Education / Educational sciences / Pedagogy Books

Book SynopsisInnovation is a key driver of economic growth in the United States. The Department of Commerce agencies and bureaus are focused on nurturing innovation, developing advanced manufacturing in the United States, and increasing exports to the world. Innovation is a priority for the U.S. Department of Commerce because it helps American industry, universities, and research institutes to develop the next generation of technologies and increase the number of high-growth American start-ups. This book shows how colleges and universities nation-wide are supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in order to strengthen regional economies, create jobs and keep America competitive. The book highlights efforts in five key areas: promoting student innovation and entrepreneurship; encouraging faculty innovation and entrepreneurship; actively supporting university technology transfer; facilitating university-industry collaboration; and engaging in regional and local economic development efforts.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book presents an overview of the main parameters of school bullying. Emphasis is put on the definition of bullying, the extent of bullying, the stability of the bully and victim roles, ways of coping with bullying, the forms bullying can take, the characteristics of bullies, the characteristics of victims, age differences, as well as other measurements.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Department of Education (Education) relies on collection agencies to assist borrowers in rehabilitating defaulted student loans, which allows borrowers who make nine on-time monthly payments within 10 months to have the default removed from their credit reports. Education works with 22 collection agencies to locate borrowers and explain repayment options, including rehabilitation. From fiscal years 2011 to 2013, Education collected about $9 billion on over 1.5 million loans through rehabilitation, most of which was recovered by collection agencies. This book examines how Education assists borrowers in rehabilitating defaulted student loans; the upgrade of its defaulted loan information system affected loan rehabilitation; and Education oversees private collection agencies in implementing loan rehabilitation.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include school size; a conceptual analysis of the literature regarding school discipline for students with disabilities; school-sponsored activities for Hispanic middle school students; architecture as support of the "knowledge ecosystem"; grade 8 African American and Caucasian student disciplinary consequences and academic achievement; designing educational material for early childhood mathematics education; interplay between cognitive and non-cognitive processes; and research trends in TPACK

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book describes data analytics and data mining in the commercial world and how similar techniques (learner analytics and educational data mining) are starting to be applied in education. The book examines the challenges being encountered and the potential of such efforts for improving student outcomes and the productivity of K12 education systems. The goal is to help education policymakers and administrators understand how data mining and analytics work and how they can be applied within online learning systems to support education-related decision making.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a collection of personal narratives from scholars, educators, and leaders in higher education focusing on how they developed and used multicultural perspectives. Each story is unique and personal and the collection illustrates the many ways these individuals were influenced by and influenced broad and inclusive views of culture. People tend to make judgments based on their experiences in life. In the chapters, the authors discuss their experiences and how they developed a passion for multiculturalism. They discuss how they challenged themselves and traditional assumptions of our society to develop their own multicultural skill sets. It may have been one situation or a combination of situations; but for each author, there was a significant event that impacted him/her forever. In most cases, there were a number of factors and experiences that led the author down this very important path. White voices do matter and this book is a powerful collection of such voices in print. Individuals can be different and these chapters provide real stories and real situations where the authors made a conscious decision to not go with the "norm" and redirect their thoughts and actions to develop into proponents of multiculturalism. Through their actions, they have shown others that this behavior is acceptable, and in fact, is what everyone should be doing regardless of how they look, where they were born, or what neighborhood they currently live in. These stories open our eyes to what can really happen if we work at it.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book discusses health education for children, particularly for preschool and elementary age children. This area of health education among children is very important because of a recent increase in childhood health problems such as obesity and type-2 diabetes. All chapters are based on research on data collected on the experiences of parents and teachers in childcare/preschools, elementary schools, and on the author''s personal experience as a practitioner. The early years are the most important years in a child''s life and because of that, preschool health education should not focus on teachers and children only, but should also help parents as well. Based on the scholarly work in the area of health education in the early years, the following recommendations are made: Although teachers see health activities as important, some teachers are focusing on personal health only; educators can do better if they cover physical activity, nutrition, emotional health issues, and other health-related topics in their classrooms. Integrating physical activities in every facet of children''s classrooms will help curb some childhood health problems.