Demographic, psychological and secondary level examination measures were obtained at the start of undergraduate courses in an attempt to predict first-year higher education (HE) withdrawal. As usual, withdrawal was greatest for males. Overall, intrinsic motivation and independent study expectations were better predictors of withdrawal than…

Teachers' perspectives in secondary and higher education have been investigated separately until now, probably owing to the differences expected between these two groups of teachers. In this study similarities and differences between secondary and university teachers' perspectives on self-regulated learning were investigated using semi-structured…

The ability (fluid and crystallized intelligence) and nonability (personality, interests, self-concept, etc.) determinants of domain knowledge before and after an independent learning opportunity were evaluated in the context of a study of 141 adults between the ages of 18 and 69. The domain knowledge under consideration included an array of…

"Metacognition," or the set of skills indicated as critical thinking in the domain of business education, constitutes an important aim in many educational programmes. At the same time, empirical studies demonstrate that teaching metacognitive skills is much harder than teaching cognitive ones. Moreover, the assessment of metacognitive skills poses…

This research study compared the effects of three instructional methods--collaborative synchronous online communication, asynchronous online communication, and independent study as traditional in grammar translation method--in English reading comprehension. A quasi-experimental research design included pre and post reading comprehension tests for…

New theory on adaptive teaching reflects the social dynamics of classrooms to explain what practicing teachers do to address student differences related to learning. In teaching adaptively, teachers respond to learners as they work. Teachers read student signals to diagnose needs on the fly and tap previous experience with similar learners to…

A total of three hundred and fifteen (n = 315) gifted students from the 10th and 12th grade from the United States (n = 102), China (n = 125) and Germany (n = 88) were surveyed regarding their motivation and self-regulation in chemistry learning. A 3 x 2 x 2 MANOVA revealed "nation" as having the largest major effect on these variables.…

Purpose: This paper evaluates whether the revalidated Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) programme encourages independent learning by its curriculum design, delivery and assessment. Results: Evidence regarding the promotion of independent learning was gained from learners and external examiners. The scientific publications, presentations and posters…

The evidence indicates that peer-assisted learning can have a substantively important positive effect on struggling high school students' reading comprehension. Reservations remain about attributing improved comprehension to peer-assisted learning because the students were not randomly assigned to the intervention in the one study that met…

This article explores the use of discourse analysis and conversation analysis as an evaluation tool in problem-based learning. The basic principles of the methods are discussed and their application in analysing talk in problem-based learning considered. Findings suggest that these methods could enable an understanding of how effective…

This paper describes an exploratory, qualitative study of the motivational issues associated with project work--a method intended to help encourage independent learning skills. The population studied were United Kingdom secondary school students who attended a state-funded comprehensive school in Derbyshire. The study chose to explore why…

e-Learning is bringing training to the attention of upper management in a way that other learning technologies have never done. Web-based training will remain predominant to the design and delivery of workplace learning in the 21st century because of its advantages over traditional classroom-based training. A comprehensive framework that…

Though deceptively simple to teach, chromatography presents many nuances and complex interactions that challenge both student and instructor. Time and instrumentation provide major obstacles to a thorough examination of these details in the laboratory. Modern chromatographic method-development software provides an opportunity to overcome this,…

This paper on quality and distance education argues that if the goal of education is to produce an independent learner, distance education is ideally suited to encourage effective independent learning when the instruction and programming is of a high quality. The paper first notes the Australian government's interest in promoting distance…

This manual is part of a Mexican series of instructional materials designed for Spanish speaking adults who are in the process of becoming literate or have recently become literate in their native language. The manual describes a carpentry course that is structured to appeal to the student as a self-directing adult. The following units are…