Students have misconceptions about many scientific topics they encounter in the classroom--such misconceptions are especially rife in subjects with counterintuitive concepts. Several studies have copiously documented students' misconceptions in different science domains. Research shows that students' misconceptions can be resistant to change and…

This paper examines the influence of authentic materials on the motivation of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Kuwait University. The target population is male and female students of two intermediate levels at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Kuwait University. All students received both artificial and authentic materials. Data from two observation…

The authors investigated the impact of explicit instruction and peer-assisted writing on students' writing motivation and self-efficacy for writing. Eleven teachers and their 206 fifth- and sixth-grade students participated in a 2 (explicit instruction vs. writing opportunities without explicit instruction) × 2 (peer-assisted writing vs. writing…

Starting from difficulties that students display when they deal with correlation analysis, an e-learning environment ("Koralle") was developed. The design was inspired by principles of situated and example-based learning. In order to facilitate reflective processes and thus enhance learning outcomes, reflection prompts were integrated into the…

Student self-report data from 933 Black middle school students and standardized mathematics test scores (SAT-10) were used to examine the relationship among student perceptions of teacher expectations and reform instructional practices, aspects of student motivation, and three student mathematics performance outcomes--time spent studying, expected…

This article is an open letter to English teachers by the author, a second-year graduate student in English education doing substitute teaching. She argues that as a substitute teacher, expectations of her teaching abilities and those of most substitute teachers are incredibly low, and that low expectations often result in low performance. Here,…

In this article we argue that to be successful in an academic arena, students must adopt a consistent approach to completing academic work (i.e., a work habit) that includes very carefully interpreting the demands of tasks that are presented to them in schools. To clarify why task interpretation is so critical to student success, and is thus an…

The authors used a new multidimensional coding scheme to assess student learning engagement during 3 Grade 4 reading lessons. Students in 3 classes--2 in which students received integrated reading-science instruction and 1 in which they received traditional instruction--demonstrated moderate to high engagement in learning. However, students in the…

In multigrade instruction, children of at least a 2-year grade span and diverse ability levels are grouped in a single classroom and share experiences involving intellectual, academic, and social skills. "The Multigrade Classroom" is a seven-book series that reviews current research on multigrade instruction, identifies key issues…

Discusses methods of improving the performance of integrated learning systems (ILSs). Topics addressed include the theoretical basis of ILSs; appropriate level of instruction; academic learning time; motivation; quality of instruction; a study of elementary students' use of ILSs; individualized and homogeneous group activities; mixed-ability…

Describes an evaluation of the effects of the Mathematics and Science Computer Assisted Remedial Teaching (MASCART) software on students at the University of Botswana. Treatment of experimental and control groups is explained, effects on ability groups are discussed, and increased time on task and student motivation are considered. (14 references)…

This paper on the feasibility of using teaching practices as indicators of student learning was developed as part of an ongoing project to develop a process for the assessment of college student learning in the context of National Education Goal 5, Objective 5, which aims to increase the proportion of college graduates with "advanced ability…