Although much done in the name of discipleship and theological education pronounces lofty goals, such as movement from orthodoxy to orthopraxy, in many cases mere doctrinal assent is assumed to reflect deep change. An analysis of discipleship, worldview theory, and certain cognitive approaches to education suggests that worldview-level…

This article brings together, summarizes, and comments on several threads of research that have contributed to our understanding of the challenges that novice programmers face when learning about the runtime dynamics of programs and the role of the computer in program execution. More specifically, the review covers the literature on programming…

This paper draws attention to the literature in the areas of learning, specifically, constructivism, conceptual change and cognitive development. It emphasizes the contribution of such research to our understanding of the learning process. This literature provides guidelines for teachers, at all levels, in their attempt to have their students…

The purpose of this review is to provide educational practitioners with a brief overview of cognitive load theory (CLT) and its major implications for learning. To achieve this objective, the article includes a short description of human cognitive architecture as conceived by cognitive load theorists. Following this overview, the article provides…

Good thinking can be placed within a descriptive framework which includes a state of doubt about what to do or believe; goal, possibilities, and evidence seeking; and evidence use. The framework is useful in describing all types of thinking, although the search process may differ in the degree of control the thinker has over his search. Examples…

Presents an overview of teacher preparation and concludes that the distinction between "knowledge" and "pedagogy" is a relatively recent development. Discusses different types of teacher knowledge ("content,""pedagogical content," and "strategic") and forms of knowledge…

Most research on personal epistemologies has conceived them as made up of relatively large, coherent, and stable cognitive structures, either developmental stages or beliefs (perhaps organized into theories). Recent work has challenged these views, arguing that personal epistemologies are better understood as made up of finer grained cognitive…

The present study builds on earlier work by Meyer and Land (2003) which introduced the generative notion of "threshold concepts" within (and across) disciplines, in the sense of transforming the internal view of subject matter or part thereof. In this earlier work such concepts were further linked to forms of knowledge that are "troublesome",…

As faculty, our goals for students are often tacit, hidden not only from students but from ourselves as well. We present a conceptual framework for considering teaching goals--what we want our students to achieve--that encourages us to think more broadly about what we mean by achieving in our knowledge domains. This framework includes declarative…

Examines linguistic encoding of curricular knowledge in classroom testing events. Argues that dominant epistemological orientation of testing events is positivist and values a discrete, bounded form of knowledge. Compares the language of testing events and earlier lesson presentations of the same curricular information, suggesting that testing…

This paper reports the results of a small-scale (n = 9) interview study of the "ways of knowing" of academics in a Design School at a South African polytechnic. The focus of the study was on exploring the perceptions of these academics about discipline-specific knowledge in their fields. The paper presents an analysis of the responses,…

This paper backgrounds and illustrates an approach to researching didactic knowledge. Underlying the approach are some of the frameworks developed from the student learning research. Based on these frameworks the experience of learning about a particular phenomenon is theorised as having educationally critical aspects. Without addressing these…

Illustrates how the five cognitive levels--somatic, mythic, romantic, philosophic, and ironic--can be used to guide teaching and learning activities appropriate for engineering students. Uses the example of the concept of energy to demonstrate how educators might appeal to each mode of thinking for understanding a particular concept. (Contains 11…

This paper recognizes current interest in "the practical," particularly in research on teaching, and it explores similarities or distinctions between underlying conceptions of the practical across several programs, research projects, and scholarly reflections on teaching. Following an introduction, the paper reviews three research…

The technical reports summarized in this paper were prepared as part of a project designed to determine what is known about the teaching of cognitive skills and to formulate questions relating to such teaching for further research. Topics discussed in the 22 reports include the following: (1) teaching thinking; (2) Aristotle's logic; (3) a…