Three inter-related assumptions regarding best practice in second/foreign language teaching and bilingual/immersion education continue to dominate classroom instruction. These assumptions are that: (a) the target language (TL) should be used exclusively for instructional purposes without recourse to students' first language (L1); (b) translation…

The Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) technique allows students to be engaged in course material outside of the classroom by answering web-based questions. The responses are summarized and presented to students in class with a follow-up active learning exercise. College students enrolled in an introductory-level general education geoscience course were…

This theoretical paper examines current practice in work-based studies where recognition of prior unaccredited work is normally limited to around 50% of the total programme. The basis of this limiting concept is challenged and consideration is given to a number of factors that have contributed to it. Comparison is made with the current practice of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: first the paper aims to sketch the theoretical basis for the use of electronic portfolios for prior learning assessment; second it endeavours to introduce latent semantic analysis (LSA) as a powerful method for the computation of semantic similarity between texts and a basis for a new observation link…

Creating effective learning environments with technology remains a challenge for teachers. Despite the tremendous push for educators to integrate technology into their classrooms, many have yet to do so and struggle to find consistent success with technology-based instruction. The challenges to effective technology integration have been…

The American Association of Colleges and Universities reports that over 50% of the students entering colleges and universities are academically under prepared; that is, according to Miller and Murray (2005), students "lack basic skills in at least one of the three fundamental areas of reading, writing, and mathematics" (paragraph 4). Furthermore,…

This briefing paper endeavours to highlight the challenges facing refugees and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom in accessing education, training and employment. It does not claim to cover all the issues but is intended as a starting point for providers of adult learning and/or advice. It initially sets out the facts about definitions and…

Many diversity courses that prepare pre-service teachers do not address the significance or the impact of language barriers on linguistically diverse learners. Often time, new and veteran teachers construct their bilingual and/or bidialectical students as others and are unaware of how to use their students' social, cultural, and political…

Educational psychology has indicated that prior knowledge is a potentially important educational variable. Recent and earlier research in educational psychology has shown that 30 to 60% of the variance in study results could be explained by this variable. Insight into these factors should influence the return on education. A common theoretical…

From the view of schema-transfer theory, the use of schemata with their several functions gives an explanation for the facilitative effect of prior knowledge on learning processes. This report gives a theoretical exploration of the concept of schemata, underlying schema theories, and functions of schemata to indicate the importance of schema…

A study described college student writers as they constructed arguments, creating a picture of school-based argument drawn not from ideal models of arguments as envisioned by educators, but from experiences of students themselves. A three-part framework that synthesizes rhetorical perspectives on argument with a social-cognitive view of the…

This paper re-examines the controversial issues of the binding parameter in second language acquisition or anaphoric-binding, suggesting that the first language, rather than universal grammar (UG), plays an important role in interpreting the anaphora. In reviewing findings from other related disciplines, including linguistics and first language…

This compilation explains the Strategic Reading Project (SRP), a long-term staff development project for schools committed to improving their students' ability to read strategically. Noting that the SRP has been designed for elementary schools, the compilation points out that the project is adaptable to high schools. The Project Team Notebook in…

This paper examines the nature of physics students' knowledge, the means to identify alternative conceptions, and possible methods to overcome misconceptions. This examination is a survey of the techniques and ideas of a large number of researchers who are seeking their own solutions to this problem. An examination of the nature of knowledge…

A study aimed to increase understanding of how different writing-to-learn tasks invite the ways in which students construct meaning in writing from sources. The tasks used, writing either a report or a problem-based essay, required students to integrate prior knowledge with information from six textual sources in order to construct their own…