The visualisation of knowledge structures through concept mapping can be employed to reveal critical links between theory and practice. This allows consideration of particular disciplinary knowledge structures and the active role of the student in manipulating these structures to gain understanding, in a manner that can encourage students to…

This paper calls into question the idea that we can simply think about higher education as a research field and explores different meanings of the term field. It asks whether there are related fields: research into higher education, academic development and disciplinary teaching research, rather than one. The approach of the paper is conceptual,…

This paper explores the practical and theoretical implications of work related to modeling teaching. The main concerns are questions of what theories and models of cognitive and behavioral phenomena such as teaching-in-context might look like and what standards should be used to judge work of this sort. (Contains 26 references.) (DDR)

The Galbraith article gives us the opportunity to think out loud about the purposes and practices of field activity, and in responding, this article argues that Galbraith is more concerned with the technical application of a method rather than investigating knowledge production. Using Bourdieu's theory of practice enables critical evaluation to be…

This paper focuses on some main distinctions that are necessary to analyze mathematical knowledge from a learning point of view and explain how many students come up against difficulties at each level of the curriculum. From a learning point of view, visualization cannot be used as an immediate and obvious support for understanding, even though it…

This article illustrates some problems faced by student teachers of biology when they try to realize the process of "didactic transformation" while planning their classes. To address these problems, a method of subject-matter analysis, utilizing hierarchical concept-maps, was introduced into the teacher training component at the Free…

This paper outlines the constructivist approach to teaching and learning and reviews some of the literature to establish a linkage between constructivist theories of learning and humanistic psychology. In particular, the paper recognizes the work of Carl Rogers and suggests that his contributions to the professional literature on teaching and…

A study examined the application and availability of clinical and biomedical knowledge in the clinical reasoning of physicians as well as possible mechanisms responsible for changes in the organization of clinical and biomedical knowledge in the development from novice to expert. Subjects were 28 students (10 second year, 8 fourth year, and 10…

The paper presents the thesis that experienced physicians, while diagnosing routine cases, are operating upon knowledge structures that are distinctively different from those of novice physicians and students. In the course of their medical training, students develop rich, elaborated causal networks, explaining the causes and consequences of…

Interest in mathematics learning that focuses on understanding, mathematical reasoning, and meaning-making underscores the need to develop ways of analyzing classrooms that foster certain types of learning. The goal of this paper is to show that the constructs of social and sociomathematical norms, which grew out of taking a symbolic…

A study investigated the known phenomenon of "intermediate effect" in which medical students with an intermediate amount of knowledge and experience demonstrate higher amounts of recall of the text of a medical case than either experienced clinicians or novices. In this study the amount of activation of prior knowledge was controlled by…

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…

In two studies, the role of biomedical knowledge in the diagnosis of clinical cases by physicians and medical students was explored. Experiment 1 demonstrated a decrease in the use of biomedical knowledge with increasing expertise. This result appeared to be at variance with some findings reported in some but not all of the literature. In…

Examines the role of case methods in teacher education, noting that the use of case methods depends upon an understanding of teaching and the learning-to-teach process. Three frameworks for using cases in teacher education are examined (precept and practice, problem solving and decision making, and knowledge and understanding). (SM)

The conceptual orientation that guides the University of Utah's field-based doctoral program in educational administration is described in this paper, with a focus on making judgments within the decision-making process. The first part explains the rationale for adopting the conceptual orientation and the second part describes the normative model…