaching and learning within the History Department at the University of Texas at El Paso. It documents results by considering the careers of three accomplished PhD students, who learned classroom techniques over different periods of time through personal…

This technical brief examines whether, after two years of implementation, schools in Massachusetts using quarterly benchmark exams aligned with state standards in middle school mathematics showed greater gains in student achievement than those not doing so. A quasi-experimental design, using covariate matching and comparative interrupted…

This article examines a pilot program's mentoring component involving first-year interns and veteran teachers in relation to new teachers' needs and effects regarding support and professional development. Mentoring along with delayed work requirements and evaluation increased interns' adjustment to teaching. However, emotional and technical…

In England and Wales, there has been a significant investment in technology to support teaching and learning in all subjects and school phases since the mid-1990s and a number of training models and approaches have been used, which include the development of online materials to support face-to-face sessions with expert teacher educator support.…

For online mathematics instructors, synchronous communication can be a challenge due to the need for specialized symbols, graphics, or notations to explain key concepts. While software tools exist to support such communication, they can often be cumbersome and time-consuming for users to adopt in online exchanges. As one way of addressing this…

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, including cell biology, are characterized by the "leaky pipeline" syndrome in which, over time, women leave the discipline. The pipeline itself and the pond into which it empties may not be neutral. Explicating invisible norms, attitudes, and practices by integrating social…

The PDA was originally conceived of as a portable handheld electronic device that provided a user with a tool to organize his or her life through easy access to a personal calendar, daily planner, and address book. Over the years, these devices have expanded to include many new functions, which have helped more applications in diverse fields. This…

Teacher education programs that want their future teachers to embrace and employee constructivist principles must strive to provide opportunities for teacher candidates to develop an understanding of constructivism. The paper presents a structure for embedding constructivist principles into early childhood and elementary teacher education courses…

This article examines the effects of a pilot project for an experiential instructional model in teaching culturally sensitive, empathic communication skills. It attempts to integrate and communicate the theoretical, conceptual, and experiential understanding of cross-cultural empathy through the practice of mindful attitudes. Students were…

Two university English seminars were video-recorded to provide data for a pilot project investigating how English is produced or "actualized" in teaching and learning encounters. The project is positioned within three contexts: national policy about higher education teaching; current research about higher education pedagogy; and, the…

Describes a courseware development project at the University of Oregon which explored use of interactive video with mentally disabled students to teach life enhancement skills. Discussion of the results of a pilot study of one of the modules includes information on student achievement and teacher and student reactions. (MBR)

The Biology Intensive Orientation for Students (BIOS) Program was designed to assess the impact of a 5-d intensive prefreshman program on success and retention of biological science majors at Louisiana State University. The 2005 pilot program combined content lectures and examinations for BIOL 1201, Introductory Biology for Science Majors, as well…

Instructors from two campuses of Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) in Wisconsin were asked to judge the effectiveness of two integrated learning systems (ILS): the Computer Systems Resource (CSR) and Foundations for Success (FFS) systems, both of which are designed to provide adult learners with remedial instruction in reading, writing, and…