This qualitative study explored the roles which exist between pre-service elementary teachers and the technology tools they integrate into their mathematics lesson plans. A total of 35 pre-service elementary teachers participated in this study in which the researcher examined their lesson plans and reflection documents. The project occurred during…

An analysis of the learning process that focuses on the role of elaboration and students' prior knowledge is presented. Learning from instruction is distinguished from learning and instruction, and a series of learning functions are identified. (TJH)

Uses two poems by William Carlos Williams and John Mitton to point out how students' knowledge of "speech genres" (in this case, the apology) can be drawn upon to show them how much they already know about poetic genres as well as what they can learn from what the poets have done with those speech genres. (SR)

It is important for academic credibility that the process of prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) keeps learning and knowledge as its foundational tenets. Doing so ensures PLAR's recognition as a fertile ground for learners' cognitive and personal growth. In many postsecondary venues, PLAR is often misunderstood and confused with…

The purpose of this study was to understand what personal epistemologies and science teaching goals preservice secondary science teachers of a teacher education program in the USA bring with them to their learning to teach and how they translate such beliefs into actions. A set of essay questions, developed through a pilot study, was used to…

Starting from difficulties that students of education display when they interpret empirical findings and generate scientific arguments, a problem-based e-learning environment was developed. Based on first evaluation data, an elaboration tool was integrated into the learning environment. The tool consisted of a modelling and an explanation part. In…

This study investigated the effect of providing students with the objectives of a lesson before the lesson delivery on their achievement at the end of the lesson. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The quasi-experimental pretest-posttest-control group design was used, with a total of 4 groups. All four groups were taught the same…

Students attending a lecture usually have a wide range of prior knowledge about the topic in question. Rather than seeing this as a problem, lecturers can take advantage of such differences. This article shows how students' misconceptions about old age were used to inform a lecture on the topic. Prior knowledge can thus be used to aid teaching and…

In this paper we describe Expanding Textual Repertoires (ETR) as a framework for enhancing Singaporean secondary school teachers' understanding of the nature and effective teaching of the increasingly specialized language and literacy competencies required of their students for skilled participation in the curriculum areas at the secondary grade…

During the past decade three different bridging mathematics courses have been offered at the University of Auckland. A case study approach was used to investigate the effectiveness of these courses: two larger courses and one individual study programme. A different teaching approach, by committed experienced teachers, was used in each course. The…

Tiered instruction is grouping students for instruction based on their prior background knowledge in a given subject area. In this study, students were either in a control secondary science classroom or a classroom in which instruction was tiered. The tiered instruction was designed to match high, middle, or low levels of background knowledge on…

Advances in technology have caused a major shift in how students spend their time and challenged curriculum development to maintain interest and focus in the classroom. Implications are most profound in issues related to literacy due to a lack of experience and interest in reading. This article explores this issue and how it relates to teaching…

Through an examination of one undergraduate American history course at a large university in the southeastern United States via interview, observation and content analysis, we attempted to discern if the pedagogical methodology was relating to the students in such a way as to foster students' ability to construct meaning beyond simply…

A remedial reading teacher compares her experience in a night-school carpentry course to how she taught her students, reflecting on whether she adequately prepared students for learning, correctly assumed how much students knew, and was appropriately reassuring to students. (CB)

This paper investigates teachers use of prior knowledge in whole class teaching contexts and draws on data from an ESRC-funded study. The paper explores how teachers conceptualise prior knowledge, principally as that which has been taught in school. It demonstrates strong teacher awareness of how the teaching under consideration fits with learning…