State accountability systems that are based on test data and the No Child Left Behind Act have put educators under great pressure to improve their students' scores on standardized tests. Much has been written about the possibility that school faculties will resort to "drill and kill," a response that will reduce the quality of children's…

This article addresses the issue of second language writing, with English as a second language, for advanced learners in a UK university. Confirming research findings about the limitations of second language writing, we examine the translation commentaries written by 14 Chinese students on a MA translation programme and find learner problems in…

Problem solving is an ideal learning strategy, especially for topics that are perceived as difficult to teach. As an example, a format is described for a problem-solving session designed to help students understand the pressure-flow hypothesis of phloem transport in plants. Five key facts and their discussion can lead to the conclusion that a…

In this paper we discuss a variety of writing, reading and assessment techniques used in an elementary problem-solving class for pre-service K-8 teachers at Western Oregon University. We share our experience in teaching problem-solving strategies through selection and creation of quality word problems, problem-solving assessment and the Oregon…

Over the years, family and consumer sciences (FCS) classrooms have provided education for all students--from the gifted and talented to the mentally challenged. The typical classroom environment is warm, inviting, and realistic. Students work together to apply knowledge to real life experiences. The importance of reading, writing, math, and…

Contextual teaching and learning is a relatively new concept in the field of education. However, the principles and practices of contextual teaching and learning have been around for centuries (Dijkstra, 1998). Contextual teaching and learning is defined as a conception of teaching and learning that helps teachers relate subject matter content to…

Business needs in many corporations call for learning outcomes that involve problem solutions, and creating and sharing new knowledge within workplace situations that may involve collaboration among members of a team. We argue that work-based activities (WBA) and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) are appropriate components for…

Modern education is in a state of global crisis partially because of the absence of a value-based design of its strategic functions. Education affects the whole spectrum of human values, namely, creative, experiential, aesthetic, material, instrumental, ethical, social, and spiritual values. A student whose educational experience involves this…

The results are described of two case studies on the conceptions and classroom practice of two Portuguese physics and chemistry teachers on the role of problem solving in the teaching/learning of science. One of these teachers was a novice and the other had about 20 years of teaching experience. The data were obtained from a questionnaire, a…

Conceptual development in the field of Educational Technology provides crucial theoretical grounding for ongoing research and practice. This essay draws from theoretical developments both within and external to the field of Educational Technology to articulate a systems definition of Educational Technology in Society. A systems definition of…

Most teachers have attended countless workshops that advocated new teaching methods, materials, or techniques in addressing special student populations. They politely listen as a series of presenters enthusiastically introduce their information in written and verbal form. They return to the classroom, fully intending to use their new skills, but…

Rapid advancements in hardware, software, and connectivity are helping to shorten the times needed to develop computer simulations for science education. These advancements, however, have not been accompanied by corresponding theories of how best to design and use these technologies for teaching, learning, and testing. Such design frameworks…

This paper outlines the practical aspects of a project aimed to offer access to numerate knowledge for preschool children by providing them with take-home numeracy kits. A Koori preschool in an urban regional area of New South Wales, Australia, was involved in the project. The centre catered for 18 four- and five-year-old children. The two main…

A problem solving protocol is described and then applied to a teacher training problematic situation in science and technology education. The problem consists of improving a learning community involved in education research, development and communication. Some remarks concerning the strengths and limitations of using the protocol are made in…

Transformational Events is a new pedagogic pattern that explains how innovations (and other transformations) happened. The pattern is three temporal stages: an interval of increasingly unsatisfactory ad hoc solutions to a persistent problem (the "mess"), an offer of an invention or of a new way of thinking, and a period of widespread adoption and…