"Institutional Effort": A Reality-Based Model for Assessment of Community College Productivity

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67334/2/10.1177_009155218701500204.pd

A multiple case study of inclusive learning communities enabling active participation in geoscience field courses for students with physical disabilities

This article presents a multiple case study exploring the emergence of inclusive learning communities within geoscience field courses designed to enable the active participation of students with disabilities. The purpose is to reflect on the outcomes of three distinct projects and consider what lessons can be drawn from them to help promote and inform the development of inclusive teaching and learning. Drawing from established research on learning communities, a set of core practices are applied as an analytical framework to review student and staff experiences across a range of inclusive field experiences. This cross-case comparison provides critical insights into the instructional strategies for the inclusion of students with disabilities in geoscience field courses. Specifically, this work demonstrates the importance of establishing inclusive learning communities through meaningful site selection, fostering social inclusion, and using technology to mediate access and facilitate collaboration in field-based teaching and learning

Game Development for Computer Science Education

Educators have long used digital games as platforms for teaching. Games have several qualities that aren't typically found in traditional homework: they tend to situate problems within a compelling alternate reality that unfolds through entertaining narrative, they draw upon a player's intrinsic motivations more than extrinsic ones, they facilitate deliberate low-intensity practice, and they emphasize a spirit of play instead of work. A quick survey of the Internet and mobile app stores reveals that mathematics and language educators have definitely capitalized on using games as a medium for learning. Ironically, computer science educators, individuals who often teach software development skills that can be used to make games, have relatively few learning games at their disposal. We therefore propose a working group centered on developing freely available games to teach computer science concepts