In this article, I explore the role of semiotic import (Van Leeuwen, 2005) in the composing processes of three bilingual students (six to seven years old) emerging as writers of English. Using social semiotic (Van Leeuwen, 2005) and design (New London Group, 2000) frameworks, I trace a qualitative "micro-history" of how the students imported…

Lewis structures are important for learning chemistry as they serve as an essential link between the structure of chemical compounds and their function. Unfortunately, the creation of valid Lewis structures remains an elusive goal for many students. In recent years, several web-based programs have been created that allow students to receive…

Teens have issues! They talk about suicide and war. They experiment with drugs, drinking and smoking. Their lives may have been touched by abuse, gangs, or guns. Young people worry about these issues and many others as they work out their emerging identities and race toward their futures. This article discusses how the teachers in Voyager House…

This paper reports a part of a study on the construction of mathematical meanings in terms of development of semiotic systems (gestures, speech in oral and written form, drawings) in a Vygotskian framework, where artefacts are used as tools of semiotic mediation. It describes a teaching experiment on perspective drawing at primary school (fourth…

This paper discusses the advantages and challenges of using qualitative methods to elicit poor children's perspectives about threats and positive influences on their wellbeing. It draws on research carried out by the author on the subjective experiences of poor children in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia in terms of their understandings of…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the use of solid modeling software increases participants' success in solving a specified technical problem and how visualization affects their ability to solve a technical problem. Specifically, the study sought to determine if (a) students' visualization skills affect their problem…

HIV/AIDS can no longer be regarded solely as a public health issue as its impact extends well into all spheres of life, sectors of society and levels of the education system. This paper argues that not only is it paramount to draw on children's understanding of the impact of AIDS on their lives, but it is equally important to draw on their…

The paper analyzed children's perceptions of teasing within their real world peer relationships through participants' drawings and accompanying narratives. The case study research was approached from an ethic of listening to children to discover and uncover children's perceptions and experiences with the phenomenon of peer teasing. Fifteen…

This study portrayed a picture of kindergarten through 3rd-grade teachers who teach visual arts, their perceptions of the value of visual arts, their visual arts teaching practices, visual arts experiences provided to young learners in school, and major factors and/or influences that affect their teaching of visual arts. The sample for this study…

The purpose of this paper is to identify the developmental stages and feelings that children are portraying in their artwork. Included in the paper the writer gives examples of the different stages of scribbling and an activity for teachers and parents to do with the child. The results of the activities will give insight into a child's feelings…

When teaching still-life drawing to her eighth-grade students, the author decided they needed a challenge on their final assignment. She thought that making it personal would be more appealing to students than drawing a typical still-life arrangement. She decided to have students create a small collage-style arrangement as a subject for a…

Although picture-book reading is commonplace during infancy, little is known about the impact of this activity on learning. A previous study showed that 18- and 24-month-olds imitated a novel action sequence presented in a book that was illustrated with realistic color photos, whereas they failed to imitate from books illustrated with less…

Current English curriculum documents, namely the "Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage" and "Key Stage 1 of the National Curriculum," contain mixed messages about the role and value of drawing in early education. The documents state that children should be encouraged to explore their ideas, feelings and…

Including children as research participants is an important new direction in early childhood research. However, it is rare for such studies to include the voices of children with significant communication impairment. This article suggests that drawing may be an appropriate non-verbal method for "listening" to these children's ideas and recording…

Graphic elicitation, i.e. asking participants to draw, is an interview technique used to focus the interviewee on the given topic or gain extra meaning not covered verbally as part of the interview. This study analyses two interview contexts which included visual elicitation. It describes a successful example in which the researcher maintained…