Luke Sumich is one of the founders of Ormiston Junior College in Auckland, New Zealand. In this interview, he describes how the school came into being and the philosophy behind its personalized approach to education. He explains the views of the students and their parents as well as the challenges and hurdles encountered since the inception of the…

The aim of this study has been to explore and understand the implementation of PDP as an educational innovation in a single institutional context. Adopting a Sartrean ontology in which the subjective individual takes precedence over the systems within which that same individual exists, an interview process sought to understand the attitudes of…

This study aims to explore the way teacher educators cope with technological-pedagogical change processes during their teaching and tutoring and adapt the teaching methods to the present age. 86 educators and 186 pre-service teachers filled an online questionnaire which included quantitative as well as qualitative, open questions. In addition, 11…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of learning with mobile technology for TESOL students and to explore their perceptions of learning with this type of technology. The study provided valuable insights on how students perceive and adapt to learning with mobile technology for effective learning experiences for both students…

Research that aimed to examine teachers' experiences whilst implementing a reform approach to mathematics teaching in an Irish primary school forms the basis of this paper. In particular, factors that contributed to changing mathematics practice in this case study school are outlined. The school engaged in professional development (PD) that…

This report is the culmination of the "Flexible Pedagogies: Preparing for the Future" series of reports which have considered flexible learning from a range of perspectives. The report proposes fifteen conditions of flexibility to inject new thinking and new practices into an emerging new age. Flexible provision has the potential to…

In 2011, PayPal co-founder Peter Theil introduced the first Thiel Foundation Fellows--students who agreed to drop out of college to do scientific research, start a tech company, or work in a social movement. Although this may have been seen as a radical and daring idea at the time, 400 people applied for 24 scholarship awards of $100,000 apiece.…

This article reports on research into Chinese students' perceptions of a pilot key skills' communication course introduced in three vocational education institutions in China. The course was based on key skills' criteria formulated in 2004 by China's Vocational Qualification Appraisal Committee and produced in response to the changing demands of…

The development of universities as independent scientific centers determines their mission to incorporate the most modern achievements of science into the students' practical training. This research on the attitudes of the participants in this process towards the use of modern practices encompasses both trainers and students, and it consists of…

The objective of this study was to analyze first-year UFRJ medical students' perceptions about the implementation of a blended learning (BL) experience in their Biochemistry I course. During the first semester of 2009, three Biochemistry professors used the Constructore course management system to develop virtual learning environments (VLEs) for…

This paper presents the results of a project that aimed at restructuring the delivery of research methods training at the Information School at the University of Sheffield, UK, based on an Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) approach. The purpose of this research was to implement inquiry-based learning that would allow customization of research methods…

This study investigated 134 middle school students' suggestions concerning environmental and instructional changes based on their individual learning-style Inventories. The results of the study determined that students "could" suggest environmental and instructional changes that differed from the accustomed traditional environments and instruction…

In 2005, the Harvard Business School began to promote the Harvard case method (HCM) within the Asian region. Because of differences in classroom culture between Asian and Western countries, Asian participants' reaction to the HCM implementation is of interest. This study explores how the western initiated method was implemented in one of the Asian…

Introducing an educational innovation into any school context involves some challenge to existing practices. Transition Year is an innovative, optional, one-year programme taken by approximately half the 15-16-year age cohort in schools in the Republic of Ireland. Based on data from an extensive study of TY operating in six different schools,…

In response to recent social, economic, and pedagogical challenges to tertiary-level teaching and learning, universities are increasingly investigating and adopting eLearning as a way to engage and motivate students. This paper reports on the first of a two-year (2009-2010) qualitative case study research project in New Zealand. A snapshot of each…