SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timed) are advocated as the gold standard for goal setting. However, goals which are non-specific and exploratory, referred to as 'open goals', may be preferred in specific circumstances. In this pre-registered experiment, we compared SMART goals, compared to do-your-best (DYB), and…

Natural learning is a countercultural home education approach characterized by the notion of freedom and autonomy in life and learning, intertwined in cultural environments. Using purposive sampling, two single parents from a "township" culture provided an in-depth understanding of natural learning in their context. A case study design…

This paper investigates and analyses the features of a non-mainstream pedagogy, educational context and learning environment by presenting a counter-model which contrasts with the currently dominant educational project, an emergent global educational movement known as the Slow Education Movement. It demonstrates how the associated principles and…

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of student-activated teaching styles through a specific intervention program on students' self-regulation, lesson satisfaction, and motivation. Six hundred and one 7th grade students (318 boys and 283 girls), aged 13 years were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a comparison group.…

The purpose of this study is to report on the nature of student learning resulting from an open facilitation approach to solo activities. Three key moments of facilitator intervention were identified at which the facilitator was encouraged to take a step back from directing the experience. They are the pre-activity brief, the mid-activity visit…

In 2001, the Chinese Ministry of Education issued Guidelines for Preschool Education (GPE) (trial version) to call on early childhood practitioners to use a child-centered and play-based approach to teaching and learning. The guidelines also include mathematics within the science domain and described its standards in a way that significantly…

In this article, the author asks whether objective-led lessons are leading teachers down the wrong path. The key stage 3 framework issued by the Department for Children, Schools and Families strongly recommends a three-part lesson, because it provides: (1) "a beginning", in which "you explain to pupils and prepare them for what they are to learn";…

This paper describes an approach for pre-service or in-service mathematics education that teaches sophisticated mathematics using only the tools of high school mathematics. The idea is to start with a standard problem from high school mathematics and let the solution to this problem serve as a platform for asking good mathematical questions and…

Utopianism, which is a distinctive vocabulary of hope, teaches us that society, including its physical sites of social and political practice, are both imagined and made and that we can accordingly believe they can be reimagined and remade. This paper exemplifies how exercises of the utopian imagination within teacher education curricula are able…

This study examined the way children learn about and use the novel features of videodiscs. Nine 9- and 10-year-old students in a progressive private school in New York City participated in the study. None had prior experience with videodisc technology. The two videodiscs which served as test materials--"The First National Kidisc" and "Fun and…

Explains four instructional approaches with varied learning processes and provides guidelines for the use of each. Describes receptive instruction, that is highly controlled; behavioral instruction that assumes learning occurs through a gradual building of skills; the situated guided discovery approach, including constructivism and social…

This resource book contains 18 magic number tricks that spark the interest and imagination of students as they are led through a variety of mathematical computations and discoveries. Following each activity, students are asked to write about their discoveries and create their own magic tricks. A matrix of skills for all the activities and lists of…

This ERIC Digest describes what primary sources are and how and why they can be used in elementary school classrooms. Primary sources are historical artifacts with which students can interact to effectively engage in active learning. Topics discussed in the Digest include: "What Are Primary Sources?"; "Why Use Primary…

Emphasizes the concept of experience in experiential-learning situations and discusses learning from experience in professional practice. A reflective practitioner learns from his/her own experience of professional practice in a manner that produces new practice-based knowledge and skills. Discusses reflective practice in an organizational context…

Describes a methodology for supporting exploratory learning that attempts to limit learning space, called exploration space, and adequately control the cognitive load learners would face in their exploration process. In Exploration Space Control (ESC) the extent of exploration space is controlled according to domain complexity, but also to…