This article looks at some of the conceptual difficulties that students have in a linear algebra course. An overview of previous research in this area is given, and the various theories that have been espoused regarding the reasons that students find linear algebra so difficult are discussed. Student responses to two questions testing the ability…

With our conceptualization of Harre and van Langenhove's (1999) positioning theory, we draw attention to immanent experience and read transcendent discursive practices through the moment of interaction. We use a series of spatial images as metaphors to analyze the way positioning is conceptualized in current mathematics education literature and…

It is widely believed that administrative expenditures in US higher education are growing too rapidly, particularly in relation to expenditures that are directly related to instruction, and that this so-called "administrative bloat" is a major factor in the rising cost of higher education. We argue that this perception of rapid growth is…

In his December editorial on Michael Reiss, Kenneth Tobin ("Cult Stud Sci Educ" 3:793-798, 2008), raises some very important questions for science and science teachers regarding science education and the teaching of creationism in the classroom. I agree with him that students' creationist ideologies should be treated not as misconceptions but as…

Universities transform lives. Going to university leads to new ways of seeing the world, to new horizons and networks, and to significantly enhanced job opportunities, but not everyone benefits in the same way. Fewer students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds go to university, and when they do they tend not to do as well as…

There are a very vibrant community of academics, educators, students, and business personalities who agree that video games have a powerful potential for learning and training. There is also a growing number of practice, products, and research to support the notion that video games are a valuable addition to the set of tools teachers are using in…

A significant issue in gifted education is the possible need for mandatory pre-service programs or certifications for educators who work with students who are gifted and talented. It was the primary purpose of this dissertation study to examine the perceptions of three groups of participants (pre-service educators, in-service educators in regular…

The purpose of this study was to recruit undergraduate students into language teaching by investigating students' perceptions of second-language learning and becoming a foreign language (FL) teacher in a rural context. The investigator used two quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with undergraduates in second- and third-semester FL…

The number right (NR) method, in which students pick one option as the answer, is the conventional method for scoring multiple-choice tests that is heavily criticized for encouraging students to guess and failing to credit partial knowledge. In addition, computer technology is increasingly used in classroom assessment. This paper investigates the…

Background and purpose: Active-learning as a student-centered learning process has begun to take more interest in constructing scientific knowledge. For this reason, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of active-learning implementation on high-school students' understanding of "acids and bases". Sample: The sample of this…

Despite receiving increased professional and public awareness since the initial American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) statement defining Auditory Processing Disorders (APDs) in 1993 and the subsequent ASHA statement (2005), many misconceptions remain regarding APDs in school-age children among health and academic professionals. While…

Around 150 pre-service science teachers (PSTs) participated in a study comparing academic and personal characteristics with their misconceptions about basic chemical ideas taught to 11-16-year-olds, such as particle theory, change of state, conservation of mass, chemical bonding, mole calculations, and combustion reactions. Data, collected by…

Welfare is misunderstood, mystified, and feminized by many stakeholders (i.e. government, media, majoritarian culture, etc.). This text analysis will assess how well the text achieved the following: (1) articulate why the current U.S. welfare state is based upon myths or false assumptions, (2) analyze what these false assumptions mean for…

Dyslexia is a congenital disorder characterized by unexpected difficulties in learning to read and spell in relation to one's verbal intelligence, motivation, and educational opportunities (Aylward et al., 2003; Morgan, 1896). Because dyslexia can affect 1.5-5% of the population (Aylward et al., 2003; Vellutino et al., 1996), understanding how to…

Although prior research has shown that experts tend to overestimate or underestimate what laypersons actually know, little is known about the specific consequences of biased estimations for communication. To investigate the impact of biased estimations of a layperson's knowledge on the effectiveness of experts' explanations, we conducted a…