Higher Education

Reform initiatives are numerous in American higher education. Their messages and hopes are widely documented through conferences, journals, newsletters, and funded projects. Many membership associations, networks and informal alliances actively promote new directions for higher education.

Read more in: http://www.petaeducation.com/highereducation.html

How People Learn

At an educational conference last spring, I attended a session focused on the potential of instructional technology to transform teaching and learning in schools. One of the speakers told a story about his 14-year-old son who, like himself, loved technology toys and always had to have the latest and greatest new thing to come on the market. One day, this son went to school after downloading to his Palm Pilot[TM] the program from the TV remote control. 

Read more in: http://www.petaeducation.com/howpeoplelearn.html

College Rankings

The popularity of college ranking surveys published by U.S. News and World Report, Money magazine, Barron's, and many others is indisputable. However, the methodologies used in these reports to measure the quality of higher education institutions have come under fire by scholars and college officials. 

Read more in: http://www.petaeducation.com/collegerankings.html

Develop English Language and Literacy

Immigrant students of secondary school age face a number of obstacles as they make the transition to schooling in the United States. In addition to adjusting to a new country and school system, they must also learn academic content in a new language. Because these students come from a variety of ethnic, educational, and economic backgrounds, representing a host of cultures, languages, and educational needs, it is often difficult to provide instruction tailored to their specific needs.

Read more in: http://www.petaeducation.com/developenglishlanguage.html

Developing Social Competence for All Students

Schools are under pressure to create safe, orderly and effective learning environments where students acquire social as well as academic skills that will allow them to succeed in school and beyond. This pressure has emerged from real disciplinary challenges combined with wariness of school violence sensationalized in the media.

Read more in: http://www.petaeducation.com/developingsocialcompetence.html

Teacher Education at the Community College: Partnership and Collaboration

The U.S. Department of Education predicts that nearly 40% of public school teachers will retire within the next few years. This prospect, coupled with a dramatic rise in school enrollments, means that the United States can anticipate hiring two million new elementary and secondary teachers in the next decade (Stroup, 2002).

Read more in: http://www.petaeducation.com/teachereducation.html

Serving Students with Disabilities at the Community College

People with disabilities make up the single largest minority group in the United States. Over the past ten years the traditional profile of disabled persons as older, poorer, less educated and less likely to be employed has begun to change. This is due in part to a "dramatic increase" in the number of students with disabilities who are seeking higher education.

Read more in: http://www.petaeducation.com/studentwithdisabilities.html

Spanish for Spanish Speakers

The increasing number of students who enter U.S. schools from homes where languages other than English are spoken, and the recognition that proficiency in non-English languages is a valuable national resource, have generated interest in the field of heritage language instruction. 

Read more in: http://www.petaeducation.com/spanishforspanishspeakers.html