This pilot study investigated the capacity of eye-gaze tracking to identify differences in problem-solving behaviours within a group of individuals who possessed varying degrees of knowledge and expertise in three disciplines of science (biology, chemistry and physics). The six participants, all pre-service science teachers, completed an 18-item…

This paper presents affect as an essential aspect of students' self-reflection and self-regulation. The introduced concepts of self-system and self-system process stress the importance of self-appraisals of personal competence and agency in affective responses and self-regulation in problem solving. Students are viewed as agents who constantly…

A socio-constructivist account of learning and emotions stresses the situatedness of every learning activity and points to the close interactions between cognitive, conative and affective factors in students' learning and problem solving. Emotions are perceived as being constituted by the dynamic interplay of cognitive, physiological, and…

This study describes and contrasts theoretically and empirically problem solving of situated problems in school and the real world at the macro level as a social-cultural activity system and analyzes the process of solving situated problems by high school students at the micro level as an activity. Three potentially experiential problem tasks were…

Reform in geography education, as reflected in "Geography for Life: National Geography Standards" (1994) for the U.S.A., favors a constructivist approach to learning. This study examines the acceptance of this approach among students in two upper secondary schools in China. A lesson was developed to illustrate interactive problem solving…

Quilts are an integral part of the North American culture. Most households in North America have quilts with intricate geometric patterns. These patterns symbolize different things to different groups of people in this part of the world. It is important for students to see how mathematics comes from what is done in day-to-day life, not from the…

This article describes the Mathematics Investigation Center (MIC), a tool to help elementary teachers differentiate the curriculum for their gifted mathematics students. Using the same mathematical theme that the rest of the class is studying, the activities provide depth for the gifted students by shifting from a computation level to a problem…

Undergraduate biology programs are currently undergoing reform to involve students in biomedical research. Engaging students in more active, hands-on experiments allows students to discover scientific principles for themselves, and to develop techniques of critical thinking and problem solving. This models the world of real scientific research,…

This study investigated the roles of coping and masculinity in higher rates of depressive symptoms among adolescent girls, as compared to boys. A model was designed and tested through path analysis, which involved the variables of sex, gender, problem-focused coping, rumination, and distraction. The Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale and the Bem…

We studied the effect of formative assessment and feedback on learning. Students produced phylogenetic trees based upon morphological and molecular data. The trees were projected in class, feedback provided, and the process repeated twice with new data. Assessment revealed that these in-class modules resulted in significant improvement in student…

For the thirty-fifth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the national AECT Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

With its roots in clinical and educational psychology, school psychology is an ever-changing field that encompasses a diversity of topics. "The Oxford Handbook of School Psychology" synthesizes the most vital and relevant literature in all of these areas, producing a state-of-the-art, authoritative resource for practitioners,…

Discourse, especially dialogic communication between students in collaborative problem-solving groups, plays a central role in educational reforms informed by learning science. This study examined the quality of discourse in problem-based learning groups in a university course. The study found a low incidence of high quality dialogue (dialogic…

This 21st Century Skills Map is the result of hundreds of hours of research, development and feedback from educators and business leaders across the nation. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has issued this map for the core subject of Social Studies.

This book follows master educator Elizabeth (Betty) Jones as she teaches an introductory course in early childhood education. She actively engages the students, encouraging them to make decisions, ask questions, and engage in collaborative problem solving--herself modeling the behaviors that should be practiced by adults working with young…