This study compares US and Chinese elementary mathematics teachers' beliefs about how students learn mathematics. Interviews with teachers in each country revealed that Chinese and US teachers have distinct ways of thinking about how mathematics should be taught and how students learn. Many Chinese teachers talked about developing students'…

The Transatlantic Orientation Exchange/Multiplikatorenschulung im transatlan-tischen Austausch is a collaboration between volunteers and staff in both the US and German AFS organizations. The goal of the project is to increase the level of intercultural learning of German and US secondary education exchange participants and their host families.…

Existing research identifies that students' approaches to assignments are related to their general approaches to study. It is suggested that students need to better understand the requirements of assignments and acquire new concepts such as "argument". This fine-grained study proposes four qualitatively distinct assignment pathways: gathering,…

Compared to other subjects, the typical introductory programming (CS1) course has higher than usual rates of both failing and high grades, creating a characteristic bimodal grade distribution. In this article, I explore two possible explanations. The conventional explanation has been that learners naturally fall into populations of programmers and…

Distance education and web-based courses are mainstream in the United States higher education and growing (NCES, 2003) involving over 80% of four year public universities in 2002. The National Academy of Science review of "how people learn" suggests that technology-mediated learning can be used to respond to students' preferences and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to first elaborate on the notion of a learning environment based on an empirical study of care work. Second, to explore how aspects of a learning environment may differ between and within units in the same organization, and how to understand and explain such differences. Design/methodology/approach: The study…

This study investigated the extent to which the learning styles of Chinese students differ from those of Dutch students. The study was conducted within the context of English language Bachelor of Science programmes that Wageningen University offers together with China Agricultural University to Dutch and Chinese students. Sixteen Dutch students…

The assimilation and synthesis of knowledge is essential for students to be successful in chemistry, yet not all students synthesize knowledge as intended. The study used the Learning Preference Checklist to classify students into one of three learning modalities--visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (VAK). It also used the Kolb Learning Style…

The Renzulli/Smith Learning Style Inventory was administered to 30 gifted and 30 above average students (grades 6-8) in rural schools. Significant differences were found between the two groups on the dimensions of independent study, discussion, and programed instruction. Significant differences by gender were also found in independent study and…

Florida extension agents (n=56) who completed the Group Embedded Figures Test and Values Analysis Profile were mostly field dependent and had global perceptions, preferred structured learning environments, and tended to be social. All were classed as synthesizers in terms of values. (SK)

Explores continuous improvement methods, which underlie total quality management, finding barriers to implementation in practice that are related to a one-dimensional approach. Suggests a multiple, unbounded learning cycle, a holistic approach that includes adaptive learning, learning styles, generative learning, and capability development.…

Describes behavioral patterns and learning processes that illustrate the function and nature of learning during the inventive process. Presents a learning process that describes this adult learning project. (JOW)

Scores of 118 of 341 participants in a leadership development program on measures of critical thinking and adaptive flexibility were used to revise a model of critical thinking and reflective judgment in leaders. Two paths were identified: (1) confirmatory relearning corroborating an existing model of meaning and (2) developmental learning…

Uses a Confucian-Socratic framework to analyze culture's influence on academic learning, comparing and contrasting ideals for learning that are culturally more Chinese (Confucian) with those that are more western (Socratic). Discusses expressions of these approaches in modern postsecondary contexts, noting the effects of these approaches on…

This paper reports findings with regard to learning conceptions and approaches to learning of Flemish and Chinese students. The Conceptions of Learning Inventory (COLI) and the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) were administered to first-year university students from China (N = 362) and Flanders (N = 360). The 3-factor…