We present results from a comparative study of student understanding for students who attended recitation classes that used different teaching methods. Student volunteers from our introductory calculus-based physics course attended a special recitation class that was taught using one of four different teaching methods. A total of 272 students were…

This research is part of a study on scaling-up middle school science curriculum units in a large, diverse public school system. Chemistry That Applies (CTA), a guided inquiry unit based on conceptual change theory and highly rated according to the Project 2061 Curriculum Analysis, was implemented in five middle schools matched demographically with…

This book focuses on one of the key questions in education: What determines a student's success? Based on twenty years of work on student success, Ray Padilla here presents two related models he has developed that both provide a framework for understanding success and indicate how it can be enhanced and replicated. The research and theory that…

This report summarizes results from Austin Independent School District 12th graders in the Class of 2008 who responded to the high school student exit survey in Spring 2008.

In an effort to overcome deficiencies in teaching molecular biology at school, a workshop in an out-of-school laboratory including only authentic experiments was developed. Evaluation of 337 A-level 12th graders followed a quasi-experimental design, with one hands-on group, two non-experimental control groups (at school/in the laboratory), and one…

Dropping out of school is a universal problem, concerning fairly similar target groups in all countries. Several action plans to prevent dropping out and to activate the dropouts have been developed worldwide. The object of this study, the Activity School of East Finland, is an exceptionally comprehensive entity, within which alternative…

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of two types of vocabulary instruction--image-schema-based instruction (ISBI) and translation-based instruction (TBI)--on the acquisition of second language (L2) polysemous words. Fifty-eight Japanese high school learners of English were divided into two treatment groups (ISBI and TBI)…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to share practice on how two approaches to work-based learning (WBL) are used to develop the knowledge and skills of health care staff with different levels of experience and educational attainment within the Department of Nursing and the Department of Allied Health Professions at a post-1992 university…

In this article, the author describes how he created an approach that he terms "Mathematics as a Second Language" (MSL) for teaching ELL students mathematics. The main components of MSL are vocabulary activities, journals, group work, and projects. He used MSL to teach prealgebra to ELL students, as well as to native English speakers, for two…

This study assessed the impact of two educational strategies: text only versus text plus small group discussion, among two groups of third-year internal medicine clerkship students in a preventive cardiology course. The course was a required, 12-week Internal Medical clerkship at the University of Texas Medical Branch. The first group reviewed…

Based on Vygotsky's theory amongst others that play reflects different aspects of children's development and culture, this thesis explores in depth how aesthetic activities can influence children's play and the nature of the connections between play and culture, primarily in the aesthetic forms of drama and literature. The thesis also presents…

This study attempted to compare the science laboratory learning environments of secondary schools across both developed and developing countries (Australia, Brunei, Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, United States, Vanuatu, and Western Samoa). The study used a version of the Science Laboratory Learning…

Issues in second language teaching methodology are discussed in light of the concept of proficiency as defined in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. It is proposed that rather than think in terms of identifying one optimal methodology for all second language learners, the profession should be…

The study described in this report was designed to determine the dominant approach to library skills instruction in the schools of the DeKalb County School System (Georgia), and whether any relationships existed between certain demographic variables and the approach being used. Library media specialists were asked to respond to a two-part…

This study examined the effect of cooperative learning on two female sixth-grade students' attitudes toward mathematics. The students (one Caucasian, one African-American) were individually interviewed to obtain background information relevant to the study. An initial survey was also given to 17 sixth-graders to obtain general attitudes of…