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThere is strong evidence that collaborative learning is beneficial to educational development. By engaging in collaborative activity, learners utilise each other''s perspectives and experiences to solve problems and develop a shared understanding of meanings. Through dialogue and social interaction, learners are empowered to perform outside of their own individual capabilities. Collaborative learning has the potential to benefit learners of all levels of experience and in a variety of situations. This edited volume showcases a series of studies of theory and case-studies of practice. The book highlights the benefits and challenges of collaborative inquiry, and how these are best managed in practice. The contributors to this volume are comprised of educators from around the world, and collaborative approaches for learners across a broad range of stages of development are discussed. The authors highlight the rich diversity of approaches to learning through collaborative activity, and provide examples of good practice. It also addresses the increasing significance of technology in the support collaborative learning. The benefits technology can bring to collaborative activity have been recognised for several years, and many of the contributions to this volume demonstrate how the impact and scope of collaborative learning may be enhanced by the use of collaborative technologies, social media and Web 2.0 interactive platforms. The examples presented in this edited work illustrate that through technology, collaborative activities no longer need to be confined to the classroom, but may occur across geographical, cultural, and language barriers. Often overcoming these barriers within a collaborative environment proves to be of great benefit to the learners in addition to the knowledge gains offered.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 2012, the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, engaged Mathematica Policy Research and its partners to conduct a project titled "Assessing Early Childhood Teachers'' Use of Child Progress Monitoring to Individualize Teaching Practices". The purpose of the project is to develop a conceptual framework of early childhood teachers'' use of ongoing child assessment to individualise instruction and to create a measure to examine this process. The ultimate goal of this book is to help teachers conduct ongoing assessments, use the assessment data to "individualise" instruction for each child, and enhance their children''s outcomes.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIssues such as the high rate of grade retention and the low completion rate of basic education in Macao have drawn a lot of public attention. More at issue is the quality of education in Macao. While blame for academic failure is usually laid on individual students, in this book Yi-Lee Wong and Chi-Fong Chan seek to provide a structural explanation by investigating the operation of the modern education of Macao. Referring extensively to Macao''s colonial past, Wong and Chan highlight how colonialism''s historical legacy shapes the characteristics of the existing education system in Macao; specifically how it has both generated and sustained a system whereby privately run schools are publicly funded. In such a system, private schools can get government funding without being effectively monitored. Such schools are free to carry out school-specific policies (including policies of grade retention and teacher hiring), teach an exclusive school-specific curriculum, and use unique school-specific standards to assess students. Despite the 1999 handover of Macao from Portugal to China, and regardless of the great efforts made to improve education by Macao''s SAR government since then, the situation remains more or less unchanged. The authors argue that Macao''s colonial history poses huge challenges to educational reform. To make this case, Wong and Chan analyse thorny issues facing the Macao SAR government, concentrating on schools, teachers and students. In their analysis, they draw on a variety of empirical evidence, such as historical material, secondary documents, statistics (including results from Programme for International Student Assessment on OECD countries), and updated empirical findings from surveys; as well as ethnographic studies on contemporary Macao. In the concluding chapter, Wong and Chan use the case of Macao to urge policy makers to rethink the promised societal benefits of the privatization of education suggested in the dominant neo-liberal discourse.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn recent years, federal education legislation has placed an increased emphasis on assessment in schools. Perhaps most notably, Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act, has required all states that receive Title I-A funds to test all public school students annually in grades three through eight and once in high school in the areas of reading and mathematics. In response to this requirement, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted and implemented standards that meet the requirements of the ESEA. Three major changes have taken place that have possibly played a role in the selection of reading and mathematics standards by states: the development and release of the Common Core State Standards; the Race to the Top (RTT) State Grant competition and RTT Assessment Grants competition; and the ESEA flexibility package provided by ED to states with approved applications. This book provides a framework for understanding various types of assessments that are administered in elementary and secondary schools; examines each of the aforementioned changes and discusses how they are interrelated; and discusses various purposes of educational assessment and describes comprehensive assessment systems.