New technology within Open and Distance learning (ODL) provides new opportunities for the delivery of learner support resources. Mass customization techniques offer the advantages of efficient production combined with the development of a learning experience precisely tailored for the individual's study requirements. In this article, we discuss…

A feature is central to a concept to the extent that other features depend on it. Four studies tested the hypothesis that people will project a feature from a base concept to a target concept to the extent that they believe the feature is central to the two concepts. This centrality hypothesis implies that feature projection is guided by a…

Numerous studies suggest roles for monoamines in modulating long-term potentiation (LTP). Previously, we reported that both induction and maintenance of perforant path-dentate gyrus LTP is enhanced when induced while animals explore novel environments. Here we investigate the contribution of serotonin and 5-HT1a receptors to the novelty-mediated…

Successful advocates are able to identify a paradox in the context of a statement or discussion and use it to reinforce or change an opinion. Embedded in the discussion held by educators and parents, are often self-contradictory statements. Educators listening to the presentation of educational ideas that oppose each other can use the paradox to…

This article reports on a qualitative study that shows how situational willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second language (L2) can dynamically emerge and fluctuate during a conversation situation. From inductive analysis of data from interviews, videotaped conversations, and stimulated recalls, it was found that situational WTC in L2 emerged…

This article analyzes the 1863 pseudo slave narrative entitled "Black and White; Or, the Heart, Not the Face" by white Northerner Jane Dunbar Chaplin. The article sets this tale within the historical and literary context of "domestic abolitionism." The logic behind the story is described as "sympathetic identification," a perspective that,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of creative and critical thinking based laboratory method on prospective primary teachers' creative and logical thinking abilities. This research was conducted with 90 prospective elementary school teachers who were enrolled in two classes of education faculty during the spring semester of the…

The search for a social goodness function in economic systems is reviewed, especially in light of the fact that the economy is a subsystem of a biosphere that has its own rules for determining success, or at least for limiting feasibility. The frequent perversity of reductionist quantitative success indicators in economics (profit, quotas, GDP) is…

Electronic Blocks are a new programming environment designed specifically for children aged between 3 and 8 years. These physical, stackable blocks include sensor blocks, action blocks, and logic blocks. By connecting these blocks, children can program a wide variety of structures that interact with one another and the environment. Electronic…

Educational leadership is vital to sustain quality educational institutions. It is the role of the school leader to indoctrinate stakeholders with the objectivist ethics-embracing egoism and relinquishing altruistic ideals when it comes to invigorating the system with sustainable change. Ayn Rand's timeless piece of literature "The Virtue of…

To find out if children could make functions before age 4, 73 children aged 1 to 4 were encouraged to imitate the use of a lever to make a beanbag fly up. Functions are mental relationships that preoperational children can make between 2 things at a time in a unidirectional way (Piaget, Grize, Szeminska, & Bang, 1968/1977). The child's…

Proof is a fundamental aspect of mathematics. Without the notion of proof, mathematics would not exist as a separate subject, as it would be essentially indistinguishable from science. Yet proof is often reserved for "high ability" students in schools or those studying mathematics in further education. The author's own memories of…

Analogies can be powerful teaching tools because they can make abstract material intelligible to students by comparing it to material with which the students are already familiar. In this study, the authors interviewed 43 students to determine the specific ways they use analogies to learn and function in their biochemistry classes. They found that…

This study analyzes the short-term consequences of visitors' use of different types of exhibits (i.e., "exemplars of phenomena" and "analogy based") together with the factors affecting visitors' understanding of and their evaluation of the use of such exhibits. One hundred and twenty five visitors (either alone or in groups) were observed …

Many people believe that environmental factors promote giftedness and invest in many programs to adopt gifted students providing them with challenging activities. Intellectual giftedness is founded on fluid intelligence and extends to more specific abilities through the growth and inputs from the environment. Acknowledging the roles played by the…