The goal of this book is to generate discussion not only about how individuals can create meaningful educational experiences for all learners, but to challenge systems that necessitate a resilient nature. Ultimately, the authors promote the need for a foundation of socially just policies and practices in all educational settings and respond to the…

This paper is concerned with teaching and learning in a blended e-learning course that supports students in reflecting on and transforming their practice. In this paper we focus on two key aspects of the online learning environment: (i) the selection of the topic of discussion (the discussion question) by the tutor and how this influences the…

Students around the globe have unique first-year experiences but struggle with many of the same challenges. This monograph focuses on their journeys and provides insights for educators interested in learning about how institutions across the globe provide supports to students dealing with first-year transition issues. Based on the successful…

Abundant research chronicles the backgrounds and characteristics of community college students assigned to developmental reading. Many are members of underrepresented groups and first in their families to attend college. English may not be their primary language. Developmental students often struggle with learning disabilities. Nontraditional…

One-third of all U.S. school children attend school in rural settings. Rural schools are much poorer than urban America, with most of the poorest counties in the United States located in rural areas. Equity is a concern not only in terms of race, class, gender, disability, and sexual orientation, but also in terms of being geographically located…

This action research is targeted at academic researchers who facilitate the construction of communities of enquiry in school-university partnerships and are interested in understanding the process of such an enterprise as well as the knowledge constructed within such communities. Our action research study provides a possible road map for such a…

Implementation of cutting-edge technology has enabled higher and postsecondary education to create new learning environments by affording greater access to education for more students via virtual classrooms. Although virtual instruction in its asynchronous mode has been reported as to be at least comparable, and sometimes better than conventional…

Distance education fosters new kinds of collaboration--some intended, others unintended--among students and between students and instructors in college classes. The authors report the incidental learning activity within a complex of asynchronous online and compressed desktop video courses at a mid-sized university. Learning to use technology and…

Following the theory that a community of practice must be comprised of three elements: domain, community, and practice (Wenger, 2001), this case study examines the extent to which a university was successful in establishing a community of learners in their orientation program for online graduate students. Specifically, it explores the objectives…

This paper reports the results of assessment as an embedded learning opportunity through evidence from a course on Management and Spirituality for business students offered in 2002 and 2003 in the USA and Europe. It discusses how assessment can be strategically used to nudge students' minds through learning experiences that expand current mental…

When people think about how education at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels can promote human rights, most people think about the content. For example, they think about lessons on topics such as overcoming discrimination or the right to a fair trial. However, teaching for human rights is not only about the "what," the content of…

A learning community can play an important role in facilitating student learning in a class and this is especially evident for distance learning courses. Creating a learning community that is virtual requires the use of online communication tools such as email, threaded discussion boards, and chat rooms. Many online students also benefit through…

Due to the dearth of qualified professional teachers, policymakers and professional development programs need to focus on improving the quality of high school mathematics teaching in order to diffuse this crisis. In the middle of this crisis, the demand for new teachers is predicted to rise significantly in the next ten years. Based on the…

This article describes a school improvement initiative involving five primary schools (ages 5-11 years) working in partnership with each other with support from a university department of education. It provides evidence of the benefits to be gained from teachers sharing and developing collective knowledge through participation in school-based…

Religious education students on initial teacher education programmes work in both school and university contexts that might be expected to produce different accounts of the nature of religion. This article explores the contested nature of religion and the ways in which student teachers negotiate their own understanding of subject knowledge. A…