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe National Science Foundation (NSF) supports both basic research and education in the nonmedical sciences and engineering. Congress established the foundation as an independent federal agency in 1950 and directed it to "promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes." The NSF is a primary source of federal support for U.S. university research, especially in certain fields such as mathematics and computer science. It is also responsible for significant shares of the federal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education program portfolio and federal STEM student aid and support. This book includes information about the NSF for readers seeking an introduction to the foundation and its work. It is intended to provide background and institutional context for ongoing congressional consideration of NSF policy and fiscal issues. It also analyzes NSF funding trends and selected closely related STEM education policy issues in order to place conversations about NSF''s budget in a broader fiscal and policy context.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe content of this book is an important trajectory in teaching and learning. It does not only explore teacher understanding and practice of ''reflective teaching'' and how teacher practitioners internalise the act in their teaching practice but adds to ongoing debates about the dynamic mix of teachers approach to teaching. The reported study is exploratory based on small samples from two places: Cardiff in UK and Madina in Ghana. Its ethos is to compare any differences in understanding and practice of reflective teaching. Drawing on qualitative exploratory case study, the research found that teachers'' conceptualisation of ''reflective teaching'' in both cases was mixed. Teachers'' in one case study seem to be aware of ''teaching evaluation'' as a concept in teaching and not ''reflective teaching''. Whether a lack of awareness in what reflective teaching is, is synonymous to lack of knowledge is a matter of debate. Reflective teaching, no doubt, is theorised in academic literature but its practice can be sticky in the classroom and other learning environments. It is that patchy subject, which remains the focus of various enquiries, including this reported study, and the concern of many education authorities. After all, debates about quality teaching and learning are often subsumed in these debates. In order for any generalisations to be made from outcomes reported in this monograph may require larger samples and careful utilisation.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe term "STEM education" refers to teaching and learning in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It typically includes educational activities across all grade levels from pre-school to post-doctoratein both formal (e.g., classrooms) and informal (e.g., afterschool programs) settings. Federal policymakers have an active and enduring interest in STEM education and the topic is frequently raised in federal science, education, workforce, national security, and immigration policy debates. This book is intended to serve as a primer for outlining existing STEM education policy issues and programs. It includes assessments of the federal STEM education effort and the condition of STEM education in the United States, as well as an analysis of several of the policy issues central to the contemporary federal conversation about STEM education.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe student dropout phenomenon affects every level of educational systems in countries all over the world, including the most socio-economically developed ones. Success in education is crucial for jobs, productivity and growth. Low levels and low completion rates create a skills bottleneck in the economic sectors and inhibit innovation, productivity, and competitiveness. The early detection of the phenomenon, at all levels of education, and the deepening of the causes that determine it are necessary prerequisites for any initiative aimed at reducing the factors affecting the decrease of the rates of formative failures and dropout at all levels. This book aims to contribute to the continuing debate on the possibilities of how to improve educational processes with the help of data mining techniques. The book closes with a fascinating application of the principles of Artificial Neural Networks to help students at risk of university dropping out. It presents the case study of the dropout phenomenon in many degree programs at the University of Genoa (Italy). The analysis model, at the moment experienced on the Genoa University reality, is proposed as a simple and flexible instrument to support the activities of monitoring and evaluation of all the educational systems, an instrument available to decision-makers in identifying programs and strategies to support the persistency and the success in educational systems, but also to the families, in the recognition of the problems in which the intervention of the family, accompanying or not the institution, is decisive. I hope that this book will be useful for educators, counsellors, administrative staff, and researchers alike.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn fiscal year 2012, over 31.6 million children participated in USDA''s National School Lunch Program (NSLP) at a cost of about $11.6 billion. In fiscal year 2013, USDA estimated NSLP certification errors of more than 8 percent, or $996 million. GAO was asked to review possible beneficiary fraud within the program. This book assesses steps taken to help identify and prevent ineligible beneficiaries from receiving benefits in school-meal programs; and what opportunities exist to strengthen USDA''s oversight of the school-meals programs.