A theoretical reflection on epistemology is presented. The important role of epistemological analysis in research in mathematics education is discussed. I analyze the epistemological evolution as a consequence of the changes in the mathematical culture and demonstrate how the epistemological analysis is tightly linked to the cultural dimension.…

The traditional way of teaching research often lacks actual information-literacy instruction and, thus, fails to teach students how to be independent researchers. Teachers may help students regain curiosity by guiding them to shift their idea of research from a fact-finding and presentation exercise to a process of inquiry that includes gathering…

This study focused on college students' development of conceptual knowledge in geographic information system (GIS). The aim of this study was to examine if and how students developed their conceptual knowledge during their enrollment in an introductory-level GIS course. Twelve undergraduate students constructed 36 concept maps and revised 24…

Education research is a vast, multi-disciplinary field. In trying to understand it or make judgments about importance, influence, or where the action is, it can be helpful to see the big picture and not be swayed by where we happen to sit in the field. A map of education research derived from citation data can help us see the big picture.…

This paper presents a partial mapping of the field of rural literacies that has emerged following the publication of Edmondson's "Prairie Town" (2003) and Donehower et al.'s "Rural Literacies" (2007). These two texts presented the idea that rural places and spaces can be used to think about literacy practices in the context of…

Current research in physics shows that pre-service teachers have poor content knowledge in vector-kinematics. This study describes the types of categories of conceptions pre-service teachers display in vector-kinematics. Descriptive and interpretive qualitative research was conducted in which the data were concept maps from 28 third-year…

The main objective of this paper is to propose a didactic framework for teaching Applied Mathematics in higher education. After describing the structure of the framework, several applications of inquiry-based learning in teaching numerical analysis and optimization are provided to illustrate the potential of the proposed framework. The framework…

The important role of vocabulary has long been established in second language acquisition, and many theories have been proposed for vocabulary teaching and learning. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of concept mapping and notebook keeping on self-regulation in vocabulary learning. To this aim, 90 female language learners in three…

The authors propose a definition of Smart Learning linked to digital technologies to see how effective these technologies can enable and empower learning. It is argued that smart learning requires smart thinking to underpin the learning process and knowledge outcomes. This assumption requires a more sophisticated understanding and design of the…

Purpose of this study is to determine cognitive structures, conceptual knowledge and misconceptions of the 8th grade students concerning concepts of citizenship through a word association test. In direction of this purpose, a word association test consisting of democracy, sovereignty, independency, freedom, right and responsibility concepts have…

Background: Despite increasing attention to STEM education worldwide, there is considerable uncertainty as to what constitutes STEM education and what it means in terms of curriculum and student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the commonalities and variations in educators' conceptualizations of STEM education. Sensemaking…

M3CA is a model of mastery learning developed in a college classroom, and an acronym for Mastery, Concept Maps, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Assessment. The M3CA model is a formative model of skill based mastery learning and assessment that produces high levels of academic achievement and empowers students with a feeling of fairness.…

Learning Mathematics in Primary Schools is often mediated through the use of multiple representations. However, teachers may not pay enough attention to the way they use these representations. Given that the translations among representations may not always be smooth, it may be insightful to examine how teachers mediate learning through the use of…

Electronically mediated technologies are prohibited from use in a major assessment component of a blended learning subject. This subject employs a multidisciplinary problem-based approach to explore international issues and perspectives using a rich blend of face-to-face, electronically mediated, individual and team-based activities. The…

The authors present an empirical analysis of what is taught in core micro-economics at a set of top U.S. doctoral economics programs. Their aim is to evaluate the diversity across programs and assess whether there are distinct "schools of thought" in graduate economics education. Their empirical findings reveal substantial, in fact,…