Online learning communities provide opportunities for connections in several ways: instructor to students, students to instructor, and students to students. As online instructors and researchers, we describe the essential elements for developing online learning communities and the strategies we've used for creating these type of learning…

Many postsecondary institutions utilize learning communities to increase social engagement and attachment to the college community. In recent years, these communities have proliferated as part of a trend fueled by low retention and persistence rates, increasing reluctance of 4-year institutions to provide remedial education, and pressure on…

In an era of prolific funding for varied small-school models, there is a growing emphasis on schools that alter the landscape of educational design. Some of these models attempt to redesign schools to place students at the center of learning and provide powerful examples of very different ways of thinking about teaching and learning (some examples…

Nine teacher educators in their first three years as tenure-track professors in an education faculty established a self-study group in 2006-2007. These professors met once a month to link their teaching and service to scholarship through the self-study of teacher education practices. In addition, members met in pairs or small groups to develop…

This review sought to locate key themes in the literature on teaching and learning thinking and practices, by examining areas of influence and mapping ideas about the themes of practice, transfer and communities in higher education or related contexts. The findings indicate that issues of pedagogical stance, disjunction, learning spaces, agency,…

I argue in this article that identity as a mathematical thinker develops through self-directed learning within a supportive community of practice. The dynamic nature of identity as a mathematical thinker is illustrated by considering the experiences of primary pre-service teachers who undertook a mathematics and technology subject in their…

This study provides a quantitative approach to analyzing college students' levels of self-actualization. Specifically, it addresses the distinction between students from non-rural and rural hometowns relative to their level of self-actualization. Students from five public state schools, in one Midwestern state, were surveyed. Self-actualization…

Although research has provided a substantial amount of information about key characteristics of effective school leaders, there is a growing need for continued improvement and reflective practice on the continuous development of instructional leaders. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent elementary principals perceive they are…

This paper reports on the approaches undertaken to support the development of teachers' uses of interactive whiteboards in the Primary Schools Whiteboard Expansion project. Mixed methods were used to identify practices and staff perceptions about the extent and impact of professional development through surveys (initially from 528 schools),…

In 2008 the University of Melbourne began implementation of the Melbourne Model, its new vision for higher education in Australia. Six broad undergraduate university degrees have been introduced and graduate schools created. Students may now progress from an undergraduate generalist degree, with major, to a professional Masters. Alternatively,…

Rural communities such as Stanthorpe on Queensland's Southern Downs, in Australia, are familiar with turbulent environmental, social, technological and economic change and the adversity that frequently accompanies such changes. The capacity of individuals and communities to bounce back from adversity is referred to as resilience. Participation in…

The Institute for Scholarship on Engineering Education (ISEE) team of the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education, designed and implemented a 120 minute interactive session called "Communities In Practice--What Are We Learning?" for the 2006 Frontiers in Education Conference in Indianapolis. Six story posters were provided by 8…

Independent reviewer evaluations of the Ministry of Education (MoE) funded Principal Professional Learning Community (PPLC) programme for experienced principals in New Zealand (NZ) suggest a highly valued and strongly supportive programme. My own critique of the programme, against criteria for "strong" professional learning communities…

Engagement in communities of practice has increasingly come to be seen as an important aspect of adult learning. Participation within such communities is thought to provide a dialogic space in which learning can take place. These ideas are increasingly being applied to the work of teachers, lecturers, and trainers. This reflective paper addresses…

A nomadic collaborative partnership model for a community of practice (CoP) in Design for Learning (D4L) can facilitate successful innovation and continuing appraisals of effective professional practice, stimulated by a "critical friend" assigned to the project. This paper reports on e-learning case studies collected by the UK JISC eLIDA…