This paper reports the first results of an experimental research, carried out in a private school with 9th grade students, where the 4C/ID-model was used for teaching and learning electric circuits. The authors describe the principles and features of the instructional model, that is suitability for the teaching and learning of complex knowledge…

Guiding students to generate testable scientific questions is essential in the inquiry classroom, but it is not easy. The purpose of the BDC ("Big Idea, Divergent Thinking, and Convergent Thinking") instructional model is to to scaffold students' inquiry learning. We illustrate the use of this model with an example lesson, designed…

Alternative energy sources have become increasingly important as the production of domestic oil has declined and dependence on foreign oil has increased. Historically, there have been four time periods during which the United States was in fact crippled by oil shortages. These time periods include: (1) the early 1900s; (2) World War II; (3) the…

Affirmative action, a controversial topic about which students have many misconceptions, lends itself especially well to a sociological analysis. This paper describes an approach to teaching that: (1) informs students of different affirmative action programs; (2) gives them the opportunity to apply and integrate a variety of concepts and research…

Perhaps one of the first concepts to which students in the communication hybrid course are exposed is the perception process. Students often learn that communication involves perception, which is dealing with several different forms of information or stimuli and deciding how to utilize that information to accomplish their goals. Perception…

Undergraduate students often memorize a keyword or definition for an exam without a deeper understanding or the ability to apply the meaning of the concept. While using examples during a lecture may help, the combination of movies and verbal review has been shown to be a valuable instructional tool, increasing recall (Elischberger & Roebers, 2001)…

Using the Topic of electromagnets as an example, describes how science teachers can benefit from the work of Hilda Taba and her co-workers in the area of instructional design and in classroom techniques for developing concepts. (JR)

Criminology and Deviance Classes are often among the most popular in the sociology undergraduate curriculum. These courses provide a unique opportunity for teachers since many students come to class with an intense interest in the subject matter combined with strong opinions about crime, criminals, and deviants. Because these opinions are often…

The focus of this paper is on the relative roles of personality and training in enabling teachers to carry out the kinds of complex learning models which are envisioned by curriculum reformers in the social sciences. The paper surveys some of the major research done in this area and concludes that: 1) Most teachers do not manifest the complex…

Robert Gagne's model as presented in "The Conditions of Learning" (1970) is modified, extended, and used to form a logical model applicable to planning and teaching the social studies. It is used to develop planning procedures and to sequence instructional activities consistent with attaining complex levels of student learning. Sample…