Gaps in reading performance between Anglo and Latino children are associated with gaps in vocabulary knowledge. An intervention was designed to enhance fifth graders' academic vocabulary. The meanings of academically useful words were taught together with strategies for using information from context, from morphology, from knowledge about multiple…

Symbols of artistic features on architecture employed by people living in Konya in the 13th Century (circa 1258) have been examined to express their philosophy of art and culture. University students who are educated to become art teachers in secondary and high schools living around these architectural inheritances are supposed to have the same…

As part of a larger case study, this co-operative inquiry explores the lecturers' perspectives of the added value of the higher education experience of mixed ability groups of experienced care workers undertaking a 60 credit Certificate in Empowering Practice programme. Following consistent positive programme evaluations the success of the course…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of a constructivist approach to context-based video instruction for enhancing learning. To achieve this purpose, the authors examined whether video-based instruction that was developed using constructivist theory can affect student learning (i.e., comprehension and retention) and…

It is well-documented that most students do not have adequate proficiencies in inquiry and metacognition, particularly at deeper levels of comprehension that require explanatory reasoning. The proficiencies are not routinely provided by teachers and normal tutors so it is worthwhile to turn to computer-based learning environments. This article…

Learning outcomes in higher education are of considerable interest to students, teaching staff, researchers, tertiary education institutions and funding authorities. To improve the quality of learning outcomes may require a better understanding of what happens in the learning process from the perspective of the learner. This study makes use of a…

Science education reforms consistently maintain the goal that students develop an understanding of the nature of science, including both the nature of scientific knowledge and methods for making it. This paper articulates a framework for scaffolding epistemic aspects of inquiry that can help students understand inquiry processes in relation to the…

This article's main claim is that to support individuals' development toward becoming self-regulated learners requires certain amounts of other-regulation, i.e. scaffolding. Starting from this assertion, we discuss 6 issues that surfaced in the 5 articles of this special issue. First, we argue that designers need good reasons for taking freedom…

Introductory biology students can be overwhelmed by the diversity of life. By focusing on learning characteristics of individual taxa, they often lose and miss the larger perspective--that all taxa are connected through evolution, resulting in the Tree of Life. In this article, the authors present an exercise that helps students develop an…

This study explores the latent structure of scores on the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) and analyzes the relationship between this structure and students' academic performance. Two independent samples of college freshmen (n = 527) and seniors (n = 429) completed the LASSI. Data analysis of the first sample revealed acceptable…

Inquiry learning requires the ability to understand that theory and evidence have to be distinguished and co-ordinated. Moreover, learners have to be able to control two or more independent variables when formulating hypotheses, designing experiments and interpreting outcomes. Can sixth-grade (9-10 years) children be trained to acquire these…

Adaptive cognitive-based selection is recognized as among the most significant open issues in adaptive web-based learning systems. In order to adaptively select learning resources, the definition of adaptation rules according to the cognitive style or learning preferences of the learners is required. Although some efforts have been reported in…

This article outlines a small-scale study of metacognitive instruction for young second language listeners and discusses the value of lessons that highlight the listening process. Ten primary school pupils participated in eight specially designed listening lessons that included traditional listening exercises, individual post-listening reflections…

In this article, the author discusses two strategies--visual cues (modeling) and verbal cues (short, accurate phrases) which are related to teaching motor skills in maximizing learning in physical education classes. Both visual and verbal cues are strong influences in facilitating and promoting day-to-day learning. Both strategies reinforce…

The notion of optimality is often invoked informally in the literature on metacognitive control. We provide a precise formulation of the optimization problem and show that optimal time allocation strategies depend critically on certain characteristics of the learning environment, such as the extent of time pressure, and the nature of the uptake…