Barriers to transfer students include lost credit caused by lack of curricular alignment across institutions of higher learning. This is particularly evident in series courses like introductory biology. We propose to streamline transfer issues using a shared set of course-level learning outcomes (CLOs) developed collaboratively by faculty across…

Beginning with an anecdote from the Zhuangzi about a wheelwright who is unable to pass on his knack for wheel-making to his son, this article goes on to argue that the process of teaching and learning in this context should not be understood as one of transmitting knowledge but instead as one of cultivating habits. According to Zhuangzi, learning…

This article argues that strong theories of neo-liberalism do not provide an adequate frame for understanding the ways that measurement practices come to be embedded in the life-worlds of those working in higher education. We argue that neo-liberal metrics need to be understood from the viewpoint of their social usage, alongside other practices of…

The project of establishing a European community since World War II has been further advanced by adding - besides the four freedoms of free movement of goods, persons, services and capital - a fifth freedom -- the free circulation of researchers, knowledge and technology -- that intends to promote community building at the level of higher…

Despite an increasing array of "quality indicators" and substantial investments in educating professionals, there continues to be clear evidence of discordant, or even negligent, practice by accredited professionals. We refer to discordant professional practice as being "out of tune" with what is accepted as good practice. In a…

Theatre for Early Years (TEY) audiences is a relatively new and growing area of practice. This article arises from empirical research with a group of children aged three and four, who made repeat visits to watch TEY performances at Polka Theatre in London. Drawing on literature from education studies, theatre studies and cultural geography, this…

Language exerts a powerful influence on our concepts. We review evidence documenting the developmental origins of a precocious link between language and object categories in very young infants. This collection of studies documents a cascading process in which early links between language and cognition provide the foundation for later, more precise…

This article presents and analyzes two examples of peace education practices in the Israeli-Palestinian context. "Zochrot" is an organization dedicated to raising public awareness of the Palestinian Nakba, especially among Jews in Israel. "The School for Peace" is a Jewish-Arab organization that conducts encounter activities…

My argument is that a literary education should build on a primary level of responsivity towards literature, involving empathy and immersion in the world of the text. To engage with literary works from the past involves a play between familiarity and strangeness, and this play should be located as part of a reader's response to texts, rather than…

This article presents the results of a systematic critical review of interdisciplinary literature concerned with digital text (or e-text) uses in education and proposes recommendations for how e-texts can be implemented for impactful learning. A variety of e-texts can be found in the repertoire of educational resources accessible to students, and…

In this article we present a reflection about the meaning attribution to the mathematical object "exponential function" that emerges from two mathematical modeling activities. The theoretical framework of the text contemplates considerations on Mathematical Modeling and elements of semiotics as theorized by Charles Sanders Peirce. The…

The role of political factors, specifically of public opinion, in the relatively low penetration of charter schools into rural America remains unclear. We use 8 years of national survey data to demonstrate that rural residents express less support for charter schools than residents of other locales do. We attribute this gap to differences in…

The central purpose of this paper is to examine validity problems arising from the multiple-choice items and technical passages in the Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) reading section, primarily concentrating on construct-irrelevant variance (Messick, 1989). My personal TOEFL iBT experience, along with my…

Writing this article presents me with an opportunity to look closely at the last speech that my father and mentor, Professor Michael (Mike) Rosenak z"l gave before his passing in 2013. I will write about this speech from a perspective that is based on my intimate familiarity with the questions that concerned him throughout his life. I will…

Drawing on ethnographic data collected in Azerbaijan, this article examines the civics education program that existed in Azerbaijan in the 1990s and the early 2000s, prior to its incorporation into a newly created "life skills" ("h[schwa]yat bilgisi" in Azerbaijani) course. It is argued that a disconnect between curriculum…