A Web-based electronic portfolio, CoCoFolio, was developed for enriching students' learning by collaboration. CoCoFolio consists of two collaboration tools: a multi-layer drawing tool, CoCoBoard, and a small bulletin board, Discussion Board, for each student's submission. These tools support a series of expression activities: expression, sharing,…

Since risk suffuses human life and trust helps breaks the paralysis of dealing with risk, a philosophy of education must account for the relationship between risk and trust. Keith Lehrer (in progress) has developed a philosophy that seeks to prepare students for knowing as human beings actually know things, suggesting that knowledge is a matter of…

The pressure to get students to write effectively and to think critically, and the role that literature plays in this task, is a recurring issue in the history of English instruction. In part, this debate stems from contradictory philosophies of the goals of an introductory writing class held by both writing program administrators and composition…

This paper briefly reviews the learning outcome aspects of seven recent follow-up studies completed for seven different transfer discipline areas at William Rainey Harper College (Illinois). It notes an increasing interest by the field of institutional research in evaluating how students learn. Faculty in the fields of psychology, English,…

Investigations of changes in conceptions during physics instruction are the logical and necessary steps to follow successful international research on students' preinstructional conceptions. The theoretical perspective integrates currently available frameworks of cognition, cognitive states, and cognitive processes in physics. Particular emphasis…

Many times, college students are exposed to the communication discipline solely through the basic public speaking course, allowing limited opportunity to experience critical thinking and writing within the discipline. This paper examines the importance of teaching critical thinking and writing skills in the basic course, encouraging educators to…

In order to directly relate research on children's thinking to curriculum development in the social studies, this study approximates the conditions and substances of daily classroom life and examines the levels of abstraction in children's thinking about complex social problems. The subjects include 210 boys and girls in equal numbers in grades…

Discussion of the view of education as a process of development, rather than as knowledge acquisition, focuses on the use of computers and other new information technologies (NITs) in primary schools. This is a paper from a 1987 working conference sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). (16 references)…

Because earlier research suggests that children's and adolescents' achievement motivation is mediated by their implicit beliefs and theories about schooling, 70 students (half girls and half boys) in a middle class suburban school district in grades 3 through 12 were interviewed about several dimensions of knowledge about education, including…

A study was designed to investigate the complex interrelationship of factors that affect university students' academic achievement. The study used a sample population of 72 students who were enrolled in first year Nursing and Teacher Education courses in 1991 at the Flinders University of South Australia. From data gathered over 2 years, a…

Different ways student-generated learning issues are used to deal with disciplinary content were assessed at seven North American medical schools with problem-based curricula. Structured interviews with key faculty representing the schools being studied suggested that the seven programs are encouraging the development of self-directed learning…

The S.A.C.K. Alignment Model integrates curriculum, instruction, and multiple assessments with the cultural and learning experiences of students. This model illustrates how prior cultural and learning experiences can be linked to state-mandated content and performance standards. S.A.C.K. is an acronym for skills, affects/attitudes, concepts, and…

This paper presents a social reconstructionist model of supervision. The model connects schools and society, and considers the vital role teachers, students, staff, and others play in developing, designing, and implementing reforms in school and society. The model is based on the philosophy of social reconstructionism, which views schools as…

This study explored the usability of learning stage data using the M. B. Baxter Magolda (1992) model for identifying and understanding differences among students and their perceptions of their academic experience at a midsize public community college. The study sought to: identify a dominant learning stage (either absolute, transitional, or…

Canadian journals in psychology, education, and higher education were reviewed to assess the contribution of psychology to Canadian higher education. Over 100 articles were selected, plus books and monographs published between 1970 and 1980. The articles were grouped according to whether they dealt with cognition and learning; instruction; student…