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe widespread use of mobile technologies, both hardware and software, is quickly becoming a prerequisite to support development. This widespread use, combined with improvements in mobile connectivity, has led to increasing interest in the use of mobile devices as learning tools. Distance and electronic learning have proven to be potential approaches, insuring progress in education that reduces the limitations of traditional education systems. Mobile learning (M-learning) represents how best to address a number of traditional, distance, visual and electronic learning challenges, issues and limitations. The opportunity to use mobile devices, such as PDAs, tablets and smart phones, as learning tools, enables innovation and supports students, teachers and decision makers'' access to digital study materials and personalised assessment. Much of the work done on the subject of M-learning has taken the form of requirement analysis, design needs and issues and challenges affecting application development. In order to ascertain the current level of knowledge and state of research, this book pinpoints and harnesses the potential factors and gaps in M-learning development and adoption. This book presents different aspects related to M-learning to help readers understand and distinguish the primary characteristics and features of M-learning. The book begins with an introductory chapter that describes its scope. The second chapter describes the principles of learning and teaching. This is followed by six chapters which describe and discuss mobile computing, different definitions of M-learning and its theoretical background, different M-learning requirements, M-learning frameworks and number of M-learning applications in the field of education. The final chapter highlights M-learning issues and suggests a future direction for M-learning.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Education for Homeless Children and Youth program (EHCY) provides formula grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) to help ensure that all homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free and appropriate public education, including public preschool education that is provided to other children and youth. It is the only federal education program exclusively focused on homeless children and youth. This book provides an overview of the purposes and program structure of EHCY; the history of the program''s funding; issues that have arisen regarding the implementation of ESEA Title I-A set-asides for homeless students; data on the number of LEAs receiving EHCY grants and on the characteristics of homeless students; and a discussion of proposed changes to EHCY included in bills introduced in the 112th Congress to reauthorise the ESEA. The book also describes the challenges in defining and counting the runaway and homeless youth population, as well as the factors that influence homelessness and leaving home.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis series provides an overview on education in America today, with a focus on the current issues, analyses, policies and programs being implemented and challenged. This volume discusses year-round schools; charter school programs authorized by the elementary and secondary education act (ESEA title v-b): a primer; career and technical education (CTE); the relationship between science and engineering education and employment in stem occupations; school enrollment in the united states; the state of preschool 2013; key findings from recent institute of education sciences studies on disadvantaged students getting less effective teaching; and addressing teacher shortages in disadvantaged schools.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAlthough nursing homes typically care for elderly or disabled adults, some children with disabilities also live in these homes. Because these children live away from their families, they may be less connected to local schools and may not receive the education benefits to which they are entitled. This book examines the characteristics of children in nursing homes; how such children are referred for and receive education; the challenges in delivering services to these children; and monitoring of the education of children in nursing homes.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe idea that is developed in this book includes an investigation into teachers'' behavior in the classroom, yielding a rich understanding of how teachers'' general demeanor influences learners'' motivation to perform. The characteristics of the "ideal" or emotionally intelligent teacher can be studied in the classroom setting where teachers and learners are emotionally engaged in forming their identities. Narrative research allows for the opportunity to explore learner''s views of their "ideal" teacher through the use of drawings and essays. The results of the narrative study indicate that the teachers'' socially responsible behavior assisted in creating an emotionally warm classroom atmosphere in which the learners felt safe and secure. Socially responsible behavior relates to the ability to do things with others, accept others, act in accordance with one''s conscience, and uphold social rules. Individuals who act in a socially responsible manner generally have a basic positive feeling towards their social group, possess interpersonal sensitivity, are able to accept others, and use their talents for the good of the collective, not just the self. Furthermore, the sense of belonging created by the general classroom climate appears to contribute to learners having a sense of purpose and wanting to perform at their best in a particular subject. In addition, the guidance and support provided by the "ideal" or emotionally intelligent teacher seem to build learners'' confidence and faith in their abilities and motivate them to perform at their best. This, in turn, helps to facilitate a sense of competence in learners. Educators can use this book as a valuable guide to understand learners'' subjective experiences of the emotional intelligent teacher and how these influence their learning and performance. The book is also offered as a celebration to all teachers whose dedication to our children is a true and often unacknowledged blessing that adds beauty to the gift of life!

