Plausibility is a central but under-examined topic in conceptual change research. Climate change is an important socio-scientific topic; however, many view human-induced climate change as implausible. When learning about climate change, students need to make plausibility judgments but they may not be sufficiently critical or reflective. The…

Can students be taught to better comprehend the diagrams in their textbooks? Can such teaching transfer to uninstructed diagrams in the same domain or even in a new domain? What methods work best for these goals? Building on previous research showing positive results compared to control groups in both laboratory studies and short-term…

This article discusses the characteristics of the indirect addition strategy (IA) in the domain of multi-digit subtraction. In two studies, adults' use of IA on three-digit subtractions with a small, medium, or large difference between the integers was analysed using the choice/no-choice method. Results from both studies indicate that adults…

In the present study 71 university teachers from several disciplines were interviewed in order to capture the variation in descriptions of teaching. Two broad categories of description were identified: the learning-focused and the content-focused approaches to teaching. The results showed that the relationship between the two approaches was…

The study examined associations between university teachers' experiences of academic leadership, their perceptions of a specific academic context and their approaches to teaching in a particular subject that was taught in that context. The sample consisted of 439 lecturers in Australian universities in four fields of study. Lecturers completed…

This article investigates teacher enthusiasm and how it relates to instructional behaviours. We distinguished teachers' enthusiasm for the subject matter of mathematics from their enthusiasm for teaching mathematics. A total of 323 teachers and their 9th-grade classes participated in the study. Questionnaires were used to assess teachers'…

Summarizes the teaching-learning theory of Piotr Gal'perin and discusses its use in classrooms. Gal'perin extended L. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development to include a teaching-learning model of the formation of mental actions that integrates the notions of mediation, activity, and internalization. (SLD)

In this study, 100 Italian eighth graders were divided into two groups to compare the effects of two instructional interventions--the first based on problem-solving through discussion, the second on individual problem-solving--on students' learning of two historical topics (World War I and the economic boom), interest and self-perception of…

The understanding of cause and effect situations is described in terms of the construction of a generative mental model and is exemplified through instances from science teaching. The absence of understanding is described in terms of failure of construction, reconstruction, or allied processes. (Author/SLD)

Research on young children and their understanding and use of models indicates that they have particular difficulty understanding and using symbols that are in themselves interesting objects (have dual representation). Implications for the use of symbols for educational purposes are discussed, reviewing several commonly used symbolic objects. (SLD)

We tested a theoretical model that hypothesized relationships between several variables from input, process and product in an educational setting, from the university student's perspective, using structural equation modeling. In order to carry out the analysis, we measured in sequential order the input (referring to students' personal…

The seven articles of this theme issue bring together recent theoretical work in investigating the kind of conceptual change that occurs in the learning of the physical sciences. How conceptual change occurs and the implications for science instruction are considered. (SLD)

Qualitative features of teacher-student interaction during classroom teaching and learning while modern technological thinking and problem-solving skills were mediated were studied for 22 seventh-grade boys in Finland. Reciprocal understanding between teacher and student were necessary in order for the teacher's special instructional assistance to…

It is argued that cognitive psychology has contributed to advances in learning and instruction not so much because of its original epistemology and implicit theory of learning as because of its methodology. A revised epistemology conceptualizing the mind as a developing biological system will bring new advances in understanding learning. (SLD)

A method was developed using a deck of cards to teach Japanese fifth graders to calculate the area of a parallelogram. Investigations with 59 male and 45 female students demonstrate the superiority of the method to that previously used in terms of recall at one week. (SLD)