University programs that prepare graduates for professional fields are adopting ePortfolios to achieve program learning goals and promote lifelong learning. However, various structural and cultural barriers exist to implementing ePortfolios, particularly in large universities. Members of a community of practice (CoP) that participate in…

We examined the role of justification for knowing beliefs in learning and comprehension when ethnic majority and ethnic minority students from the same school classes read five conflicting documents on the scientific issue of sun exposure and health. Results showed that the more ethnic minority students trusted scientific authorities and the less…

The classroom is an emotional place. Students can be excited during studying, hope for success, feel pride in their accomplishments, be surprised at discovering a new solution, experience anxiety about failing examinations, feel ashamed over poor grades, or be bored during lessons. In addition, social emotions play a role and students also bring…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of students' responses to a cross-cultural science unit entitled "Maintaining health." The unit was designed to help students to build bridges between their traditional practices and beliefs and western science concepts. This paper reports students' responses to a pre-test and…

The purpose of this study was to examine cultural influences on conceptual orientations of learning in U.S. and Chinese preschoolers. A sample of 188 preschoolers 4-6 years of age provided free-narrative responses to 2 story beginnings about the learning behavior of 2 protagonists, 1 who worked hard and 1 who gave up. Results showed that despite…

Using a national sample (n = 643) of Native American students who took the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ), the researcher identified how student involvement and institutional commitment to diversity predicted student learning. Native American students reported higher levels of learning when the institution's commitment to…

Used prototype methods of cognitive science to collect free associations of learning-related words and phrases from Chinese and American college seniors. Found that both cultures had a large set of conceptions about learning but that there was little overlap between the models of learning. Most striking was the near absence of references to hard…

This paper has been developed on the basis of research conducted in two projects. A special emphasis is however given to one of the projects concerning an evaluation of a drama pedagogical project. The evaluation is specifically aimed at the efficiency, intensity and depth of the educational drama input in mediating cultural messages from the…

The experiences of an African-American teacher educator teaching a human growth and development course to education majors show the resistance students can exhibit to learning about cultural diversity as well as the opportunities for learning that can be fostered. (SLD)

During their elementary school years, many students develop a dislike for school. Their alienation is due partly to the school environment and discouraging educator behaviors. Children sense they are overly assessed and classified, arbitrarily promoted, confined to large groups, and bound to a routine work schedule that values competition and…

This research sought to identify reasons why the study of science was being rejected by girls and Polynesian students. From eight schools chosen to give a representative coverage of ethnic grouping (Maori, European, Pacific Island) and type (single sex, coed, rural, urban, primary, intermediate, secondary), 20 Form 1 to 4 classes were administered…

Designed to promote discourse on teaching, learning, and professional development, this spring 1992 issue of Massachusetts Bay Community College's (MBCC's) "Educational Forum" documents modes of inquiry and faculty development activities that MBCC has found promising. The following articles are contained in the issue: (1) "Education Through…