This is a response to two discussions of my article 'The Weakness of "Powerful Knowledge"' featuring in 2018 in the "London Review of Education" 16 (2), the first by Johan Muller and Michael Young and the second by Jim Hordern. It also makes brief comments on pieces on powerful knowledge in the "London Review of…

In this reply to Elon Langbeheim's response to an article recently published in this journal, authors Smith and Villarreal identify several types of general chemistry students' misconceptions concerning the concept of particle position during physical change. They focus their response on one of the misconceptions identified as such: Given a solid…

The article, "Using Animations in Identifying General Chemistry Students' Misconceptions and Evaluating Their Knowledge Transfer Relating to Particle Position in Physical Changes" (Smith and Villarreal, 2015), reports that a substantial proportion of undergraduate students expressed misconceived ideas regarding the motion of particles in…

The patterns of use of computer-based communication technologies in knowledge synthesis are described by looking at the way groups use the technology for efforts that have at least some qualities of knowledge synthesis. A chart of basic options for communication through computers is provided, showing the generic class of systems, examples of…

Clarifies problems concerning the nature and scope of rhetoric, including its relation to human knowledge, by viewing rhetorical methods as universal, rule-governed, and productive of knowledge having normative force. Knowledge is conceptualized as developing within a social-symbolic sphere of methods, subject matters, derivations, applications,…

In this reconsideration of social knowledge, an attempt is made to resolve ambiguities related to the original project on social knowledge. Three regions of dispute fostered by the original essay are examined and explained: the definition of social knowledge, the issue of form, and the problems of normative impact. (JMF)

Paul B. Baltes and his colleagues, who are among the most prominent contemporary wisdom researchers, define wisdom as "expert knowledge in the domain fundamental pragmatics of life." By contrast, this article argues that the definition, operationalization, and measurement of wisdom should not be reduced to expertise and that the term wisdom should…

The theories of Skemp regarding two forms of understanding in mathematics, called relational and instrumental, are discussed. (MP)

Discusses children's use of metaphors to create meaning, using as an example the pragmatic and "scientific" ways in which preschool children explain thunder and lightning to themselves. Argues that children are being shortchanged by modern scientific notions of abstractness and that they should be encouraged to create their own explanations of…

Areas of knowledge having impact upon teacher effectiveness include content knowledge, knowledge of the "human factor," and knowledge of "conceptualizing." An illustration of an instructional problem and how knowledge about conceptualizing is related to the problem is provided. (CJ)

Clarifies features of Smith et al.'s attentional learning account of object naming, arguing that Booth and Waxman's findings address tenets not in the attentional learning account while not addressing one of the central tenets of the attentional learning account. Suggests that the debate about the nature of children's language and cognition would…

Responds to Smith et al.'s work on relations between perceptual, conceptual, and linguistic knowledge in early word learning and discusses treatment of evidence. Asserts that Smith et al.'s commentary fails to engage data presented and their implications. Asserts that learners seamlessly integrate perceptual, linguistic, and conceptual information…

Focuses on the professional role of the teacher in the classroom in relation to the students being taught and the subject matter being learned. Defines and gives examples of three dimensions of the professional act of teaching: conceptual knowledge, general knowledge, and interpersonal communication and social skills. (JHZ)

Ideas concerning reflection in general, the role of reflection in cognitive apprenticeship, and reflection in action are discussed. The notion of reflection in a particular setting is presented for two cases: the professional education and training of physicians, and a teaching improvement program in which a teacher-teacher coach facilitates the…

Summarizes findings on infants' capacity for object segregation. Maintains that infants can use featural and experiential information for segregation and individuation purposes long before 12 months of age. Disputes the claim that formation of object categories awaits early word learning, but acknowledges that language may play a key role in…