Today's world requires citizens to make informed decisions by critically evaluating evidence and alternative explanations. The purpose of this study was to explore pre-service elementary teachers' capability of building a model--evidence link, their evaluation levels on the topic of wetlands, and their evaluations of the trustworthiness of the…

The original working definition of competency-based education was developed in 2011 at the National Summit for K-12 Competency-Based Education (Sturgis, Patrick, & Pittenger, 2011). The Summit was hosted by the Aurora Institute (formerly iNACOL) and the Council of Chief State School Officers, with more than 100 education innovators and…

This conceptual work examines the misappropriation of culturally responsive pedagogy by identifying ways in which misappropriations commonly occur in urban teaching and learning environments. They include culturally responsive practices as a smokescreen of good intentions, culture as a hook to gain students' attention, and culturally responsive…

Autism spectrum disorder in China differs considerably from autism spectrum disorder in the West in terms of prevalence estimates, education opportunities, and life outcomes of autistic people. The lack of autism spectrum disorder awareness could be a key factor underlying the disparities. To date, there has been no evaluation of autism spectrum…

Background/Context: Working towards social justice in education requires students' voices to be heard and understood (Mansfield, 2014). This is especially the case for students from marginalized populations. Prior research has shown the value and importance of students' voices for school retention, academic success, school inclusivity, and student…

This qualitative study examined preservice and early career teachers' preconceptions and misconceptions about making in education. Eighty-two preservice and early career teachers participated in brief, one-time maker workshops, then wrote reflections on their experiences. Using constant comparative analysis, researchers uncovered two common…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the conceptions and misconceptions of instructors pertaining to their roles and competencies in distance education. Case study research design was adopted within the study. The participants, nine instructors in a public university delivering the courses in fully distance programs, was selected by using…

"Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in"--Isaac Asimov. The persistent underutilization of the diverse U.S. talent pool in science is a complex problem that defies simple explanation. Despite the demonstrated value of diversity (e.g., Page, 2007), articles and…

Student misconceptions are an obstacle in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses and unless remediated may continue causing difficulties in learning as students advance in their studies. Writing-to-learn assignments (WTL) are characterized by their ability to promote in-depth conceptual learning by allowing students to explore…

The present study describes the development and field testing of a simple apparatus-based diagnostic instrument (SABDI) that examines undergraduate students' understanding of the underlying physics principles that explain how simple acoustic apparatuses work. SABDI comprises 13 items. Based on previous research studies and the history of science,…

This study investigated how studying a refutational map, a type of argument map, affected conceptual change. Refutational maps visually display both correct and alternative conceptions. Participants (N = 120) were randomly assigned to (1) a refutational map condition, (2) a refutational text condition, and (3) a non-refutational text condition.…

The purpose of this article is to analyse some of the key ongoing debates in transnational higher education (TNHE). First, we discuss a selection of the claimed benefits and drawbacks of TNHE for home and host country stakeholders (students, governments and institutions), and then we suggest alternative realities, for which there appears to be…

The Internet poses a variety of risks at both the individual and societal levels including scams and the spread of misinformation. Older adults are especially vulnerable to many of these risks. This paper argues that one important strategy for combating such threats is through digital media literacy education. Although a good deal of research on…

This paper examines and critiques the accountability movement, high-stakes testing, and their relationship to the achievement gap. Analyzing the issues in the context of Texas, the paper discusses dropout rates that were incorrectly identified and reported, the role of courts and specific court cases in high-stakes testing, ethical considerations,…

Increasing numbers of states have incorporated measures of students' academic growth into their data and accountability policies. Measuring growth is a statistically complicated task and complex growth measures can be easy to misinterpret. This paper reports on a survey of 317 Massachusetts principals' understanding of the Student Growth…