To help researchers understand potential issues one can encounter when conducting propensity matching studies in complex settings, this paper describes methodological complications faced when studying schools using deeper learning practices to improve college and career readiness. The study uses data from high schools located in six districts…

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of racial and gender diversity on group process and problem solving in an academic setting. The importance of this dynamic is its value in preparing students for the workplace. The supposition is if a group is homogeneous, commitment and performance is improved. Data for the study…

Background/Context: Despite the tremendous amount of effort devoted by many mathematics educators to promote, defend, and implement reform-based mathematics education, procedural mathematics, which locates mathematical correctness in the procedures learned from textbooks and teachers, persists. Many researchers have identified school and classroom…

Effectively using strategies to solve complex problems is an important educational goal and is implicated in successful academic performance. However, people often do not spontaneously use the effective strategies unless they are motivated to do so. The present study was designed to test whether educating students about the importance of effort in…

The critical-thinking skill of problem solving needs to be part of the curriculum for all students, including those with learning disabilities living in poverty; yet, too often this is not the case. Too often students in poverty and students with learning disabilities are provided a curriculum that is watered down, focused on the basics, and aimed…

This study investigated how elementary teachers in a mathematics lesson study made sense of student learning, teaching, and content, as related to using representations in teaching multidigit subtraction, and how changes occurred over time in their talk and practice. The lesson-study process paved a group talk path along which teacher talk shifted…

Extrinsic inducements to adjust students' learning motivations have evolved within 2 opposing paradigms. Cognitive evaluation theories claim that controlling factors embedded in extrinsic rewards dissipate intrinsic aspirations. Behavioral theorists contend that if engagement is voluntary, extrinsic reinforcements enhance learning without ill…

In modern CAD and CAM manufacturing companies, engineers design parts for machines and consumable goods. Many of these parts are cut on CNC machines. Whether using a CNC lathe, milling machine, or router, the ideas and designs of engineers must be translated into a machine-readable form called G & M Code that can be used to cut parts to precise…

This study investigated Spanish-speaking kindergarten students' participation in mathematical discourse as they solved and discussed a range of word problems. Specifically, we draw upon sociocultural perspectives on mathematics learning to frame mathematical discourse and to examine specific teacher and student actions that seemed to support the…

I explore a belief about learning and teaching that is commonly held in education and society at large that nonetheless is deeply flawed. The belief asserts that mastery of "formalisms"--specialized representations such as symbolic equations and diagrams with no inherent meaning except that which is established by convention--is prerequisite to…

John Dewey discussed the dry school curriculum a century ago. One of the "evils" was a simplified curriculum having an outward appearance of mathematics. Dewey posited that such a simplified curriculum deprived students of opportunities to experience the thought-provoking character of the accumulated wisdom found in human knowledge. Dewey's…

In this article, the CLICK ("C"omputer Games and "L"iteracy "I"ntegrated with "C"ontent "K"nowledge) design model for high school education is proposed and developed as an instructional response to concerns about content coverage versus deeper content knowledge, learners' inability to grasp the meanings embedded in complex text, and disregard for…

In a contest featuring hands-on projects, college students were required to design a simple crawling worm using planning, self-monitoring and self-evaluation processes to solve contradictive problems. To enhance the efficiency of problem solving, one needs to practice meta-cognition based on an application of related scientific concepts. The…

Achieving success takes hard work and perseverance, but another crucial ingredient is the ability to learn from failure. Instructors must encourage students to make mistakes within the classroom so they will attempt great things outside it. This is where the freedom of trial and error should be championed, to be able to hone students' skills so…

The present study aims at fostering undergraduate medical students' clinical reasoning by learning from errors. By fostering the acquisition of "negative knowledge" about typical cognitive errors in the medical reasoning process, we support learners in avoiding future erroneous decisions and actions in similar situations. Since learning…