The paper proposes a theoretical and methodological framework based on a pluralistic, concerted approach to the study of activities that take place in and through speech interactions. The framework has a general scope, applying to any collective activity taking form through language interactions. It contributes to a fuller understanding of the…

Both the identification of children at risk in day care and multidisciplinary collaboration with other professions have a political focus. This study was designed as an organizational field study and attempts to establish a coherent practice of multidisciplinary collaboration between day care and social services. This article focuses on the…

Research on young children's reasoning show the complex relationships of knowledge, theories, and evidence in their decision-making and problem solving. Most of the research on children's reasoning skills has been done in individualized and formal research settings, not collective classroom environments where children often engage in learning and…

This study tested and integrated the effects of an inquiry-based didactic method for preschool science in a real practical classroom setting. Four preschool classrooms participated in the experiment (N = 57) and the children were 4-6 years old. In order to assess children's attention for causal events and their understanding at the level of…

This work investigates the formation of particular student profiles based on of their ideas relating to basic characteristics of the atom. Participants were secondary students of 8th, 10th and 12th grades from Northern Greece (n = 421), with specific cohort characteristics e.g. age, grade and class curriculum, and individual differences, e.g.…

The present study was a causality study that investigate the effects of conditional factors; if x, y & z are the independent factors (e.g. socio-economic status, Anthropometric status, and home environmental status) on the dependent factors (e.g. memory, social skill, language acquisition, logical reasoning, and problem solving). The present…

The QEP that was implemented in this study focused on enhancing students' critical thinking skills. A pretest/posttest approach was used to assess students' critical thinking progress in freshman level core English and Math courses. An intervention was performed involving intensive instruction and assignments relating to a set of reasoning…

Social skills involved in leadership were examined in a problem-solving activity in which 252 Chinese 5th-graders worked in small groups on a spatial-reasoning puzzle. Results showed that students who engaged in peer-managed small-group discussions of stories prior to problem solving produced significantly better solutions and initiated…

The role of visualization and model-based reasoning has become increasingly significant in science education across a range of contexts. It is generally recognized that supporting learning in developing causal explanations for observed astronomical events presents considerable pedagogic challenge. Understanding the Sun's apparent movement…

A perspective is presented on how the representation mapping framework by Hahn and Chater (1998) may be used to characterize reasoning during problem solving in chemistry. To provide examples for testing the framework, an exploratory study was conducted with students and professors from three different courses in the middle of the undergraduate…

This article discusses a learning partnership among faculty and students to influence reflective practice in a blended course. Faculty redesigned a traditional face-to-face (FTF) introductory physician assistant course into a blended course to promote increased reflection and higher order thinking. Early student reflective writing suggested a need…

Practitioner research is in progress at a Further Education college to improve the motivation of vocational students for numeracy and problem solving. A framework proposed by Tang, Sui, & Wang (2003) has been adapted for use in courses. Five levels are identified for embedding numeracy applications and modelling into vocational studies:…

If students really understand the systems they study, they would be able to tell how changes in the system would affect a result. This demands that the students understand the mechanisms that drive its behaviour. The study investigates potential merits of learning how to explicitly model the causal structure of systems. The approach and…

This paper explores teachers' perceptions of their learners' proficiency in statistical literacy, reasoning and thinking. Research in Statistics education has prompted a move away from the teaching of statistical skills, towards focusing on the development of statistical literacy, reasoning and thinking. The recent South African Grade 10-12…

The purpose of this study was to see if a relationship existed between American College Testing (ACT) scores (i.e., English, reading, mathematics, science reasoning, and composite) and student success in a computer applications course at a Mississippi community college. The study showed that while the ACT scores were excellent predictors of…