Pre-service teachers' reading habits and their literacy abilities affect their views toward teaching reading and writing and how they implement literacy instruction. This study explored the relationship between the past and current reading habits of pre-service teachers in relation to their reading and writing abilities. Participating teacher…

In the field of children's knowledge of the earth, much debate has concerned the question of whether children's naive knowledge--that is, their knowledge before they acquire the standard scientific theory--is coherent (i.e., theory-like) or fragmented. We conducted two studies with large samples (N = 328 and N = 381) using a new paper-and-pencil…

This study examined how instructional design (ID) experts used their prior knowledge and previous experiences to solve an ill-structured instructional design problem. Seven experienced designers used a think-aloud procedure to articulate their problem-solving processes while reading a case narrative. Results, presented in the form of four…

Every year a large percentage of the former students who respond to the Diploma, Associate Degree, and Certificate Student Outcomes (DACSO) Survey say they have taken previous post-secondary education, and more than half of those students report that they have completed a previous credential. The purpose of this paper is to look at these former…

The term "college kid" seems all but meaningless these days, given the rising numbers of adults on campus. The current economic downturn is funneling hundreds of thousands of over-25 Americans into postsecondary education--and that trend is sure to intensify as the global, knowledge-based economy demands workers with ever-higher levels of…

We used four different methods to determine the best means of assessing over 200 preservice elementary teachers' growth in knowledge of models and their use in K-8 classrooms while participating in the Science Capstone course that focused on the unifying themes of models in science. Each assessment method probed a different aspect of models (from…

"Learning to think is the real goal of educators," said Lauren Resnick, internationally known University of Pittsburgh professor of cognitive science, in mid-March at the Library of Congress (LOC). "The real pedagogical conflict is over what comes first: content or thinking skills?" According to Resnick, new brain research leads to the answer:…

This paper discusses the use of portfolio method in the process of assessment of non-formal and informal learning achievements (ANILA), with reference to the example of vocational teacher education. The purpose of the article is to explore the use of "portfolio" method as an opportunity to monitor the professional development of…

We investigated example choice as a new method for the teaching of formal theoretical principles. Formal principles are presented with several examples from different topics, and students choose the one that interests them most. Example choice might be related to prior knowledge, interest, or perceived control. In an experimental study, we…

This paper examines the role of prior knowledge in first year performance of undergraduate chemistry, considering specifically the context of general student aptitude. Statistical testing shows that there were significant differences between the mean scores of students who have and those who have not prior knowledge of chemistry in semester tests…

This combined quantitative and qualitative study examined the responses of students to participation in literature circles and the use of trade books in a university classroom. Students in an adolescence course participated in this strategy throughout the semester. The literature circles involved small groups of students who had chosen to read the…

This article reports on a survey of language study motivations for first-year language learners at two large private East Coast American universities. Surveys were completed by 401 students in courses for 19 different foreign languages. Forty percent of respondents were designated as heritage language learners (HLLs), and they were divided into…

Among social justice efforts to make curriculum more engaging and achieving for "less advantaged" learners, the Funds of Knowledge (FoK) approach, as developed by Moll, Gonzalez and associates (Gonzalez, Moll, & Amanti, 2005; Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992), offers sound conception and a track-record. The Redesigning…

Comprehension of complex science topics occurs from the creation of new understanding of the information by the learner. However, learners are not very successful generating their own meaning, especially in computer based learning environments in which learners are required to make decisions about their learning process, since they rarely regulate…

Constructivism is an important theory of learning that is used to guide the development of new teaching methods, particularly in science education. However, because it is a theory of learning and not of teaching, constructivism is often either misused or misunderstood. Here we describe the four essential features of constructivism: eliciting prior…