Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore strategies to develop communities of practice (CoP) to improve teaching in a school context. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional questionnaire is developed to collect data from participants in a project that aims to cultivate a CoP to improve their small class teaching skills. A total of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to examine the additive and joint effects of trainer directiveness and trainees' learning goal orientation on training satisfaction and transfer. Design/methodology/approach: Survey responses from a sample (N = 243) of undergraduate business students enrolled at a large US university were examined. Findings:…

To function in today's diverse and multicultural environment, workers must be properly prepared; yet teaching diversity is not an easy task. This article explores some of the challenges of diversity and proposes the use of conversational learning to make teaching more effective in preparing students and employees for the workplace. In addition, a…

It is well known that the regulation of processes is an important factor in problem solving from Grade 7 to university level (cf. Mevarech & Kramarski, 1997; Schoenfeld, 1985). We do not, however, know much about the problem-solving competencies of younger children (cf. Heinze, 2007, p. 15). Do the results of studies also hold true for…

Beliefs about the nature of knowledge, termed "epistemological beliefs", are relevant to understanding educational strategies of both learners and teachers. Epistemological beliefs arguably have particular relevance in the discipline and profession of psychology, due to an emphasis on integration of knowledge from multiple theoretical…

This article explores the possibility of developing an ethico-politically coherent and practical research framework for studying the learning and knowledge-production and dissemination processes of utopian groups and movements. It seeks to develop understanding of utopias by identifying and conceptualizing their pedagogical aspects. At the same…

The facilitative effect of retrieval practice, or testing, on the probability of later retrieval has been the focus of much recent empirical research. A lesser known benefit of retrieval practice is that it may also enhance the ability of a learner to benefit from a subsequent restudy opportunity. This facilitative effect of retrieval practice on…

This paper examines the evolution of the professional identities of student teachers (STs) in a paired-placement teaching practicum in Vietnam. The study draws on activity theory, its notion of contradiction, and Vygotsky's concepts of ZPD and "perezhivanie", to identify the factors driving the intricate learning process. Opportunities…

Physical and sport educators who incorporate cultural negotiation acknowledge that their teaching, routines, and plans for learning encompass a cultural act. In today's society, culture-free teaching or learning is nonexistent. Education is woven into the fabric of nearly every group; therefore, recognizing the impact of cultural norms on the…

Foundational studies in decision making focused on behavior as the most accessible and reliable data on which to build theories of choice. More recent work, however, has incorporated neural data to provide insights unavailable from behavior alone. Among other contributions, these studies have validated reinforcement learning models by…

Background: A re-analysis of several university-level interview studies has suggested that some students show evidence of a deep and stable approach to learning, along with other characteristics that support the approach. This combination, it was argued, could be seen to indicate a "disposition to understand for oneself." Aim: To…

Through socio-cultural analysis of the discourse of bullying, the present article aims to show that moral learning is less about teaching children the difference between right and wrong and more about making available to them what Tappan and Wertsch describe as the mediational means to engage in their own moral learning. Bullying is explained in…

Participants tend to initiate immediate free recall (IFR) of short lists of words with the very first word on the list. Three experiments examined whether rehearsal is necessary for this recent finding. In Experiment 1, participants were presented with lists of between 2 and 12 words for IFR at a fast, medium, or slow rate, with and without…

This article discusses how mapping techniques were used in university teaching in a humanities subject. The use of concept mapping was expanded as a pedagogical tool, with a focus on reflective learning processes. Data were collected through a longitudinal study of concept mapping in a university-level Classics course. This was used to explore how…

In our article, we explore the possibility of formulating theses about teaching as one way to use research as a basis for educational action. The theses are formulated from current educational research on teaching and learning in higher education. We also explore the potential for action and the consequences derived from the theses. With our…