Background: Change strategies may leverage interpersonal relationships and conversations to spread teaching innovations among science faculty. Knowledge sharing refers to the process by which individuals transfer information and thereby spread innovative ideas within an organization. We use knowledge sharing as a lens for identifying factors that…

In response to the need to develop leaders to guide the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Carnegie Corporation of New York provided funding to WestEd to develop a framework that defines the leadership knowledge and actions needed to effectively implement the NGSS. The development of the framework entailed…

"Chalk and talk" had been the staple pedagogical approach of my Science teaching practice since entering the profession. I felt that there was a great deal of information that I must impart to my students. My tried and tested way to deliver information to my students had always been simply to stand in front of them and tell it to them... So what…

We redesigned the undergraduate introductory biology course by writing a new textbook ("Integrating Concepts in Biology" ["ICB"]) that follows first principles of learning. Our approach emphasizes primary data interpretation and the utility of mathematics in biology, while de-emphasizing memorization. This redesign divides biology into five big…

"Potemkin schools" is used as the phrase to capture what a US science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) public speciality high school becomes as a result of its institutional branding. By way of an examination of the efforts of one teacher drawn into school branding through his "inquiry-based reform" of an Advanced Chemistry course,…

Addresses the development of innovative skills in future engineers and the factors that promote and inhibit change. Describes two theoretical perspectives which deal with some of the factors affecting individuals and groups when confronted with the possibility of radical change. (TW)

This paper examines implementation of two innovations in first-year science: mixed-ability grouping and guided-discovery methods. Interviews with 24 teachers indicated that they interpreted and implemented the innovations so that their conventional teaching methods were minimally changed. The paper concludes with recommendations for effective…

Seymour Papert, who holds the Lego Chair for Learning Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, looks back over a decade during which American schools acquired more than three million computers and assesses progress and resistance to progress. Stories about visionary teachers who have used computers to enrich learning provide a…

This paper, a teacher's informal account of her own professional growth and teaching experiences over a 10-year period, focuses particularly on her experiences as a participant in a non-credit seminar on children's thinking and on the impact this seminar had on her teaching. The seminar included wide-ranging questions of philosophy, teaching…

Writing is a fundamental skill students need to be successful. Embedding writing instruction, as well as opportunities to write, into all content areas is key to improving student achievement at the middle and high school levels. The research findings in this ERS publication will help your teachers become successful at incorporating writing…

This document contains 14 papers explaining how 12 further education colleges in the United Kingdom used fellowship funds to maximize their use of current information and learning technologies and make other substantial innovations to improve their flexibility, accessibility, and rates of participation. The following papers are included:…