Dimensional comparison theory (DCT) defines dimensional comparisons as intraindividual comparisons that a person draws between his or her own achievements in two domains or subjects. DCT assumes that dimensional comparisons influence students' academic self-concepts, causing stronger self-concept differences between subjects perceived as…

This article reports the findings of a 3 year research project which investigated disciplinary variation in student writing. Within an Open University course in the history of science, students from an arts background were found to achieve significantly higher grades than those from a science background. Textual and interview data suggest that…

Gives an overview of the components of the problem-solving process, emphasizing its iterative, not linear, character. Describes how individual characteristics influence problem solving choices and outcomes, and discusses ways in which understanding of problem-solving informs some innovative teaching techniques, with examples from individual…

Two studies, one quantitative and another qualitative, of learning style preferences of physical education majors are reviewed. The quantitative study investigated variation in relation to gender, age, and ethnicity and how preferences compared to those found in other disciplines. The qualitative study identified common themes in student…

A study of Israeli university engineering students (n=85) and education students (n=87) measured their motivated learning strategies and assessment preferences. Results showed individual differences in assessment preferences overshadowed discipline group differences, and assessment preference differences were largely related to learning strategies…

The study described in this report was conducted to investigate possible differences in professors' preferences for classroom/behavior management techniques based on their gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, and field of instruction. In phase 1 of the study, professors (N=452) who taught classroom/behavior management to regular and/or special…