In 2009, over 300 community colleges across the country adopted the Community College Student Survey of Engagement (CCSSE) in an effort to assess the campus environment through student perceptions. In addition, community colleges across the country are searching for ways to measure student learning. The Collegiate Assessment of Academic…

The author presents themes that were identified from a case study that focused on the instructional practices of an award-winning community college composition/literature teacher. The themes for this case study focus on the importance of student-centered learning which involve: (1) writing peer response strategies; (2) student engagement in using…

Beginning in 2011, Lake Washington Institute of Technology initiated an I-BEST (Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training) program designed to allow upper-level basic education students to directly enter academic courses required by college transfer degrees. This program, the Academic I-BEST, represents one of the earliest examples of the…

Taking the distinction between the Institution of Apprenticeship, that is, the social partnership arrangements which underpin its organisation, and Apprenticeship as a Social Model of Learning, in other words, the configuration of pedagogic and occupational etc. dimensions which constitute the model, as its starting point the paper: (i) argues the…

Design-Based Implementation Research is the process of engaging "learning scientists, policy researchers, and practitioners in a model of collaborative, iterative, and systematic research and development" designed to address persistent problems of teaching and learning. Addressing persistent problems of teaching and learning requires…

This essay explores the influence of the discourse and practices of the learning outcomes assessment (LOA) movement on three composition instructors' assignments and assessments. While outcomes assessment by itself can be a useful tool, it cannot be separated from the exigency that compels it, in which educational practices must be defended…

PASS IT seeks to address a compelling need in higher education by developing a corps of trainers to facilitate professional development workshops in the implementation of Universal Design (UD) and Universal Instructional Design (UID) in higher education. UID, an adaptation of the architectural concept of Universal Design, is a relatively new model…

In his February 2009 address to Congress, President Obama called attention to the problems of higher education and promised a policy agenda to restore the U.S. to its leadership role in student access and completion rates. However, a depressed economy, stagnant or falling state funding for public higher education, and public resistance to rising…

This article introduces contemplative practices and explains how contemplative practices, studies, and pedagogy differ. It analyzes the mechanics of some key contemplative practices and reviews the research on contemplative practices and learning. It ultimately argues in support of this new direction in pedagogy.

One of the most vexing problems today involves transforming colleges and universities so that they yield equitable educational outcomes for historically underrepresented students. The traditional approach to achieving equitable educational outcomes has been to focus on increasing the racial diversity of campuses by admitting a higher percentage of…

Threaded discussion forums have been a popular topic for the past few years in distance education research and studied as a factor in student participation, satisfaction, learning outcomes, social presence and interaction. Only recently has it been considered as a potential vehicle for the development of critical thinking skills and deep learning.…

The experience of seven community college instructors was documented as they applied, for the first time, principles and characteristics of constructivist pedagogy to the design of learning activities. The instructors became a community of learners as they collaborated and shared their experiences among themselves. They reported improvements in…

The purpose of the study was to (a) determine the design features of the physical learning environment that support collaborative, project-based learning, and (b) to gain an understanding of the rationale for the selection of the features. The literature review indicated a need for changing learning expectations to prepare learners for rapidly…