Background: This study examines the effect of test anxiety on the academic performance of postgraduate female students, focusing on their perceptions and experiences in open-book exams (OBE) and closed-book exams (CBE). Method: A qualitative case study design was employed using the Thinking Aloud Protocol (TAP) to collect data from five Saudi…

Background: The poor performance of learners in mathematics has long been a matter of concern in South Africa. The Annual National Assessment (ANA) results reveal that the problem starts in the foundation phase with number concepts. Aim: This research sought to ascertain how foundation phase teachers used mathematical resources to teach number…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the process of embedding values implemented by excellent teachers in teaching Islamic education in the multi-cultural society. Design/methodology/approach: This study was a qualitative study, which used a combination of in-depth interviews, observation and document analysis for data collection.…

This article explores how motivation in computer games could be integrated into mathematics education. The scope of the study was confined to four motivation dimensions, namely challenge, control, complexity and collaboration. A phenomenology study was conducted with the purpose to obtain a common understanding of nine teachers and 11 students…

Studies related to school mathematics have shown that students who scored well on standardized tests often are unable to successfully use memorized facts and formulae in real-life application outside the classroom. The outcome of TIMSS and PISA studies further emphasizes the importance of mathematics teaching and learning in the Malaysian…

This study reports on an analysis of students' textbook task-solving in Swedish upper secondary school. The relation between types of mathematical reasoning required, used, and the rate of correct task solutions were studied. Rote learning and superficial reasoning were common, and 80% of all attempted tasks were correctly solved using such…

Though factors contributing to difficulty in learning school subjects including Mathematics were extensively studied, nature and characteristics of mathematics, possibly, one among the foremost causes for difficulty in learning it has not received required attention. To bring attention to the difficulties arising out of the nature of mathematics…

In Life Sciences education internationally, including South Africa, the study of animal and organ morphology has traditionally involved dissections since the early nineteenth century. The major purpose of this study was to investigate how the engagement of learners with animal organ dissections may influence the development of problem-solving…

Despite recent investments in and rapid modernization of university campuses in places like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, higher education in the Middle East still faces many obstacles. One of the greatest has been a fundamental disconnect between education and employment, a possible factor contributing to many of the recent riots in the Arab World. In…

Information Literacy (IL) competencies are defined as "the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively" and are considered essential for students in their academic lives and future careers (ALA, 1989). IL plays an important role in developing critical thinking and problem solving skills, and improving academic…

In this article we recount our experiences of teaching photosynthesis in an integrated way to secondary school students and teachers, science undergraduates and postgraduates. Conceptual questions were posed to investigate learners' fundamental understanding of simple light-dependent and light-independent processes taught to most students at…

Jinfa Cai's study comparing Chinese and American sixth-grade students' mathematics performance found that American students did better on simple and complex problems than on computation. One reason might be Asian countries' stress on rote learning. Paul George's 1995 monograph "Japanese Schools: A Closer Look" found instruction…

This paper investigates the learning behaviour, learning environment and learning outcomes of Hong Kong Chinese students enrolled on an Australian university's Bachelor of Business degree course taught by visiting Australian lecturers in Hong Kong. The Chinese students are task-focused and passive learners. They do not demonstrate creative…

Reports observations of primary teachers (n=14) efforts to provide activity-based lessons for their pupils. Teachers' beliefs that their lessons were student-centered were not confirmed by the observations of the lessons. Discusses implications of the findings for inservice teacher education and parental involvement. (MDH)

Argues that the emphasis in law courses on memorizing facts fails to teach the desired concepts of reasoning and problem-solving. Recommends the use of open-book tests. Suggests that because law is an imprecise subject, and there are no right or wrong answers, it should be taught in an open format. (LS)