Learning is an active process, and, as such, interactive lectures are considered as the educational best practice. This study investigated the efficacy of interactive lecturing in a module of eight respiratory physiology lectures in a second-year Physiology course with two distinct subcohorts: students with strong science backgrounds and those…

This report describes the role of analogies in science instruction and presents research on a model for teaching with analogies. This model is being developed from research studies of textbooks and exemplary teachers; it provides guidelines for the strategic use of analogies during science instruction to explain fundamentally important concepts in…

Mathematics learning and practice in school and out of school differ in some significant ways which are explained by the fact that: (1) problem in everyday situations are embedded in real contexts that are meaningful to the problem solver; and (2) the mathematics used outside school is a tool in the service of some broader goal. This paper…

The curriculum for eleven-year old students in the United Kingdom, currently adopted by most schools, includes solving linear equations with the unknown on one side only before moving onto those with the unknown on both sides in later years. School textbooks struggle with the balance between developing algebraic understanding and training…

Planned, individualized vocabulary instruction is an essential ingredient of developmental reading classes, and deserves special attention, since expanding word knowledge is the one area related to reading comprehension in which student progress can be directly observed and measured by the learner in daily or weekly increments. The two factors…

A study of variations in pupils' prior knowledge for their influence on the sequencing mode of text presentation found prior knowledge reduced the effect of size of sequencing procedures. A second experiment comparing performance of pupils with low prior knowledge level using websequence and linear sequence found webteaching was superior.…

This study identified instructional strategies that family and consumer science teacher candidates found useful, noting why the strategies aided their learning. A 2-hour lesson on classroom management using small group theory was selected based on its ties to constructivist pedagogy. Before teaching the lesson, the instructor described her…

Undergraduate education majors participated in a mastery learning situation (unlimited retesting and relearning until the end of the semester) or a modified mastery situation (only two trials per unit allowed). Higher levels of prior achievement and the modified mastery approach were associated with greater learning and retention. (GDC)

Explores the multidimensional nature of learning from text through a discussion of the critical variables of students' knowledge, interest, and use of strategies. Examines the developmental nature of learning from text as students journey through school from acclimation to competence, and finally to expertise in a subject area. Suggests…

Experiences with an instructional strategy which enabled students to build for themselves the appropriate scientific concept for energy are described. This was done by pupil/teacher dialogue in small groups, in which students were expected to create for themselves a "generalization mechanism" based on their own frameworks. (KR)

Lists eight principles that underlie the philosophy of flexible learning and discusses their implications for a university. Highlights include flexible access to courses, recognition of prior learning, flexible content, flexible participation, flexible teaching and learning methods, flexible resources, flexible assessment, and ongoing evaluation.…

This chapter highlights the central role of experience in learning and consciousness; it also outlines experience-based instructional processes that adult educators can use. (Contains 1 figure.)

Underpinning science education reform movements in the last 20 years--at all levels and within all disciplines--is an explicit shift in the goals of science teaching from students simply creating a knowledge base of scientific facts to students developing deeper understandings of major concepts within a scientific discipline. For example, what use…

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of conceptual change texts oriented instruction on 9th grade students' understanding of chemical bonding concepts. In this study, the main aim of the preparation of conceptual change texts was to activate students' prior knowledge and misconceptions and to help them to understand the chemical…

Students collaborating in small groups is a characteristic of problem-based learning (PBL) that is receiving increased consideration in the literature. In this paper findings from studies in this area are synthesized and discussed. A distinction is made between studies focusing on cognitive effects of group learning and studies focusing on…