Theory has always possessed an elusive, intangible, and almost ethereal quality. Comprising nothing but ideas compressed into words, it is supposed to guide literacy interactions and transactions. Theory provides the "why" that underlies the "how to" of teaching. Yet the author, a teacher, has often struggled with the effort of translating theory…

Many studies have been conducted to verify the effect of learner characteristics and motivation in traditional classrooms, but very few are found in online learning research. This study sought to identify what learner characteristics and motivation types affected a group of undergraduate students' learning and application of learning for a course…

This case study focuses on qualitative indicators, though a number of quantitative indicators will be included to provide context. Qualitative issues to be looked at will include: education policies and, more specifically, curriculum-related policies containing provisions aimed at gender parity and equality in all aspects of education; gender…

This issue of "Focus On" examines where boys are underachieving and some possible reasons for their under-achievement, including biological and environmental factors. It also offers strategies that teachers can employ in their classrooms in order to address the educational needs of boys. Books in Brief; Web Resources; and Related ERS Resources are…

This is the second and final part of a review of educational research on children's ideas about gravity. The first part concerned students' understanding of how and why things fall. This article picks up the trail of research studies that address students' understanding of the more complex ideas of projectile motion and orbits and examines how the…

This book is a reference work that examines a sample of the world's educational systems. The countries included are those that participated in an international study of multicultural education, along with other countries to provide a solid sampling of nations on all continents. Both developing and industrialized nations are included, as well as…

This report describes a course in the Irish student-teacher curriculum that was designed in response to criticisms of post-graduate teacher training that it was too theoretical and insufficiently practical. The design of the Applied Psychology of Instruction course was based on the teacher-as-researcher paradigm of professionalism. Student…

Taking a consistent student- and response-centered approach to literature-based teaching in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms, this book is designed for use as a main text in undergraduate and graduate language arts methods courses. The book is firmly grounded in current social constructivist learning theory combined with a…

Over the past 10 years, numerous empirical investigations of learning in physics have been carried out at the Institute of Physics Education (IPE) at the University of Bremen in Germany. The objectives of these investigations were: (1) to describe in detail individual learning processes; (2) to construct theoretical principles of individual…

These proceedings contain papers from the 1994 annual meeting of the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group. Papers are divided into the following sections: (1) invited lectures; (2) working groups; (3) topic groups; (4) ad hoc groups; and (5) reports on ICMI (International Committee on Mathematical Instruction) studies. Papers include: (1)…

The papers contained in this proceedings from the 1995 Society for Literature and Science Conference are organized into sections with the following themes: (1) Metaphor and Science; (2) The Technological Invasion of the Living Space; (3) Autobiographies and Biographies of Scientists; (4) Science and 19th Century Literature; (5) Visions of the…

The papers contained in these proceedings from the 1996 Society for Literature and Science Conference are organized into sections based on theme. Some of these themes are: (1) Secularizing Enlightenment; (2) Eugenics and the Politics of Knowledge; (3) Reading the Discourses of Psychology; (4) Women and Medicine; (5) The Rhetoric of Public Health;…

This Digest reviews common teaching practices and methods of communication in the classroom to indicate the treatment of female students that inhibits their ability to successfully learn mathematics as well as identifying some negative attitudes about female mathematics achievement held by teachers and parents that may deter girls from continuing…

This study compared several facets of teacher education between Japan and North Carolina. Similarities and differences in elementary science teachers' perceptions of the academic backgrounds in Japan and North Carolina were evaluated as well as similarities and differences in elementary teachers' perceptions of classroom practices in Japan and…

The articles of this collection offer a window into the classrooms of teachers who provide activities that support multicultural and global education. "Intercultural" is used rather than multicultural because it suggests interacting in a way that increases the understanding and respect we have for our many cultures. The following papers…