This article sets out to describe the PROFILES project, a European Commission FP7 science and society project, addresses problems and issues in science education by guiding teachers to embrace a range of teaching factors, such as a context-based approach, motivational constructivist learning; student centred inquiry teaching; enhancing cognitive…

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of Argumentation Based Science Teaching on 5th grade students' conceptual understanding of the subjects related to "Matter and Change". This research is a qualitative research and its design is a multiple (compare) case study. In this study, semi-structured interviews related to the…

Knowledge structure is an important aspect for defining students' competency in biology learning, but how knowledge structure is influenced by the teaching process in naturalistic biology classroom settings has scarcely been empirically investigated. In this study, 49 biology lessons in the teaching unit "blood and circulatory system" in…

The purpose of this article is to use a facet theory research approach to provide a clear, coherent, and integrated model of international students' experiences based upon the findings of psychological research into students when studying abroad. In research that employs a facet theory approach events are classified in terms of their constituent…

With increasing complexity in the world, universities continue to face pressure to demonstrate that their graduates have acquired skills beyond discipline-based knowledge. These are generic skills like critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, problem-solving and so forth. In order to demonstrate this, universities have to show how their teaching…

This article examines the contribution of older adults as co-researchers to the evaluation of a gerontological social work course. The evaluation was conducted at an Israeli college as part of a collaborative project with a United Kingdom university. Here, we follow the older adults who are service users through their transition to the role of…

Aimed at developing methods, tools and techniques for delivery and evaluation of an educational module, this article addresses the needs of academicians restructuring, adjusting and altering their curricula to meet European Higher Education Area standards. The paper focuses on two pressing issues -- the applicability of and adjustment to European…

What is analytical philosophy of education (APE)? And what has been its place in the history of the subject over the past 50 years? In a recent essay in "Ethics and Education" (Vol. 2, No. 2, October 2007) on 'Rival conceptions of the philosophy of education', Paul Standish described a number of features of APE. Relying on both historical and…

This paper reports an investigation into the effects of collaborative concept mapping in a digital learning environment, in terms of students' overall learning gains, knowledge retention, quality of student artefacts (the collaboratively created concept maps), interactive patterns, and learning perceptions. Sixty-four 12-year-old students from two…

Clients' perspectives on the therapeutic alliance were examined using written descriptions of factors that clients believed to be helpful in developing a strong alliance. Fifty participants sorted previously collected statements into thematically similar piles and then gave each set of statements a title. Multivariate concept mapping statistical…

The social-pragmatic theory of language acquisition proposes that children only become efficient at learning the meanings of words once they acquire the ability to understand the intentions of other agents, in particular the intention to communicate (Akhtar & Tomasello, 2000). In this paper we present a neural network model of word learning which…

We investigated 4- and 5-year-old children's mapping strategies in a spatial task. Children were required to find a picture in an array of three identical cups after observing another picture being hidden in another array of three cups. The arrays were either aligned one behind the other in two rows or placed side by side forming one line.…

These two studies investigated the university student clients' perspective on factors that hinder the counseling alliance. In Study 1, twelve university students identified alliance-hindering factors while watching a videotape of their third or fourth counseling session. In total, 74 factors (in the form of participant statements) were elicited…

Children's drawings are one of the most appropriate approach to knowing children, their individuality and also their perceptions. Child is not always able to express their thoughts precisely, because their vocabulary is still incomplete and is gained just lately. In our paper we concentrate on drawing as a communication means, with which we can…

Much of the national attention on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education tends to concentrate on science and mathematics, with its emphasis on standardized test scores. However as the National Academy of Engineering Committee on K-12 Engineering Education stressed, engineering can contribute to the development of an…