People learn in many different ways and in many different places. What is learned informally or experientially is often the same or similar to what may be learned in traditional formal learning environments. There are many reasons why recognizing experiential learning is viable educational option, more so in today's economy than ever before. Prior…

This article articulates a framework for examining the quality of formative assessment practice and provides empirical evidence in support of one of its components. Based on a study of middle school science, the study examines the accuracy of teachers' judgments of students' understanding and the relationship of such accuracy to middle school …

Special Education (SPED) in Scotland was a six-week study abroad program where pre-service special education teachers lived with host families and observed in Scottish schools in the area of special education. The program included coursework in the area of Emotional Behavioral Disabilities and traveling. This study sought to determine the impact…

This study sought to examine the nature and dimensions of prior knowledge among undergraduates in an economics course at the Open University of the Netherlands (OuN). A total of 22 law and 55 economics students enrolled in two economics courses were given a 154-item domain-specific knowledge test, which was then analyzed independently by three…

By using ill-structured problems and examining problem- solving processes, this study was conducted to explore the nature of solving complex, multistep problems, focusing on how prior knowledge, problem-solving process utilization, and analogical problem solving are related to success. Twenty-four college students qualified to participate by…

In attempts to understand the process of literacy acquisition, many researchers have devised models of reading. The basic elements of most reading acquisition models include word, or print knowledge and comprehension. The inadequacy and global nature of the conversational model of language proficiency provide impetus for C.E. Snow's development of…

This bulletin describes the use of new qualifications, the General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQ), which have been developed in Great Britain to qualify students for admittance to higher education through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). The first part of the bulletin discusses the suitability of GNVQs as a route…

A study investigated the relationships among prior topic knowledge, information in elementary science text, and the construction of visual representation of key text ideas. Eight preservice elementary teachers were first interviewed on two topics in science ("how plants get their food" and "air and weather"); then they read…

A study investigated the effects of text processing orientations and reader-generated versus text-based comprehension aids on readers' comprehension of expository text. The processing orientations included memory-oriented processing, organization-oriented processing, understanding-oriented processing, and a read and study control. Subjects, 136…

The effects of prior knowledge on miscues were examined by requiring 20 second-grade average to above average readers to read an expository passage orally. They were divided into two sample groups. The control group was asked to read the passage with no prior instruction. The experimental group was given prior instruction, which consisted of…

A study investigated the knowledge kindergartners have constructed about the content and purpose of print in a variety of forms. It sought to identify their perceptions about literacy episodes that occur in the home, and to identify differences across socioeconomic levels. Subjects were 70 kindergarten children in or near a large Southern city,…

The conceptual development of schema theory, the way an individual organizes knowledge, is discussed, reviewing a range of perspectives regarding schema. Schema has been defined as the interfacing of incoming information with prior knowledge, clustered in networks. These networks comprise a superordinate concept and supporting information. The…

This article presents an empirical example of what a process of mobilisation and disciplination could mean in practice. The example is taken from a "validation" initiative (recognition of prior learning) among a small group of unemployed people in Sweden. An ethnographic approach means that data were collected, mainly through…

A Australian study examined the effect of prior educational, professional, and teaching experiences on technical and further education teachers' approaches to their formal studies for educational diplomas. Thirty teachers (24 males and 6 females) enrolled in diploma courses in education completed the survey instrument; 15 were graduates of degree…

When using outside sources in their writing, students must learn to balance efficiency with effectiveness. In other words, they must express themselves clearly and quickly, providing readers with enough explicit information to create a causal chain based on reasonable inferences. Yet they must guard against being overly explicit, boring their…