Background: There is considerable interest in differences in students' approaches to learning, particularly in the difference between "deep" approaches (characterized by contextualization, critical review and recognition of the value of the content) and "surface" approaches (characterized by rote learning for functional…

Through a rigorous process of selecting educational psychology's most useful affective constructs, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) constructed the Students' Approaches to Learning (SAL) instrument, which requires only 10 min to measure 14 factors that assess self-regulated learning strategies, self-beliefs,…

This article examines writing conference discourse in one English as a Second Language (ESL) basic composition course. The study is based on a 25,000-word corpus of 10 writing conference interactions between the instructor and seven students. Through a microlevel analysis, the authors demonstrate how and to what degree the writing conference can…

In this activity, students learn about the important topic of invasive species, specifically Zebra Mussels. Students role-play different characters in a real-life situation: the trial of the Zebra Mussel for unlawful disruption of the Great Lakes ecosystem. Students will also learn about jurisprudential inquiry by examining the trial process. This…

The sweet spot for the use of technology in education may clearly be that software personalizes the learning experience, connects all the components and emancipates publication for targeted and effective interaction. In the future, no one owns content as an end product. It is molecular at its origin. MIT will give away their content for free,…

Following publication of the National Languages Strategy on 18 December 2002 the teaching of foreign languages (FL) in the primary school is again high on the agenda in England as in other parts of Europe. Research has shown in the past (Burstall "et al.," 1974) that an early start in FL does not necessarily result in any long-term…

The study investigated the effectiveness of a school-based movement programme for a population of 5 to 7 year old children. Performance profiles on the Movement ABC were used to classify the children and to assess skill changes over time. Children were assigned to four different groups: motor learning difficulty (n = 10), borderline motor learning…

International comparisons of American education have become so popular and widespread in the reform debates of the last several decades that many of the current centerpieces of the American reform movement were shaped through evidence and speculation on what other more educationally successful nations were doing that the U.S. was not. The current…

In 2003, the American Association of Colleges and Universities issued its National Panel Report: Greater Expectations, A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College. The report states: "Students will continue to pursue different specializations in college. But across all fields, the panel calls for higher education to help college students…

This article explores the identity changes that college students with learning disability (LD) and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) report after participating in a short-term study abroad program. The reflections of thirteen short-term study abroad participants, all of whom have been diagnosed with LD and/or AD/HD are presented.…

If intercultural awareness is a key area in which sojourners are expected to make progress while abroad, then appropriate methods of assessment should be used to measure the gains they have made. While much attention has focused on the preparation, format, and content of study abroad programs, relatively little has been published about modes of…

Although the majority of New Zealanders speak English, and only English, the 1987 Maori Language Act and immigration from both Asia and the Pacific have had a significant impact on New Zealand society. Because increasing numbers of children are entering school with limited English language ability, students are arguably the group with the most…

This paper considers speakers' differing degrees of self-confidence in their bilingual abilities and their effects on reported language use and observed patterns of language choice. One hundred and twenty individuals from New Zealand's four largest Pasifika communities--Samoan, Cook Islands, Tongan and Niuean--reported on their self-confidence in…

The number of female school principals in the United States continues to grow each year, and many of these women are evolving into outstanding educational leaders. Cultural and gender barriers, however, continue to limit their leadership effectiveness despite their overall achievements. Many of these women have not maximized their leadership…

The current study investigated six teachers, three in second grade and three in fourth grade, and their beliefs about learning, instruction, and technology. The first significant finding was that the teachers who held objectivist notions about learning and instruction also held objectivist views concerning technology, and the teachers who…