The purpose of this study was to understand middle school teachers' perspectives on the role of homework. Approximately 118 middle school teachers volunteered to complete open-ended surveys describing their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of homework. Qualitative analysis revealed teachers identified several instructional and…

Flexibility in transforming algebraic expressions is recognized as fundamental for a rich procedural knowledge. Here, flexibility in-depth is proposed as the ability to apply one strategy to a wide range of unfamiliar expressions. In this study, design experiments with four groups of students were conducted to support students' flexibility…

Building on a pedagogical model designed to support the teaching and learning of the language of science investigation practices with middle school emergent bilingual learners, we developed a series of soccer and science investigations to promote interest and engagement in science learning. We used assemblage theory to study how students engaged…

Critical consciousness refers to the ways in which individuals come to understand and challenge oppressive social forces. Philosopher-educator Paulo Freire argued that critical curiosity--an eagerness to learn more about and develop a deep understanding of issues of social justice--serves as an important catalyst to critical consciousness…

Problem solving is not simply a process that ends when an answer is found; it is a scientific process that evolves from understanding the problem to evaluating the solution. This process is affected by several factors. Among these, one of the most substantial is belief. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the beliefs of high school students…

It is aimed in this research to measure via knowledge hierarchy the things regarding exhibit themes learned by the visitors of the exhibits and compare them with the purpose that the exhibits are designed for, thereby realizing a summative evaluation of the exhibits by knowledge hierarchy method. The research has been conducted in a children's…

We present the results of an in-depth qualitative study that examined ninth graders' conceptual and procedural knowledge of fractions as well as their approach to mathematics learning, in particular fraction learning. We traced individual differences, even extreme, in the way that students combine the two kinds of knowledge. We also provide…

This qualitative study investigated a 'personal education' program that operates in some middle schools in Israel. This article focuses on three teachers in three different Jewish Israeli middle schools, and their students, and the intrapersonal and interpersonal teaching and learning processes in their classrooms. The theories of Dewey, Piaget…

The use of learning itineraries based on conceptual maps is studied in order to propose a more flexible instructional design that strengthens the learning process focused on the student, generating non-linear processes, characterising its elements, setting up relationships between them and shaping a general model with specifications for each…

When inquiry-based learning is designed for a collaborative context, the interactions that arise in the learning environment can become fairly complex. While the learning effectiveness of such learning environments has been reported in the literature, there have been fewer studies on the students' learning processes. To address this, the article…

This study is concerned with the reflective practices of middle school teachers. Based on Dewey's theory of reflective practice and Schon's types of reflection, this experience is one of student learning, relationships, curriculum planning, and lesson delivery. This is a qualitative study using the research method of phenomenology through…

The goal of this study was to develop a classification for a range of discourse patterns that occur in text-based asynchronous discussion forums, and that can aid in the distinction of three modes of discourse: knowledge sharing, knowledge construction, and knowledge building. The dataset was taken from Knowledge Forum® databases in the Knowledge…

We present an analysis of students' reflective writing (diaries) of two cohorts of Grade 8 students, one undergoing inquiry and the other traditional science teaching. Students' writing included a summary of what students had learned in class on that day and their opinions and feelings about the class. The entries were analysed qualitatively and…

This case study reports on a student with special education needs in an inclusive seventh grade life science classroom using a framework of disability studies in education. Classroom data collected over 13 weeks consisted of qualitative (student and classroom observations, interviews, student work samples and video-taped classroom teaching and…

Preconceptions are a crucial factor in the educational learning process. Hence, the investigation of preconceptions is important for learning and teaching in the field of geography. This study examines the preconceptions of 12- and 13-year-old students, regarding the major environmental problem of "desertification." The students'…