Read more less

Book SynopsisBest practices in addressing the learning needs of all students, particularly those identified as at-risk for failure, must be informed by theory, research, and experience. The practitioners in this book share their experiences in designing support systems for a variety of at-risk student groups including English language learners, immigrant, refugee, and low socio-economic students. Emphasising the development of safe and supportive school cultures, the involvement of parents in student learning, and curriculum that addresses differentiated learning needs, this book provides practical ways that school leaders can advocate for and provide systemic supports for at-risk students. The effective use of technology to enrich student learning and promote engagement is also discussed, as well as the development of professional learning communities as a structure to promote on-going teacher growth in effective teaching practices. Although not typically considered as an at-risk population, meeting the needs of gifted and talented students who may not fully engage with school is also addressed. Finally, a stewardship model of leadership is explored, based on the actions of leaders in schools with high poverty and minority students that have consistently earned recognition as high performing. The ideas for engaging students, teachers, parents, and communities shared by practitioners in this book focus on effective means of collaboration, communication, relationship building, and strategic planning for at-risk student success and can be used by school leaders in every school to better serve all students.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include reading and math achievement differences as a function of early-exit and late-exit bilingual programs; school discipline and grade six Hispanic and white student academic performance; differences in first semester GPAs by ethnicity and gender within ethnicity as a function of dual credit enrollment; Texas charter middle schools; gender differences in taking advanced coursework in Texas; motivating Flemish senior teachers to work past the age of 60; international comparisons of student achievement; additive bilingualism of immigrant children.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAccess to higher education and the prospect of obtaining a higher education qualification through full-time contact institutions seems a remote reality for the majority of black South Africans who were denied opportunities for higher education during apartheid. The majority of this group is either in full-time employment, part-time employment, temporary posts, unemployed and at most unemployable. This book opens up the debate on the open distance learning (ODL) mode of teaching and learning. The book is written in user-friendly English accessible to professionals in higher education and ODL as well as the non-professional layman. The book debates among others, the critical issues of access to higher education in South Africa. It offers ODL as a viable alternative to millions of South Africans who were denied opportunities to study in higher education by past policies of apartheid. The book puts across ODL as a viable mode of access to higher education qualifications that are accredited by South Africa''s Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and are recognized by the country''s labor market. The book tackles the sensitive but necessary issue of assessment in ODL. It discusses best practices in ODL and offers justifications for ODL practitioners to align their practice with internationally recognized benchmarks and examples of best practice. The book explores the sensitive issues of pass rates and throughput rates in ODL. Given their very nature as higher education institutions whose student clientele is mature working adults, ODL institutions'' qualifications completion targets tend to be more relaxed and extended than their full-time contact higher education institutions counterparts. Invariably throughput rates in ODL institutions are perceived to be very poor. The book opens up debates on the dynamics of ODL pass rates and throughput rates. It explores the notions of throughput rate and pass rate and interrogates the nuances of perceived ODL poor rates. A question the book seeks to address is whether ODL throughput rates and pass rates are indeed poor or seem poor relative to performances of full-time contact institutions?

Read more less

Book SynopsisKnowledge processing requires the discipline of engineering knowledge in order to solve complex problems normally requiring a high level of expertise, currently used in management information systems (MIS) domains, with artificial and computational intelligence (ACI), intelligent and deductive databases, expert systems (ES), decision support systems, geographic knowledge and information systems, business intelligence (BI), software architectures and others. Knowledge engineering has its own mathematics and body of knowledge; strongly concerning cognitive science. This book includes important conceptual definitions, tools, principles, and applications of knowledge engineering.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book presents leading research and new developments in science education. Topics include developing a research programme in science education for gifted learners; research and innovation on learning and about advertising in science education; collaborative curriculum development of a teaching and learning module on bionics based on innovative ICT technology; the role of student questioning in university science classes; scaffolding inquiry-based science and chemistry education in inclusive classrooms; Frederick Accum (1769-1838) and the application of chemistry to social problems; the exhibitions of the natural history paleontology area at the British natural history museum based on argumentation; dynamic visualisations in the classroom; and navigating the scientific landscape via a writing across the curriculum program.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book showcases contemporary examples of three-dimensional virtual world use for Internet and web-mediated tertiary education from across the globe that cut across a range of disciplinary contexts and settings. By doing so, it seeks to promote scholarly dialogue as well as to assist the development and dissemination of good practice and best practices in the field. While there have been a number of other volumes published on virtual worlds and learning, many were written prior to the existence of mature applications and thus consist largely of early proof-of-concept reports; a number of practical or "how-to" guides for teachers considering using virtual worlds in their teaching have also been produced that have to do with either the technology or learning design. In general, much of what is available in the area is "show and tell" and does not engage deeply with theory or with key researchable questions and issues. This book is unique in the way it combines analysis and discussion of recent theoretical and empirical research with descriptive accounts and evaluations of exemplary and innovative discipline-based applications, all of which are focused on factors influencing the successful uptake and use of virtual worlds in online learning at universities and colleges. The book is a useful resource for educators with an interest in virtual worlds, irrespective of their level of experience and/or proficiency. The collection of exemplars presented will not only expose newcomers to the potential and possibilities of the technology but will also alert them to the problems and pitfalls of whose existence they need to be mindful of as they make their foray into the educational virtual worlds arena. Potential solutions and mitigating strategies for many of the common problems are suggested as well. For those who are more seasoned virtual world users, they will benefit from the evidence-based perspectives offered and from opportunities to situate their practice within the scholarly knowledge base, comparing their own experiences with those of others and learning from the stories, vignettes, insights, and reflections being shared. Novices and veterans alike will find the book valuable in helping them manufacture a sustainable business case to put forth to their managers and in their quests to champion investment in virtual worlds at their institutions.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include differences in academic achievement by ethnicity and gender as a function of in-school suspension; data warehousing for sustainability in higher education sector; differences in beginning teacher percentages by accountability rating and school level; a study of the arguments used by undergraduate and graduate students during disciplinary discussions in the classroom; cyborgs at the university; improving mental health through an online self-assessment and self-help e-utility in university students; virtual laboratories as hands-on settings in science education; designing an educational music software using a student-centred strategy; the impact of optimized functioning; a study of the "music, society, and culture" course for undergraduate students in Hong Kong; and teachers'' perception of teaching as a profession and their attitudes toward pedagogical changes.

