High-stakes testing and accountability implicate failing schools more frequently and more precisely than ever before. Consequently, efforts to turn around these schools have become paramount for educators, policy actors, and community members. Through a synthesis of research on failing schools, this article unpacks the constructs of school failure…

This article addresses the challenges that Garnett suggests face higher education through the lens of Bourdieu. In taking up the challenge set by Garnett for higher education in the knowledge economy and responding to its powerful and primary artefact--intellectual capital--the article reviews and uses the analytical tool of Bourdieu's practice in…

This study of middle-school students in California focused on the effectiveness of using innovative teaching strategies for enhancing the classroom environment, students' attitudes and conceptual development. A sample of 661 students from 22 classrooms in four inner city schools completed modified forms of the Constructivist Learning Environment…

This paper presents the systematic development of a "Uses and Gratification Expectancy" (UGE) conceptual framework which is able to predict students' "Perceived e-Learning Experience." It is argued that students' UGE as regards e-learning resources cannot be implicitly or explicitly explored without first examining underlying communication…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the conceptual change text oriented instruction over traditionally designed instruction on ninth grade students' understanding of the human circulatory system concepts, and their retention of this understanding. The subjects of this study consist of 73 ninth grade female students…

Over the last 20 years special education teachers have emerged as a distinct but heterogeneous occupational group in Greece. This paper looks at how special education teachers perceive their job and their role. I explore how teachers give meaning to their experiences and how these experiences influence their practice. The different discourses and…

Recent research on principles of best practice for designing effective multimedia instruction has rarely taken into account students' alternative conceptions, which are known to strongly influence learning. The goal of this study was to determine how well students of quantum mechanics could learn "vicariously" by watching a student-tutor dialogue…

This paper reports on a study that examined the cumulative effects on students' learning of science, and perceptions of the role of writing in learning, when the students engaged in multiple writing tasks with planning strategy support. The study was conducted with Year 10 biology students who completed two consecutive units on Cells and Molecular…

Poetry should be an integral part of children's learning in elementary school. This article explains the classroom structures and routines through which third-grade students in an inner-city school became familiar with poetic language and learned to appreciate the artistry of poetry. Most of the students were struggling readers. Reading poetry…

This paper presents findings from a qualitative study that compared the learning experiences of a group of students from a technology-based college-level introductory statistics course with the learning experiences of a group of students with non-technology-based instruction. Findings from the study indicate differences with regards to classroom…

The research objectives were to identify the middle level mathematics teachers' conceptions of mathematics teaching and learning and ascertain changes in their conceptions and instructional behavior at the end of a three-year professional development (PD) project. These changes were studied through the qualitative analysis of their reflective…

In children, concepts develop in a spiral, with the child at the center. A positive self-concept begins within a responsive caregiving environment. Concepts build upon one another. The more ideas and memories that a child has about the way the world and relationships work, the easier it is to develop further ideas. Once a child realizes, for…

Clickers are electronic response devices with which a student can remotely submit responses to questions or problems posed by a teacher. The problems are typically true-false or multiple-choice questions, but can also include numerical problems. Clicker devices are particularly popular in large-enrollment introductory science, technology,…

Although researchers in higher education propose alternatives to traditional approaches to assessment, traditional methods are commonly used in college or university science courses. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility and validity of Prospective Science Teachers' (PSTs) concept maps as authentic assessment tools in a…

It is important to incorporate visual thinking into science instruction. Imagination and perception play vital roles in scientific inquiry. Metaphors, like perceptions, are drawn from common experiences and are a means to anchor scientists' thought processes in generating a pattern that bridges the gap between the seen and the unseen. Metaphors…