High quality learning is extensive, well integrated, deep, and supports the use of knowledge in new situations that require adaptation of what has been learned previously. This book reviews current research on the nature of high quality learning and the factors that facilitate or inhibit it. The book addresses relationships between quality of learning and learners' dispositions, teaching methods, cognitive strategies, assessment, and technologies that can support learning. The chapters provide theoretical analyses, reports of classroom research, and suggestions for practical application for both teachers and learners. The book will be of value to teachers at all levels of education and provides guidance for students about how to approach classroom tasks in order to develop high quality learning.

This Handbook reviews a wealth of research in cognitive and educational psychology that investigates how to enhance learning and instruction to aid students struggling to learn and to advise teachers on how best to support student learning. The Handbook includes features that inform readers about how to improve instruction and student achievement based on scientific evidence across different domains, including science, mathematics, reading and writing. Each chapter supplies a description of the learning goal, a balanced presentation of the current evidence about the efficacy of various approaches to obtaining that learning goal, and a discussion of important future directions for research in this area. It is the ideal resource for researchers continuing their study of this field or for those only now beginning to explore how to improve student achievement.

The challenge addressed by the international scholars and academic practitioners contributing to Quality Enhancement of University Teaching and Learning is how best to enhance the quality of university teaching and learning, and thereby generate a culture of quality in higher education. The book focuses on approaches to quality enhancement (QE), a process which has significant differences to the interrelated concept of quality assurance (QA), particularly in relation to aspirations for change. The contributors believe that the status quo is no longer a viable option if the role of higher education as a fundamental part of the knowledge (and wider) economy is to be safeguarded. Believing that the primary purpose of every institution's quality enhancement work should be the improvement of students' learning experiences, they argue that innovative QE initiatives offer better ways of handling students' intricate learning processes than does a focus on QA paradigms. Higher education institutions (HEIs) need to establish quality enhancement frameworks that focus explicitly on the relationship between the activities of learning and teaching and students' learning outcomes. All institutions need to follow approaches that seek out and value novel and effective practices and disseminate these where appropriate. Focusing on the dynamic and complex processes and relations that create their learning environments is necessary if HEIs are to move from cultures of compliance to cultures of enhancement. When successful, the outcome should be a culture where ownership of the institutional quality enhancement agenda extends down to the point of delivery. Since successful QE initiatives must always involve jointly the student, the teacher and the institution, the three sections of the anthology address the practice of QE in relation to each of these constituencies. Examples of quality enhancement in higher education from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, England, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, Scotland, and United Arab Emirates are presented, with each section starting from contributions offering microlevel approaches and progressing to those offering macrolevel perspectives.

This book explores an approach to school improvement that merges the traditions of educational effectiveness research and school improvement efforts. It displays how the dynamic model, which is theoretical and empirically validated, can be used in both traditions. Each chapter integrates evidence from international and national studies, showing how the knowledge-base of educational effectiveness research can be used for improvement purposes. In a clear and practicable manner it outlines: Foundations of the improvement approach Research projects investigating the impact of the dynamic approach Guidelines and practical solutions to translating the approach into action Further developments for school improvement Exploring the crucial factors in the establishment of this environment, the authors outline a dynamic framework that helps schools collect data, through self-evaluation mechanisms, taking decisions about priorities for improvement, and developing appropriate policies and action plans. This approach emphasises educational targets and provides means to achieve them that are flexible enough to fit in with the circumstances of the individual school. The book draws upon research across the world, conducted especially in the United States, Europe, and Australasia, expertly showcasing how the dynamic approach can be used in a wide variety of educational settings A key book for all professionals working in education; academics, researchers, policy-makers, school advisors and practitioners will find it invaluable. Not only it is a must for graduate students, university libraries, and individual academics but also for school management teams, school support agencies and officials in educational policy.

"This book is a sophisticated and insightful conceptualization of outcomes-based learning developed from the concept of constructive alignment. The first author has already made a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of teaching and learning in universities…Together with the second author, there is now added richness through the practical implementation and practices. The ideas in this book are all tried and shown to contribute to more successful learning experience and outcome for students." Denise Chalmers, Carrick Institute of Education, Australia Teaching for Quality Learning at University focuses on implementing a constructively aligned outcomes-based model at both classroom and institutional level. The theory, which is now used worldwide as a framework for good teaching and assessment, is shown to: Assist university teachers who wish to improve the quality of their own teaching, their students' learning and their assessment of learning outcomes Aid staff developers in providing support for teachers Provide a framework for administrators interested in quality assurance and enhancement of teaching across the whole university The book's "how to" approach addresses several important issues: designing high level outcomes, the learning activities most likely to achieve them in small and large classes, and appropriate assessment and grading procedures. It is an accessible, jargon-free guide to all university teachers interested in enhancing their teaching and their students' learning, and for administrators and teaching developers who are involved in teaching-related decisions on an institution-wide basis. The authors have also included useful web links to further material.

As a field, education has largely failed to learn from experience. Time after time, promising education reforms fall short of their goals and are abandoned as other promising ideas take their place. In Learning to Improve, the authors argue for a new approach. Rather than “implementing fast and learning slow,” they believe educators should adopt a more rigorous approach to improvement that allows the field to “learn fast to implement well.” Using ideas borrowed from improvement science, the authors show how a process of disciplined inquiry can be combined with the use of networks to identify, adapt, and successfully scale up promising interventions in education. Organized around six core principles, the book shows how “networked improvement communities” can bring together researchers and practitioners to accelerate learning in key areas of education. Examples include efforts to address the high rates of failure among students in community college remedial math courses and strategies for improving feedback to novice teachers. Learning to Improve offers a new paradigm for research and development in education that promises to be a powerful driver of improvement for the nation’s schools and colleges.

This book explores international perspectives on quality improvement within the field of early childhood education and care. Many countries and governments are focusing on preschool quality as a way to improve entrenched inequalities and reduce social disadvantage and segregation: this book draws together various global case studies to showcase how different countries tackle aspects of quality improvement. The concept of quality is understood in different ways both culturally and contextually, and the implementation of measures to improve quality will differ from country to country. The book draws together case studies from numerous contexts to showcase various ways of working with aspects of quality improvement. Sharing important insights into policy and practice, this book guides a shared understanding of the complex nature of quality improvement within early childhood education and care.