This research investigates preschoolers' use of desires for word learning. Three-year-old children were shown pairs of novel toys and were asked about their own desire and told about a researcher's desire. For half of the children the researcher liked the same object they did and for the other half the researcher liked a different object. The…

With the strong link between programming and the underlying technology, the incorporation of computer technology into the teaching of a programming language course should be a natural progression. However, the abstract nature of programming can make such integration a difficult prospect to achieve. As a result, the main development tool, the…

Past and present research has provided evidence to support the claim that technologies for teaching and learning must be pedagogically sound. However, educational technologies are also part of a complex process involving the people in the implementation of the innovation. In this paper, I review existing research and explain what both of those…

In the Jewish religion, a bar or bat mitzvah ceremony is the rite of passage from childhood towards adulthood. Twenty-one youngsters who attended two special education schools in Israel participated in group bar/bat mitzvah ceremonies. Parents were interviewed both before the learning process and after the ceremony. Findings showed that the…

The World Wide Web (Web), the largest multimedia system in existence, has been heralded by many as the perfect tool for lifelong learning. One topic mentioned in this regard is science, since many adults have little prior knowledge about it and the field is constantly changing. Yet little empirical research has been done to examine how web…

The perspective of communities as a situated context dates back to the works of Vygotsky (1978, 1981) who posited that cognition begins at the social inter-mental level and through the process of internalization meanings become translated or assimilated into the individual level. Within this social to individual transition, learners can be…

The Serbian writing system was used to investigate whether a serial procedure is implicated in print-to-sound translation and whether components of the reading aloud system can be strategically controlled. In mixed- and pure-alphabet lists, participants read aloud phonologically bivalent words comprising bivalent letters in initial or final…

The educational potential of non-linear systems is given surprisingly little attention in science education research--at least in research that links content matter and educational issues. The project on educational reconstruction of non-linear systems at the IPN has investigated the educational significance of threferring phenomena and the…

This article identifies some of the advantages of using a postmodern approach in the psychology classroom. A postmodern pedagogical stance has special relevance for faculty who teach abnormal psychology insofar as postmodernism encourages reflexivity and increases students' awareness of social justice issues. The author provides specific ideas for…

In this article we argue that to be successful in an academic arena, students must adopt a consistent approach to completing academic work (i.e., a work habit) that includes very carefully interpreting the demands of tasks that are presented to them in schools. To clarify why task interpretation is so critical to student success, and is thus an…

Examines textbooks (n=40), developed for introductory sociology, based on quantity and quality of material pertaining to traditional symbolic interaction ideas. Finds all textbooks discuss at least some of the ideas. Provides empirical study findings with illustrations. Focuses on how materials from symbolic interaction traditions can enhance…

As the articles in this issue attest, U-shaped curves in development have stimulated a wide spectrum of research across disparate task domains and age groups and have provoked a variety of ideas about their origins and theoretical significance. In the authors' view, the ubiquity of the general pattern suggests that U-shaped curves can arise from…

This article reports 2 experiments examining the changing role of iconicity in symbol learning and its implications regarding the mechanisms supporting symbol-to-referent mapping. Experiment 1 compared 18- and 26-month-olds' mapping of iconic gestures (e.g., hopping gesture for a rabbit) vs. arbitrary gestures (e.g., dropping motion for a rabbit).…

Four real-time visual feedback computer tools for singing lessons (Singad, Albert, Sing & See, and WinSINGAD), and the research carried out to evaluate the usefulness of these systems are reviewed in this article. We report on the development of user-functions and the usability of these computer-assisted learning tools. Both quantitative and…

Innovation is the lifeblood of companies, while simultaneously being one of the most difficult and elusive processes to manage. Failure rates are high--varying between six out of ten to nine out of ten--while the need to innovate is high. Departing from a real-life case of a company, Sara Lee/Douwe Egberts, that has set learning within and from…