Read more less

Book SynopsisUnlike public schools, Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools receive almost all of their funding from federal sources. BIE directly operates about a third of its schools, and tribes operate two-thirds. BIE, within Interior''s office of Indian Affairs, oversees 185 schools, serving about 41,000 students on or near Indian reservations. BIE''s mission is to provide students with a quality education. However, BIE student performance has been consistently below that of public school students, including other Indian students. This book examines how funding sources and expenditures of BIE schools compare to those of public schools; the extent to which BIE has the staff and expertise needed to oversee school expenditures; and the extent to which BIE''s processes for oversight adequately ensure that school funds are spent appropriately.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book discusses international perspectives, management and the educational efficiency of both private and public schools. Some of the topics discussed include the differences in student achievement by grade span for students who are economically disadvantaged; status rivalry in public schools; oral health education; modeling language-based cognitive fitness implications for educating children; and leading and managing action research for school improvement.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe need to engage students is a common theme within higher education. However, the exact meaning of engagement is itself more nebulous. Engagement may be thought of as how much effort and active learning students make with their studies. There are some approaches to categorising and measuring engagement that can be helpful when planning teaching and learning and the supporting activities. The opportunity to monitor attendance, attempts at formative work and accessing course materials offered by computer based and supported learning environments provides new opportunities to measure engagement. This book discusses leadership practices, perspectives and the impact of technology on student engagement in schools.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHead Start is a federal program that has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children since 1965. The program seeks to promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services. Head Start is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Federal Head Start funds are provided directly to local grantees rather than through states. Programs are locally designed and are administered by a network of roughly 1,600 public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies. This book discusses the background and funding of the program, and examines the role it plays in school readiness goals.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAssisting students in locating relevant information remains especially critical in the digital era. As Rempel and Cossarini (2013) remind us the "quantity of conveniently available information has made students less inclined to seek out" information in the library. Information literacy is necessary so that people can continue lifelong learning. It is recognised that basic library skills and IT (Information Technology) skills are the foundations of information literacy competences. Especially for children, who are novices in library use, it is essential to understand how to use the library and how to obtain sufficient knowledge through library materials and information resources on the Internet. Inquiry based learning takes into account the complexity of interrelated knowledge building and strives to provide opportunities for teachers and students for teamwork, building, testing, and reflection on their learning. This book discusses how emerging technologies influence information literacy, and it examines student learning outcomes and educational practices in school systems.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include technological constructivism; heritage language development among second generation Chinese immigrants in bay area; education in sustainability in home economics in Norway; impact evaluation at the convergence of evidence based policy and monitoring and evaluation; element interactivity in secondary school mathematics and science education; knowledge transfer in community-embedded learning; modelling of adaptive system for distance learning with an emphasis on student profile; the dimensions and behaviours existent in a reflective-group dialogue among students with intellectual disabilities; and self-efficacy as an accurate predictor of teaching skills.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include a roadmap for curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation; assessing the quality of research on youth mentoring; an update on response-to-intervention in preschools; types of parent involvement as predictors of the post-secondary educational plans and future educational aspirations of 7th and 9th grade students; underestimation bias in monitoring accuracy using the gamma coefficient; training future physicians in legislative advocacy; assessment of the teaching quality of teachers of primary and special education; orientating pedagogy towards hybrid learning spaces; learning, teaching and assessing in Portugal; and corpus informed foreign language vocabulary instruction.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include applying universal design to build supports for college students with autism spectrum disorder; web-enhanced collaborative learning in undergraduate psychology courses; a literature review of the use of mental imagery in health professions education; scaffold learning, peer review and mind mapping; the work hours reform in US graduate medical education; the emergence from e-learning to m-learning; understanding and redefining multicultural education; a perspective to examine learning environments; and progress in international graduate students education.