Physicists and physics students have been studied with respect to the variation in the ways they expound on their topic of research and a physics problem, respectively. A phenomenographic approach has been employed; six fourth-year physics students and 10 teacher-researcher physicists at various stages of their careers have been interviewed. Four…

Kurt Lewin's epigrammatic paradox is particularly true for action learning. Marquardt and Waddill (2004), and previously Yorks O'Neil and Marsick (1999) have approached the issue of the relationship between theory and action learning by looking at a variety of theories which they have placed in "schools". This provides an interesting analysis, but…

One important challenge for researchers is to understand what happens inside classrooms that make the environment available for children's learning. This study develops the margin|centre dialectic as a general framework for describing participation of very young children in science-related activities. It employs a cultural-historical approach that…

The purpose of this study was to examine the acquisition of the van Hiele levels and motivation of sixth-grade students engaged in instruction using van Hiele theory-based mathematics curricula. There were 150 sixth-grade students, 66 boys and 84 girls, involved in the study. The researcher employed a multiple-choice geometry test to find out…

Educational reform centres on changing teacher behaviour, as it is teachers who filter through the curriculum to learners. Educational reform could therefore be viewed as reforming or changing teacher behaviour. This article investigates some of the factors influencing teachers' behaviour namely knowledge, attitude and views and beliefs. The…

Four dimensions of pedagogical quality focusing on children's opportunities for learning and development in preschool are suggested. This article explores how they are constituted and how they can be used for evaluation to discern pedagogical quality as a whole and part of a whole and to understand how quality is experienced and valued from…

This paper reports on the use of reflexive practice activities designed to enhance learning for first year law students at James Cook University, Australia. The paper considers various aspects of student learning and explores connections between reflexive practice and concepts such as deep learning, understanding, motivation and engagement, and…

Research findings confirm positive links between music education, scholastic achievement, and social adaptability, especially among at-risk and special needs children. However, few studies explain how this process occurs. This article presents a didactic approach, which suggests practical ways of enhancing general learning skills while teaching…

The topic of this article concerns how students make sense of categories of progressive inquiry made available to them through a discussion and inquiry type of software called Future Learning Environments 2 (FLE2). The idea behind tools of this kind is to induce approaches to school-work that build on the metaphor of learning as research. By…

This study was designed to explore students perceptions of how a change in pedagogy influenced learning. The study was undertaken as part of a professional development residency in which a teacher educator worked with the staff of a high school science faculty in an on-site professional development program focusing on classroom teaching and…

Many people prefer to learn in ways that differ from the ways in which other people of the same class, grade, age, nationality, race, culture, or religion prefer to do. The ways in which people prefer to learn are their "learning style preferences." This handbook was designed for supervisors interested in implementing and guiding staff in the…

This paper discusses the theory of multiple intelligences (H. Gardner, 1983) as it applies to the basic public speaking course. According to the paper, the multiple intelligences theory (MI) suggests that intelligence should not be viewed as a single dimension, but rather as a composite of several aptitudes and talents. The paper states that…

This master's project contains two essays and a long poem, examining the possibilities of creative writing as a tool of inquiry in mathematics, history, science, film, art, and architecture. The project's first essay, "The Poet in the Warehouse," introduces a brief history of imaginative writing and an argument for its inclusion in…

This book is intended to introduce teachers to the practices of "environmental education," and is the first in a series published by the Institute for Environmental Education. The series focus is on problem-solving in the community as the subject matter for environmental education. Problem-solving is used as a process of investigatory…

This study compared the effects of instructor-provided vs. learner-generated analyses of semantic relationships between major concepts on structural knowledge acquisition in an introductory psychology course. One group explained the relationships on instructor-provided graphic organizers; the other group classified relationships between concepts…