This article is concerned pragmatically with how recent research findings in assessment for learning (AfL) can bring about higher quality learning in the day-to-day classroom. The first half of this paper reviews recent studies within Black and Wiliam's (2009) framework of formative assessment and looks for insights on how pedagogical procedures…

Budget exercises are frequently used in introductory and social problems courses to facilitate student understanding of income inequality. But do these exercises actually lead to greater sociological understanding? To explore this issue, the authors studied undergraduate students enrolled in introductory sociology courses during the 2008-2009…

Background/Context: Despite a history of racial oppression and degradation in U.S. schools, African Americans have responded to racism and discrimination in ways that promote educational attainment and school success. Many Black adolescents have been empowered to succeed academically partly because of their awareness of racist practices in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to an indigenous community that lives in the periphery of Taiwan. The Dao on Orchid Island have had to face serious abuse of their human rights in terms of ecological exploitation and environmental injustice. The article highlights the empowerment of the indigenous group through collective…

This intervention study aimed at helping undergraduate students of psychology learn to use the discursive resources useful to make academic voice visible in their texts and to improve their writing practices. The intervention involved tutorial meetings and collaborative revisions in two different learning environments, on-line and face-to face.…

Socialization into the dominant civic and political discourse lies at the heart of social studies. As they become proficient in the discourse of home and school, Latino immigrant youth demonstrate the potential to uniquely benefit from this socialization. This qualitative study explores ten Latino immigrant young adults' perceptions of how their…

This article presents evidence designed to expand scholarly knowledge of how high school co-curricular activities generate the positive effects previous scholarship has found. Studies of empowerment across various fields identify a sense of autonomy, self-belief, self-expression, the ability to work together with diverse others, and a critical…

Background: Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DF/DHF) are epidemic and endemic in tropical and subtropical countries including Sri Lanka. Numerous structural and community interventions have been shown to be effective in interrupting the life cycle of mosquitoes that transmit DF/DHF; however, these interventions are not always implemented…

This project explored a classroom model of motivation in which the source of student motivation is based on internal mechanisms or structures and classroom student/instructor interactions. It also extended earlier research in which beliefs of veteran, entry level, and preservice teachers have been explored. For this project, 117 elementary…

This article discusses the representation and participation of disabled students in the development of higher education policy and provision within the UK, at both a national and institutional level. Findings are drawn from a doctoral study, which identified the importance of student participation in securing equality and inclusion. Power…

It is generally assumed that civic education efforts will have a positive effect on the political attitudes and behaviors of adolescents and young adults. In the present study, we distinguish among formal civic education, an open classroom climate, and active learning strategies, and we explore their relation with political interest, efficacy,…

Growing pressure to restructure and reform tertiary education is encouraging university academics to use innovative practices that assist students to develop "employable" skills. The hybrid approach described in this paper stimulated students to be self-directed adult learners who maximized their learning of content and skills by means…

Service-learning is promoted widely by professional organizations (NCSS, 2001), but often with little reflection on the nature of meaningful student participation and the impact of teacher leadership styles. The authors studied mixed-age "small school" advisory groups involved in service-learning at one elementary school; observational, interview,…

Discovering the perceptions that non-professional adult musicians hold regarding their participation in community ensembles may help improve instruction as well as the ability to more fully understand the implications of lifelong music making. Andragogy, or the teaching and learning strategies associated with adult learning, provided the impetus…

In the pedagogy of classroom engagement, most instructors have become vastly familiar with first day of class Get-to-Know-You exercises. While entertaining, the empirical value of these exercises is not well established. The present analysis provides a data driven study of the utility of initial engagement activities, including a generalized…