Classroom teachers are in the front line of introducing students to formal learning, including assessments, which can be assumed to continue for students should they extend their schooling past the expected mandatory 12 years. The purpose of the present investigation was to survey secondary teachers' beliefs of classroom and large-scale tests for…

The theme for the 62nd annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers was Educating for a Just Society. Connie Briggs, previous Program Chair, reminded us that, "Education has always been the foundation of a democratic nation. It is important that our students understand the principles upon which our nation was…

As the communication between different cultures is becoming more and more frequent, the competence of cross-cultural awareness and collaboration is emerging as a key ability in the 21st century. Face to face communication is the most efficient way to cultivate the competence of cross-cultural awareness and collaboration. However, there are very…

Educational systems throughout the world serve students from diverse populations. Often students from minority populations (i.e. racial, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic) face unique challenges when learning in contexts based on the cultural traditions and learning theories of the majority population. These challenges often leave minority…

This is a study to examine Indonesian Christian Teachers' Perceptions of the effectiveness of professional development programs offered by the Association of Christian Schools International Indonesia (ACSI-I) and by the Indonesian National Department of Education. The study was focused on how Indonesian Christian teachers perceived the…

In 2012-2013, sixteen senior secondary classes participated in this study, with eight of them being distance classes. Approximately 220 Year 11-13 students and 8 teachers took part in this study. This project aimed at designing and evaluating a computer-supported knowledge building community in senior secondary classes. Researchers sought to…

This paper proposes a theoretical review of the term "metacognition". It was introduced by John Flavell in the early 1970s based on the term "metamemory" previously conceived by the same scholar (Flavell 1971). Flavell (1979) viewed metacognition as learners' knowledge of their own cognition, defining it as "knowledge and cognition about cognitive…

This paper presents a case study of using blended learning to enhance students' language skills and learner autonomy in an Asian university environment. Blended learning represents an educational environment for much of the world where computers and the Internet are readily available. It combines self-study with valuable face-to-face interaction…

The use of problem-solving strategies by 59 deaf and hard of hearing children, grades K-3, was investigated. The children were asked to solve 9 arithmetic story problems presented to them in American Sign Language. The researchers found that while the children used the same general types of strategies that are used by hearing children (i.e.,…

Can we learn socially and academically valuable concepts and skills from video games? How can we best teach the "gamer generation?" This accessible book describes how educators and curriculum designers can harness the participatory nature of digital media and play. The author presents a comprehensive model of games and learning that integrates…

Two proposed style assessment instruments are employed to explore the learning styles of non-English major college students in the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context in Chinese universities. It was found that their overall learning preferences in English language learning demonstrate a tendency, so that discovering the students' learning…

Introduction: Nowadays, self-regulated learning has become an important focus in research and a large number of studies have been undergone about self-regulation, school achievement and motivation of learning, but few researches has been done in the field of self-regulated leaning and motivational variables and attributions. This research has…

The purpose of assembling this "New Directions in Teaching and Learning" volume was to introduce college and university teachers to a broad range of approaches that reflect evidence-based teaching (EBT). As each of the preceding chapters has shown, EBT not only can increase student learning across a variety of measures, it also can increase…

With an increase in life expectancy in modern complex communities, there will be a prolonged period, post-retirement, in which older adults will seek meaningful projects. Juxtaposed with the longer period after retirement is the realisation that life is nearing the end. This paper draws on research undertaken from 2003-2010. The purpose of the…

Jarvis' (2006) theory of human learning framed the analysis of qualitative interviews conducted with 31 high school teacher-coaches. Using composite narratives, we present three profiles as an innovative way to explain the social context within which the teacher-coaches have developed and also, to provide insight into the needs of teacher-coaches…