While explicit conceptual models help to inform research, they are left out of much of the health professions education (HPE) literature. One reason may be the limited understanding about how to develop conceptual models with intention and rigor. Group concept mapping (GCM) is a mixed methods conceptualization approach that has been used to…

This study aimed to cluster learners based on the structures of the knowledge maps they created. Learners drew their own knowledge maps to reflect their learning activities. Our system collected individual knowledge maps from many learners and clustered them to generate an integrated version of the knowledge maps of each cluster. We applied the…

Academic tracking, placing students in different classes based on past performance, is a common feature of the American secondary school system. A longitudinal study of secondary students' chemistry self-concept scores was conducted, and one feature of the study was the presence of academic tracking. Though academic tracking is one way to group…

The quality assurance of teaching and learning as part of universities' governance and quality management has become a major subject in higher education and higher education politics worldwide. In addition, increasing academic attention has been paid to the quality assurance of teaching and learning, as is evident from the growing number of…

A large body of research in the learning sciences has focused on students' commonsense science knowledge--the everyday knowledge of the natural world that is gained outside of formal instruction. Although researchers studying commonsense science have employed a variety of methods, 1-on-1 clinical interviews have played a unique role. The data…

Three experiments explored whether conceptual mappings in conventional metaphors are productive, by testing whether the comprehension of novel metaphors was facilitated by first reading conceptually related conventional metaphors. The first experiment, a replication and extension of Keysar et al. [Keysar, B., Shen, Y., Glucksberg, S., Horton, W.…

Starting in the late eighties, with a growing discontent with analytical methods in science and the growing power of computers, researchers began to study complex systems such as living organisms, evolution of genes, biological systems, brain neural networks, epidemics, ecology, economy, social networks, etc. In the early nineties, the research…

This paper demonstrates a new application of cluster analysis to segment business school students according to their degree of satisfaction with various aspects of the academic program. The resulting clusters provide additional insight into drivers of student satisfaction that are not evident from analysis of the responses of the student body as a…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to determine possible grouping of similar MBA programmes offered by 45 British and French business schools accredited by the Association of Master Business Administration (AMBA) as of January 2006. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the statistical co-plot method reported in a similar study of leading…

In this essay, the author "maps" a town that has grown in what was formerly frontier: he looked at twenty-four essays focusing on grammar instruction from "Teaching English in the Two-Year College (TETYC)," published between 1987 and 2006, with a goal of identifying key areas of focus--town squares. While he found several trends and foci, most…

Examines clients' counseling experiences using concept mapping, a methodological approach combing qualitative and quantitative strategies. Clarifies the scope and interrelations among elements of the retrospective experience of helpfulness among clients. Results found that the structure of the concept map was found to be consistent with an…

The purpose of the study was to describe the needs of newly released Canadian federal offenders as perceived by community parole supervisors. Seventy-four Canadian parole supervisors were asked to answer the following question: "What challenges do parolees face in the first 90 days after release?" The data were analyzed using…

In a classroom, a teacher attempts to convey his or her knowledge to the students, and thus it is important for the teacher to obtain formative feedback about how well students are understanding the new material. By gaining insight into the students' understanding and possible misconceptions, the teacher will be able to adjust the teaching and to…

Using a new methodological tool, the authors analyzed a large number of texts on information and communication technology (ICT) and education, and identified three clusters of views that guide educationists "in the field" and in more academic contexts. The clusters reflect different fundamental assumptions on ICT and education. The authors argue…