The didactic function of business games is often seen only in the development of sociocommunicative competences and general problem-solving strategies. An equally important aspect of business games lies in the acquirement of technical and problem-oriented knowledge, which is the focus of this article. Moreover, this knowledge dimension is further…

As lecturers of English and Spanish for international students in higher education, we frequently read reflections supporting the notion that the interaction between teacher and student has a direct influence on their learning and possibly even on their future studies and lives. Using examples taken from language learning histories, student course…

For too long, educators have held diminishing beliefs about Latino students' home life. Such beliefs are irrelevant except for the fact that students do not leave their culture at home; rather, home life is closely intertwined with their learning. Language and culture play a major role in students' learning and parents figure prominently in their…

The phenomenon of violence, in its different forms and varieties; the peak of aggravated nationalists and extremists; poverty; the different movements of migration; the role of religion, the perception of the deterioration of politics; the need for an impulse of associated movement; the need to adapt to the roles that should confront the…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Learning Progressions in Science: A New Approach Emphasizes Sustained Instruction in Big Ideas (Patti Hartigan); (2) Putting the "Boy Crisis" in…

There is consistent evidence which shows that technology can and does improve attainment in almost all subjects. However, many teachers, who belong to the "digital immigrant" group, are not as plugged in with ICT [Information and Communication Technologies] as most of their students --"digital natives"--, and often feel scared to work with a new…

Over the past few years, the California educational system made the headlines in the newspapers, magazines, and radio stations describing the constant decline of our students' test scores, and the increasing number of Hispanic and African American students leaving California high schools. The public is asking why this is happening, and with the…

Learning occurs through various processes. Among these processes, conceptual change has a pivotal part. This article discusses briefly conceptual change in physics. Anchoring on Kuhn's original explanation of theory change in science, this article elaborates especially on the influence of children's science concepts in general, and pre-conceptions…

Assessment is a hotly contested issue in education today. The education policy No Child Left Behind (NCLB) emphasizes standardized testing throughout a child's schooling as a major means of assessment. Even at Head Start an attempt was made at standardized testing using the National Reporting System (NRS). Although research indicates that these…

Almost ubiquitous in discourses about the development of teachers, reflective practice describes the process that occurs when persons are apprenticed to any meaningful activity. But reflective practice is a descriptive term for that process: it does not imply that the process is itself open to dissection and instruction. We contend that mistaken…

This paper discusses concepts of learning through "collaborative multimodal dialogue". It draws on an ESRC-funded study (RES-000-22-2451) investigating 3- and 4-year-old children's encounters with literacy as they engage with a range of printed and digital technologies at home and in a nursery. The study goes beyond analysis of spoken language,…

The teaching and learning movement in sociology in general and within the American Sociological Association specifically has a surprisingly long history. This history can be divided into three periods of activity: early efforts (1905 to 1960), innovation and implementation (1960 to 1980), and the institutionalization of gains (1980 to 2009).…

In introducing the articles in this issue, Black and McCormick are struck by two features. The first is that they comprise a rich set of resources for stimulating further thinking about tertiary education. The second, which follows from the first, is that they raise possibilities for further development of this field. They draw attention, in…

Internationally, recognition is growing that the transition between post-primary and higher education is raising a number of challenges for both students and educators. Simultaneously with growing class sizes, resources have become more constrained and there is a new set of expectations from the "net generation" (Mohanna, 2007, p. 211…

With the 2010 Winter Olympic Games prominent in the media, children were exposed to images of athletes skiing down snow-covered slopes, coasting furiously on bobsleds, and skating gracefully across the ice. Therefore, the authors capitalized on their children's natural curiosity about the world around them by exploring the concept of motion in a…