The article focuses on defining how background knowledge impacts on second-language acquisition by giving a brief overview of schema theory, the interaction of the basic modes of information processing. A challenge of dealing with culturally specific texts in second language acquisition is also touched upon. Different research-supported views on…

More than half of today's students are adult learners, juggling jobs and families, in addition to college. This brings new challenges for institutions of higher education, forcing them to adjust rapidly to address the needs of their growing adult student base. Many universities have made significant strides when it comes to working with…

This paper discusses the result of a statewide research effort in California to improve the accuracy of student placement in math and English in the California Community College system. We apply decision tree methods to high school and college transcript data to identify key measures of high school achievement that predict success in ten levels of…

International students, specifically non-native speakers of English, constitute a growing population of the graduate programs in western-based universities like UK, US, and Australia. Despite their document challenges, these students also demonstrate resilience that when appropriately channeled, could promote their success in graduate school. The…

Young children regularly learn words from interactions with other speakers, though not all speakers are reliable informants. Interestingly, children will reverse to trusting a reliable speaker when a previously endorsed speaker proves unreliable. When later asked to identify the referent of a novel word, children who reverse trust are less willing…

The present study addressed the effectiveness of an educational math game for improving proportional reasoning in prevocational education, and examined the added value of support in the form of reflection. The study compared four conditions: the game with reflection prompts, the game with reflection prompts plus procedural information, the game…

With the adoption of the "Common Core State Standards" many social studies teachers are faced with the task of very intentionally integrating writing instruction into their content curriculum. While this task may be daunting, there are research-based instructional frameworks to help teachers implement strategies to support student…

In this article, veteran educator Otis Kriegel provides eight questions that teachers can ask themselves as they create or tweak lesson plans. With practical, straightforward advice, Kriegel suggests that teachers be mindful of who their audience is, how much students already know, and what materials they'll need. He also urges teachers to…

In a classroom teaching experiment, we explored fifth graders' ability to identify relationships in and between two patterns--what we may refer to as functional relationships. Conventional functions curricula are dominated by defining relationships between two patterns via a rule, describing how to find y or f(x) given a particular value for x…

We have investigated whether and how a categorization of responses to questions on linear distance-time graphs, based on a study of Irish students enrolled in an algebra-based course, could be adopted and adapted to responses from students enrolled in calculus-based physics courses at universities in Flanders, Belgium (KU Leuven) and the Basque…

Studies show that the use of writing in the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can discourage some adults, especially those without a diploma. For those who do proceed, how is the use of reading and writing experienced? Is it a lever or a barrier? This article presents results from a study conducted in Quebec based on semi-structured interviews…

How can we help significantly more students reach their educational goals and improve their employment outcomes? How can we reign in the growing time burden and ballooning costs students must shoulder throughout their educational journey? How can we recognize the learning and experience the vast number of nontraditional students bring when they…

The research assessed secondary school students' conceptions of acid-base strengths by using the conceptual change instruction accompanied with concept maps and analogies. These teaching strategies were employed to help them make unfamiliar events familiar. Within a quasi-experimental design, the sample of the study consisted of 73 secondary…

Data driven pedagogy has been introduced into Australian schools over the last decade to improve student learning outcomes, but are teacher educators preparing preservice teachers to be data literate? We used a survey to investigate ready-to-graduate preservice teachers' beliefs regarding their knowledge and skills in data literacy. Before…

A comprehensive inquiry about the experiences of Pacific-Islander students in higher education is sorely wanting. This study uncovered cultural predilections of Pacific-Islander students from the American-affiliated Pacific region related to their experiences in a Western setting. The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) serves as the backdrop…