The problem addressed in this study was that students who use passive study techniques when learning medical terminology are less likely to perform well on exams and retain course content in long-term memory. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study was to explore the perceptions of college faculty regarding the…

Mastery of jargon terms is an important part of student learning in biology and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics domains. In two experiments, we investigated whether prelecture quizzes enhance memory for jargon terms, and whether that enhanced familiarity can facilitate learning of related concepts that are encountered…

In this experiment, students in a large undergraduate biology course were first exposed to the concepts without new technical vocabulary ("jargon") in a pre-class reading assignment. Their learning of the concepts and jargon was compared with that of an equivalent group of students in another section of the same course, whose pre-class…

A three-country study was undertaken to assess the educational efficacy of two textbooks authored by the researcher. The same texts were distributed to groups of student nurses in the United Kingdom, Cambodia, and Kenya. A data collection tool was developed to obtain quantitative data and to ask open-ended questions on how useful readers found the…

This paper describes a terminological approach to the teaching and learning of fundamental concepts in foundation tertiary units in Statistics and Accounting, using an online dictionary-style resource (TermFinder) with customised "termbanks" for each discipline. Designed for independent learning, the termbanks support inquiring students…

This essay interrogates the concept of "clarity" that has become an imperative of effective student writing. I show that clarity is neither axiomatic nor transparent, and that the clear/unclear binary that informs the identification of clarity as a goal of effective student writing is itself unstable precisely because of the ideological baggage…

The authors suggest using an alternative teaching methodology to impart knowledge regarding information systems phraseology and vocabulary. Specifically, a series of crossword puzzles or scrabbles are used to present information system (IS) terminology to students in an introductory business information systems course. The puzzle terms and answers…

Our research project was guided by the assumption that students who learn to understand phenomena in everyday terms prior to being taught scientific language will develop improved understanding of new concepts. We used web-based software to teach students using a "content-first" approach that allowed students to transition from…

In response to the need for attention and support perceived by participants in a summer institute for building equity in early literacy, this booklet offers 12 pieces of advice for teachers and administrators trying to implement school literacy improvement plans. The advice presented in the booklet is: (1) do not be intimidated by other people's…

Maintains that introductory sociology courses rely on a preponderance of jargon that obfuscates the nature of the discipline. Advocates communicating the nature of sociology by emphasizing its three main approaches: structural, systematic, and critical. Suggests that religious affiliation and economic status influence ability to think…