This book focuses on the successes and challenges of an innovative new post-compulsory secondary school in creating an outcomes-focused curriculum.

Readership: Trainee teachers; educational policy-makers; school management personnel; information and communication technology coordinators; computing teachers; academics.

This book presents the outcomes of four years of educational research in the EU-supported project called ROLE (Responsive Online Learning Environments). ROLE technology is centered around the concept of self-regulated learning that creates responsible learners, who are capable of critical thinking and able to plan their own learning processes. ROLE allows learners to independently search for appropriate learning resources and then reflect on their own learning process and progress. To accomplish this, ROLE ́s main objective is to support the development of open personal learning environments (PLE's). ROLE provides a framework consisting of “enabler spaces” on the one hand and tools, content, and services on the other. Utilizing this framework, learners are invited to create their own controlled and preferred learning environments to trigger and motivate self-regulated learning. Authors of this book are researchers, developers and teachers who have worked in the ROLE project and belong to the ROLE partner consortium consisting of 16 internationally renowned research institutions, including those from 6 EU countries and China. Chapters include numerous practical tutorials to guide the reader in creating innovative and useful learning widgets and present the best practices for the development of PLE's.

First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methods--to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.

The authors--a once-skeptical chemistry professor and a director of assessment sensitive to the concerns of her teacher colleagues--use a personal voice to describe the basics of outcomes-based assessment. The purpose of the book is to empower faculty to develop and maintain ownership of assessment by articulating the learning outcomes and evidence of learning that are appropriate for their courses and programs. The authors offer readers a guide to the not always tidy process of articulating expectations, defining criteria and standards, and aligning course content consistently with desired outcomes. The wealth of examples and stories, including accounts of successes and false starts, provide a realistic and honest guide to what's involved in the institutionalization of assessment.

El espacio, ya sea físico o virtual, puede tener un impacto significativo en el aprendizaje. Learning Spaces se centra en la forma en que las expectativas de los alumnos influyen en dichos espacios, en los principios y actividades que facilitan el aprendizaje y en el papel de la tecnología desde la perspectiva de quienes crean los entornos de aprendizaje: profesores, tecnólogos del aprendizaje, bibliotecarios y administradores. La tecnología de la información ha aportado capacidades únicas a los espacios de aprendizaje, ya sea estimulando una mayor interacción mediante el uso de herramientas de colaboración, videoconferencias con expertos internacionales o abriendo mundos virtuales para la exploración. Este libro representa una exploración continua a medida que unimos el espacio, la tecnología y la pedagogía para asegurar el éxito de los estudiantes.

The International Handbook of Science Education is a two volume edition pertaining to the most significant issues in science education. It is a follow-up to the first Handbook, published in 1998, which is seen as the most authoritative resource ever produced in science education. The chapters in this edition are reviews of research in science education and retain the strong international flavor of the project. It covers the diverse theories and methods that have been a foundation for science education and continue to characterize this field. Each section contains a lead chapter that provides an overview and synthesis of the field and related chapters that provide a narrower focus on research and current thinking on the key issues in that field. Leading researchers from around the world have participated as authors and consultants to produce a resource that is comprehensive, detailed and up to date. The chapters provide the most recent and advanced thinking in science education making the Handbook again the most authoritative resource in science education.