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHistorically, accreditation in higher education developed as a part of the evolution of the American higher education system, at a time when it was becoming problematic that no single point of control or central body existed to set educational standards. In the late 19th century, there was no consensus on the content of the educational programs offered by postsecondary educational institutions or the distinctions between educational offerings at secondary and postsecondary institutions. Because the boundaries were unclear, the first voluntary association of postsecondary institutions was formed in 1895 to define the difference between high school and college and to develop some guidelines and procedures for peer review as a condition for membership. Over time, a number of regional associations formed whose membership was contingent on accreditation. The associations established separate accrediting bodies or commissions that were responsible for developing standards and passing on the institutional qualifications for membership. By the early 1970s, all but a small percentage of the degree-granting institutions of higher education were either accredited or applicants for accreditation. The United States does not have a centralized authority exercising singular national control over postsecondary educational institutions. The states assume varying degrees of control over education, but in general, institutions of higher education (IHEs) are permitted to operate with considerable independence and autonomy. Consequently, the character and quality of IHEs'' programs can vary widely. The role of accreditation in higher education, therefore, is to help ensure a level of acceptable quality across the wide array of programs and institutions in higher education. This book discusses the background, issues and considerations of accreditation of higher education.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe FPeLearning System for Education is a student-based creative technology-enhanced educational strategy that addresses all the aforementioned requisites and also encourages forums for critique, aids in the creation of potential digital repositories of knowledge, and may inspire portfolios of presentations designed by the students themselves. "The FPeLearning System for Education: Systematic Research on Creative Technology Integration into Classroom Practice" provides a conceptual overview and developmental "how-to" architecture on this dynamic approach to integrating educational technology into classroom practices. By harnessing the creativity of students, the FPeLearning Systems'' design makes use of student-based practices considered beneficial to performance outcomes while promoting skill-sets deemed necessary to potential careers and continuing education. Empowering students with his or her own learning as well as developing necessary skill-sets technologically may represent the paradigm shift that education seeks to fully integrate technology at a student-centric level. The FPeLearning System for education binds education to a "Technological Constructivist" (making mean from technology) method that may provide the proverbial missing link for education when technology is the lens for development.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOrganisational learning is the process of creating, retaining and transferring knowledge within an organisation. This book aims to examine the relationship between five contextual factors and the occurrence frequency of learning organization (LO) problems in companies that are implementing LM (lean manufacturing). Other chapters present an overview about the new web technologies'' potential (such as blogs, wikis and social networks) in the learning process. The final chapter revisits Brooks'' Law, improving software productivity by managing complexity.

Read more less

Book SynopsisInformation is now available almost instantaneously from multiple locations and diverse perspectives, through different tools and interoperable means, offering an onsite, online and mixed reality environment that facilitates learning more than ever before. Learning is a progression from knowledge acquisition, meaning and signification construction to transferable knowledge, signification, skills and competencies across fields and disciplines with local and global impact. The individual is free from space and time boundaries, flexible and interconnected and able to move without barriers within diverse teams and communities for personal or professional purposes. The 21st century Lifelong Learning program also involves the utilization of new methodologies as well as technologies to promote connectivity and intimacy; the environment needs to be useful and supportive for all. This collective construction of new knowledge, skills and competencies on a global, collective intelligence network, enables creative behaviors which influence everyone in close virtual or physical proximity. This book introduces a matrix of methods, tools and techniques referring to individual, team and wider social skills supporting the realization of one''s dream. Individual, small team, social and community skills and actual competences, aided by the ever-present new and emerging technologies, enable and support every learner to expand and thrive on the Lifelong Learning life course.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe ongoing Progress in Education series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. Schools are institutions that sail in the tempest of educational issues, reforms, strategies, data and tools, as well as reflect changes in society. Embedded in all of these are technology, diversity, and innovation - their inevitability has been demonstrated in our schools and communities. The first chapter of this volume examines how technology and diversity leads to innovation. The following chapters discuss the integrity of peer coaching and self-regulated learning; errors and error-handling strategies; career and technical education in Texas schools; high school sizes and Hispanic student college readiness; pedagogical approaches to applying funds of knowledge theories to support minoritised students'' learning; electrical engineering education programs; and instructional expenditures and school district wealth.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less