In relation to teaching and learning approaches that improve student learning outcomes, threshold concepts have generated substantial interest in higher education. They have been described as "portals" that lead to a transformed way of understanding or thinking, enabling learners to progress, and have been enthusiastically adopted to…

The main problem of the educational evaluation validity is that it just copies the conceptual framework system of validity from educational measurement to its own conceptual system. The validity conceptual system that fits the need of theory and practice of educational evaluation has not been established yet. According to the inherent attributive…

The present paper raises questions about the use of the concept of reputation in sociological studies of the relationship between higher education and the labour market. Sociologists of education have yet to subject the concept of reputation to sustained critique and evaluation. This situation is unsatisfactory because a number of critical…

Compares the effects of concept instruction using either critical attributes or best examples on the acquisition of a concept. Inconsistent with previous research, findings reveal no statistically significant differences on the immediate or delayed achievement posttests. Statistical and procedural data are presented as well as possible…

In this article the popularity of the concept of competence in higher vocational education is explained and the most important issues in this field are discussed. In particular, the vagueness of the term and the problems in defining job and training profiles are explained. Then the design of competence-based education is discussed. The paper ends…

This study determined if trials on a concept learning task could be analyzed, using multiple learning curves, to generate a family of curves which would clarify differences in methods of attaining concepts. (RC)

A study comparing the effectiveness of various parts of Merrill and Tennyson's model for teaching concepts showed that a presentation of examples and nonexamples in an expository presentation or in an inquisitory practice presentation enhances the acquisition of social studies concepts. The addition of a definition is not essential. (RM)

Author reviews the nature of concepts for those about to enter the teaching profession. (HS)

This article offers a perspective from which to consider the dimensionality of data used in teaching social science concepts. The perspective is based on consideration and analysis of the dimensional nature of areal space. Tips are offered on using the procedures designed to describe and adjust the indices of empirical property space so that they…

Describes the evolution of an introductory astronomy course from fact driven to concept driven. Presents a rationale for a course designed to engage students in considering answers to the questions "what are we?" and "how do we know what we know?" (DDR)

One hundred undergraduates were taught a concept task in which four experimental treatments and a control treatment were compared. Results indicated that presentation of examples is not sufficient: the relationships between these examples are critical for adequate instruction, even when the definitions remain the same. (Author/JEG)

The use of concept maps, diagrams indicating relationships between concepts, as a tool for evaluating student comprehension is discussed, and examples of student concept maps drawn in physics and literature courses are provided. (MSE)

One of the more interesting areas of problem solving in chemistry attempts to answer the question, "What do students understand about the molecular level of chemistry?" This question is also implicit in the more traditional area of mathematical problem solving but in this paper, more focus is placed on devising ways to help students develop a…

Describes an exercise intended for use in sociology courses on the college level. In the exercise, students are directed to participate in concept development and discover underlying and often unacknowledged dimensions of judgment. The relevant domain of objects or concepts are rated using the semantic differential technique. (Author/DB)