The expertise reversal effect occurs when a learning procedure that is effective for novices becomes ineffective for more knowledgeable learners. The authors consider how to match instructional presentations to levels of learner knowledge. Experiments 1-2 were designed to develop a schema-based rapid method of measuring learners' knowledge in a…

This study provides initial evidence for the criterion-related validity of tacit knowledge (TK) as an alternative measure for selecting psychology graduate students and adds insight to the construct of TK by evaluating its factor structure, assessing convergent relationships with other variables, and exploring alternative reasons for why TK…

This paper addresses student-teachers' ability to "read nature" in a woodland habitat before and after a 10-week ecology course. "Reading nature" is our definition of the ability to observe, describe and explain basic ecology in the field. Data consists of field-based pre-course and post-course interviews followed up by…

This paper explores the effects of specific teacher threshold knowledges about boys and gender on the implementation of a so-called 'boy friendly' curriculum at one junior secondary high school in Australia. Through semi-structured interviews with selected staff at the school, it examines the normalizing assumptions and 'truth claims' about boys,…

The views of the author's students about history caused her to reflect on her teaching, specifically, what she was lacking in her attempts to teach civic competence through history. This process led her to research historical thinking and design a study in which she exposed her students to the rigors of history. Grant's (2001) study of 9th grade…

Two hundred first- and second-grade Chinese children's knowledge of basic relational concepts in following directions was assessed on the "Applications Booklet" of the "Boehm Test of Basic Concepts-Revised" (BTBC-R, 1986). Chinese children's performance was then compared with that of the standardization sample of the BTBC-R.…

A high school math teacher describes how U.S. schools unwittingly erode student learning by using assessments to emphasize the wrong goals. He claims that students have begun to see school as a "game" in which collecting the most points--seen as "capital" or wealth--leads them to success. Instead, he argues, assessment should…

Across two years, we examined the effects of teachers' attempts to implement computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) communities in classrooms in two high schools on students' knowledge building, strategic learning, and perceptions of the classroom environment. In year one, 429 (fall) and 317 (spring) students in the classes of 8 teachers…

Focus on Risk is an instructional material created to enhance high school students' environmental risk literacy. An evaluation involving 532 Focus on Risk students and 305 comparison students showed modest improvements in students' demonstrated risk knowledge and stronger improvements in self-assessed risk knowledge. Students' sense of…

Several factors have been shown to influence inclusion of children with special educational needs. This paper reports on findings from a questionnaire investigating training, specialist knowledge, confidence, attitudes and beliefs of the Reception class, Year 1, and Year 2 teachers of a cohort of children with a preschool diagnosis of moderate or…

Objective:: The main aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Education Initiative, an intervention program in one of the largest urban counties in the US seeking to increase the responsiveness of social workers to the educational needs of foster children. Method:: A pre-post test control group design was used. Data from case files and social…

The challenges of modeling students' performance in computer-based interactive assessments include accounting for multiple aspects of knowledge and skill that arise in different situations and the conditional dependencies among multiple aspects of performance. This article describes a Bayesian approach to modeling and estimating cognitive models…

This paper discusses the sensitivity of instruments used to measure knowledge and attitudes toward older people. Existing standardized measurement instruments are reviewed, including a detailed examination of Palmore's Facts on Ageing Quiz (FAQ). A recent study conducted by the research team into the knowledge and attitudes of support workers (n =…

This study developed a teacher knowledge survey that measured teacher knowledge of reading-related concepts. Use with 41 second- and third-grade teachers and then 103 third- and fourth-grade teachers found significant associations among teachers' knowledge, classroom reading achievement levels, and teachers' observed teaching competence. The…

This study examined 10th-grade students' use of theory and evidence in evaluating a socio-scientific issue: the use of underground water, after students had received a Science, Technology and Society-oriented instruction. Forty-five male and 45 female students from two intact, single-sex, classes participated in this study. A flow-map method was…