Describes 8 activities the authors have used in their teacher education courses that help prospective teachers develop the self-reflection and self-analysis; build an effective value base for teaching; integrate their personal and practical knowledge into a coherent system of values that will serve them in their profession; and construct personal…

Investigates the benefits of using culturally responsive reading material and a computer-based learning environment in literacy instruction. Describes a study of low socioeconomic status first through fourth grade African American children that tested two computer programs that use prior knowledge as scaffolds for early literacy instruction.…

Analyzes junior high school students' astronomy conceptions by means of a written questionnaire and delineates the main findings. Focuses on the effect on climate of the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun. (Contains 41 references.) (DDR)

Explores high school students' collaborative efforts in solving qualitative physics problems and investigates how and whether confronting students with varying views improves problem solving skills. (Contains 22 references.) (DDR)

When mature students enter higher education they bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience gained in their lives outside of education. A majority of higher education institutions in the UK and elsewhere around the world have now set up systems for recognizing and accrediting such learning. However the processes of assessing learning…

Two hundred forty English-speaking toddlers (24- and 36-month-olds) heard novel adjectives applied to familiar objects (Experiment 1) and novel objects (Experiment 2). Children were successful in mapping adjectives to target properties only when information provided by the noun, in conjunction with participants' knowledge of the objects, provided…

For nearly half of his professional career, this author admits he was wrong about how to help students achieve. During almost thirty-six years as a college administrator and instructor, he designed programs and services, taught classes, and conducted workshops with one purpose in mind: to help students gain maximum benefits from college and…

In this study, the academic experiences of 33 male students from an industrial background were investigated as they completed a two-year education degree. The purpose of the study was to investigate the quality of student adjustment to an academic environment following extensive industrial training and experience. Students completed a series of…

With 104 advanced second language (L2) readers, this investigation seeks to construct a multicomponent model of interest and L2 reading. Sources of interest (SI) refer to variables that induce feelings of interest in a text. Perceived interest (PI) refers to the feeling of interest itself (Schraw, Bruning, & Svoboda, 1995). A factor analysis…

Falk and Dierking's Contextual Model of Learning was used as a theoretical construct for investigating learning within a free-choice setting. A review of previous research identified key variables fundamental to free-choice science learning. The study sought to answer two questions: (1) How do specific independent variables individually contribute…

The views of the author's students about history caused her to reflect on her teaching, specifically, what she was lacking in her attempts to teach civic competence through history. This process led her to research historical thinking and design a study in which she exposed her students to the rigors of history. Grant's (2001) study of 9th grade…

This article explores the ways in which prior experiences in formal learning contexts influence adult learners' views of their current context. Using interview data from five women participating in a General Educational Development program, this study suggests that these learners' constructions of previous learning contexts function as "screens"…

This chapter highlights the central role of experience in learning and consciousness; it also outlines experience-based instructional processes that adult educators can use. (Contains 1 figure.)

The authors argue that in classrooms with students from linguistically diverse backgrounds, instruction should explicitly activate prior knowledge. Teachers have the opportunity to create environments that affirm the identities of English language learners, thereby increasing the confidence with which these students engage in language and literacy…

This article explores some of the implications inherent in the pedagogical strategy of encouraging students to 'try' or 'have a go', particularly within the context of early writing and spelling. Pedagogical approaches built on the assumption that the learner will need to try in order to learn are construed here as emanating from and contributing…