This paper describes an attempt at evaluating a potentially critical "detail" of teaching practice; that is, using a particular diagram to illustrate the imaging role of a converging lens. This "basic" diagram has been designed to contribute to help students overcome the well-known "travelling image" syndrome. We conducted a comparative study with…

While the traditional meaning of connected knowledge is valuable in some school subjects, it does not address the main activities of knowledge acquisition in subjects such as physics and mathematics. The goal of this article is to analyze the relationships between the concepts "learning for understanding" and "connected…

The effects of bridging analogies teaching strategy and gender on Turkish high school students' misconceptions in mechanics were investigated. After a pilot study with 67 students in a nearby high school, the researchers' administered the revised Mechanics Misconception Test to 119 high school students as a pretest. Students in the experimental…

Editor-in-Chief James L. Morrison interviews Scott Howell, the co-editor of a three-volume book series entitled "Online Assessment and Measurement" that was published in 2006 by IDEA Group. In discussing his own research, Howell first highlights the value of test blueprints as a valuable tool for ensuring an effective alignment of…

Teacher standards for gifted education are a necessary feature of ensuring that the top learners in the society are adequately identified and nurtured in the context of school settings. A standards-based approach to personnel preparation offers many advantages for fields and disciplines. The content of standards at P-12 levels help to ensure that…

This project investigated the effects of technology task autonomy, teacher gender, and student gender on student achievement scores for students disaggregated by IEP and SES in middle school science classrooms. Participants were from the treatment group in a larger quasi-experimental design project that investigated the effects of integrated…

This paper provides a brief understanding of the educational technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics to Form Two students (equivalent to the eighth-graders) in Malaysia. In particular, it attempts to understand the relationships between educational technology and mathematics achievement in both the urban and rural schools. The study…

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between approaches to learning and locus of control of students from the USA, Japan, and Taiwan. The results show that students from the USA utilized more rote memory learning compared to students from Japan and Taiwan, while students from Japan were more likely to be "Achieving"…

Most of the students at Milpera State High School are in Australia because of wars, famine, or economic devastation in their homelands. Many have suffered the additional loss of parents and other family members. Some have low (or nonexistent) literacy in their native languages, and many have had few opportunities for formal education. Such…

Women are making progress in many areas of science, but a gender gap still remains, especially in physics, computer science, and engineering, and at advanced levels of academic and career achievement. Today's teachers can help narrow this gap by instilling a love for science in their female students and by helping them to understand and develop…

This descriptive study explored understandings of five learners in a third-grade mathematics class during a year in which their teacher attempted to change her teaching method. The study also examined the teacher's self-images of teaching while using the new discourse-based approach. Data was obtained from: (1) interviews with the teacher…

This paper examines the effects of gender and test anxiety on students' achievement, cognition, and affects, with an interest in exploring why some students are less likely to benefit from classroom instruction than others. The data came from a western Canadian university study of 424 undergraduate students. Correlational and univariate statistics…

This study examined the impact of multicultural education courses on preservice teachers' pedagogical knowledge and beliefs about culturally diverse learners. Part 1 reports on a study of 20 preservice teachers pursuing a masters degree in elementary education enrolled in a required multicultural education course and were examined for their…

In-class activities that provide students with intercultural interactions and supplemental lectures that define critical concepts can facilitate the appreciation of diversity in the classroom. One such activity, useful for the beginning of courses, involves the creation of two separate culture codes, or set of instructions, for introducing…

Four essays consider aspects of ensuring that every child can succeed in school. The first, "Appearing Acts: Creating Readers in a High School English Class" (Joan Kernan Cone), explores the self-perceptions of students and uses them to inspire their enthusiasm for reading. The cultural sensitivity of the teacher is instrumental in…