Simulations are of growing interest within the social studies in terms of research and practice. Although the findings of early research were unfavorable to simulations in terms of student learning, recent research has revealed new and interesting findings related to different domains of student learning that earlier research did not. In light of…

The study developed and distributed a survey to measure students' preference for stimulus-response learning. The responses of undergraduate and graduate students suggest the desire to maximize grades fosters a strong preference for instructors who tell students what they need to know and exam questions that incorporate terms and keywords similar…

This study reports on an analysis of students' textbook task-solving in Swedish upper secondary school. The relation between types of mathematical reasoning required, used, and the rate of correct task solutions were studied. Rote learning and superficial reasoning were common, and 80% of all attempted tasks were correctly solved using such…

Though factors contributing to difficulty in learning school subjects including Mathematics were extensively studied, nature and characteristics of mathematics, possibly, one among the foremost causes for difficulty in learning it has not received required attention. To bring attention to the difficulties arising out of the nature of mathematics…

In Life Sciences education internationally, including South Africa, the study of animal and organ morphology has traditionally involved dissections since the early nineteenth century. The major purpose of this study was to investigate how the engagement of learners with animal organ dissections may influence the development of problem-solving…

This paper explores how the ideology of compulsory able-bodiness functions in special education. The apparatus of special education, this paper contends, applies a bureaucratic gaze to students from historically oppressed groups (e.g. students of color and working class students) and, finding them deficient, interpellates them as disabled. They…

Many college students struggle with first-semester general chemistry. Prior studies have shown that a student's prior knowledge of chemistry, a cognitive factor, does not account for the total variance when measured by examination scores. This study explored the role of self-regulated learning (SRL) to identify the degree of success or failure of…

Much research has been conducted to document and sometimes to provide proximate explanations (e.g., Confucianism vs. Western philosophy) for East-West cultural differences. The ultimate evolutionary mechanisms underlying these cross-cultural differences have not been addressed. We propose in this review that East-West cultural differences (e.g.,…

Problem solving allows students to use what they know to achieve a goal when no solution is apparent. Traditional educational models evolved from an earlier system, based on rote memorization and designed to produce employees for industry. The workforce of tomorrow must move beyond rote learning by both applying current knowledge and using…

Despite recent investments in and rapid modernization of university campuses in places like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, higher education in the Middle East still faces many obstacles. One of the greatest has been a fundamental disconnect between education and employment, a possible factor contributing to many of the recent riots in the Arab World. In…

Information Literacy (IL) competencies are defined as "the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively" and are considered essential for students in their academic lives and future careers (ALA, 1989). IL plays an important role in developing critical thinking and problem solving skills, and improving academic…

In this article, the author presents an innovative approach to teaching multiplication facts for children in middle school or younger. After introducing the dangers of some contradictions that persist, relating a brief summary of related research and guidelines regarding math facts and their relation to strategic approaches to more complex math,…

Jinfa Cai's study comparing Chinese and American sixth-grade students' mathematics performance found that American students did better on simple and complex problems than on computation. One reason might be Asian countries' stress on rote learning. Paul George's 1995 monograph "Japanese Schools: A Closer Look" found instruction…

The authors discuss the evaluation of mathematics learning at four levels: associative learning, concept learning, principle learning and problem solving. (MM)