Although all of us must teach against the text at times, I find myself doing this most often when teaching about qualitative methods in the context of a general introductory methods course. Myths about the nature and practice of qualitative research are both embedded in the folklore of mainstream sociology and supported by the textbooks that we…

Cabri3D is a potentially very useful software for learning and teaching 3D geometry. The dynamic nature of the digital diagrams produced with it provides a useful aid for helping students to better develop concept images of geometric concepts. However, since any Cabri3D diagram represents three-dimensional objects on the two dimensional screen of…

In this article, the author uses a comparison of various measures of success for developmental students at Patrick Henry Community College with the faculty's perceptions of these measures to break down misconceptions and stereotypes about developmental education and provide ever-needed credibility and acceptance for developmental programs.…

In a classroom, a teacher attempts to convey his or her knowledge to the students, and thus it is important for the teacher to obtain formative feedback about how well students are understanding the new material. By gaining insight into the students' understanding and possible misconceptions, the teacher will be able to adjust the teaching and to…

Becoming a teacher is hard work. A sizable body of research indicates that student teaching internships or other field-based practica are a particularly difficult part of this process. Many preservice teachers have misconceptions about the work of teachers and teaching; when they begin their field placements they often feel disillusioned by the…

Geography is at once described as valuable and misunderstood. Its continued place in the curriculum arguably depends on reconciling these contrasting perceptions, and ensuring that curriculum decisions are based on realistic assumptions. This includes students' assumptions about the subject. This research employed synergetic focus groups to…

The present study investigates the performance of 96 Cantonese-speaking three- to five-year-old preschoolers on three false belief tasks--a deceptive object, a change of location, and an unexpected contents task encompassing a variety of task factors. Most importantly, the research examines the possibility that false belief performance depends on…

In his assessment of the current state of e-book technology, David Rothman illustrates the value of e-books for educators, accounts for why the technology has not been more widely embraced, and discusses new developments that suggest a better future for e-books. For educators, particularly distance educators, e-books hold great potential to…

The introduction of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) by David Hestenes and colleagues in 1992 produced a remarkable impact within the community of physics teachers. An instrument to measure student comprehension of the Newtonian concept of force, the FCI demonstrates that active learning leads to far superior student conceptual learning than…

There are many questions to be asked about the pedagogical practice of questioning. Questions provide insight into what students at any age or grade level already know about a topic, which provides a beginning point for teaching. Questions reveal misconceptions and misunderstandings that must be addressed for teachers to move student thinking…

Concept learning in science and mathematics had often times been taught based on assumptions of alternative concepts or even in some instances based on misconceptions. Some educational researchers favour a constructivist approach in teaching science and mathematics. The constructivist literature existing makes use of alternative conceptions as…

Purpose: With a philosophical stance in relation to education, this paper aims to discuss different understandings of participation in an information and communication technology (ICT)-supported distance-based teacher education program in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on early results from two studies, both of which…

This study explores changes of the tenth-grade students' conceptions about acids and bases by using conceptual change text oriented instruction accompanied with analogies. Since conceptual change is viewed not only as a process of replacement of old concepts but also a process of learning to relate ideas to appropriate contexts, the instruction…

We designed an interrupted case study to teach aerobic cellular respiration to major and nonmajor biology students. The case is based loosely on a real-life incident of rotenone poisoning. It places students in the role of a coroner who must determine the cause of death of the victim. The case is presented to the students in four parts. Each part…

Research suggests that the relief (substitute) teacher should be viewed as an extremely important educational resource. Reviewed literature spanning the better part of twenty years indicates that in parts of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, many students spend as much as one full year (or more) of their K-12 education having…