"Effective Use of Collective Peer Teaching in Teacher Education" investigates the learning benefits of letting students assume leadership roles in the classroom, emphasizing both theoretical analysis and firsthand empirical research conducted with pre-service teachers. Building on Vygotsky's (1987) sociocultural theory of human learning…

"Motivation and Emotion in Learning and Teaching across Educational Contexts" brings together current theoretical and methodological perspectives as well as examples of empirical implementations from leading international researchers focusing on the context specificity and situatedness of their core theories in motivation and emotion.…

Directed motivational currents (DMCs) are goal-directed motivational surges in pursuit of a much-desired personal outcome. This book introduces the reader to cutting-edge theory and research in second language learner motivation and presents empirical research which investigates DMCs in the context of language learning. The studies explore the…

In addition to providing a set of techniques to analyze educational data, I claim that data science as a field can provide broader insights to education research. In particular, I show how the bias-variance tradeoff from machine learning can be formally generalized to be applicable to several prominent educational debates, including debates around…

This book examines the role of interlocutors and their individual differences (IDs) in second language (L2) development from four theoretical lenses: the cognitive-interactionist approach, sociocultural theory, the variationist approach, and complex dynamic systems theory. A theoretical overview to each approach is written by a preeminent scholar…

This book critiques dominant discourses and debates pertaining to cultural identity, set against the current backdrop of growing social stratification and unequal access to quality education. It addresses current discourses concerning globalisation, ideologies and the state, as well as approaches to constructing national, ethnic and religious…

Originally published as a special issue of the "Middle School Journal," this book presents integrative curriculum as a foundational element of the middle school. By addressing the current gap in literature on curriculum integration in the middle grades, this text explores how learning can be organized around authentic concepts or…

This book is unique in bringing together theory, research, and practice about English encountered outside the classroom -- extramural English -- and how it affects teaching and learning. The book investigates ways in which learners successfully develop their language skills through extramural English and provides tools for teachers to make use of…

"Approaches and Strategies in Next Generation Science Learning" examines the challenges involved in the development of modern curriculum models, teaching strategies, and assessments in science education in order to prepare future students in the 21st century economies. This comprehensive collection of research brings together science educators,…

Most educators are familiar with Lev Vygotsky's concept of the "zone of proximal development," yet the bulk of Vygotsky's pioneering theory of cognitive development largely remains unknown. This volume provides a systematic, authoritative overview of Vygotsky's work and its implications for educational research and practice. Major topics include…

Describes an experiment exploring the effectiveness of four teaching methods: formal teaching, guided discovery, free discovery, and play. Concludes that all methods except free discovery are effective as long as memory is emphasized. Includes the tests used for the experiment in four appendices. Relates present results to previous research. (DK)

Examines the composing processes of basic writers, examining their tendencies toward writer's block, low-level goals, and writer-based prose. Suggests that basic writers be taught that the purpose of writing is to communicate with other people and that errors, revisions, and general messiness are part of the complicated process. (PAA)

This commentary on a paper by L. Heshusius (EC 600 327) argues that, rather than rejecting empiricism, postmechanistic science embraces a more sophisticated view of empiricism and scientific method. The commentary also supports direct instruction with the use of multiple measures of educational progress, quantitative and qualitative alike. (JDD)

This paper presents a brief review of the literature on instructional theory and a brief rationale for the development of such theory, then discusses an ongoing project in developing such theory from basic postulates of learning. An overview of a comprehensive, integrated learning model, based on information processing theory and necessary for…

Offers an analytical model to assist teachers and students in decoding social and cultural meaning embedded in the visual track of any given television program. To illustrate the model, the Public Broadcasting System's production of "The Scarlet Letter" is analyzed. (MBR)