How do teachers respond to a mathematics curriculum innovation? This paper reports some of the findings from a UK Research Council (ESRC)-funded project investigating how teachers in English secondary schools (students aged 12-16 years) responded to innovation. A Gatsby Foundation funded program implemented new materials; the project investigated…

Although mathematical pattern tasks are often found in elementary school curricula and are deemed a building block for algebra, a recent report (National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008) suggests the resources devoted to its teaching and assessment need to be rebalanced. We examined whether children's developing proficiency in solving algebraic…

An intriguing error has been observed in toddlers presented with a 3-location search task involving invisible displacements of an object, namely, the C-not-B task. In 3 experiments, the authors investigated the dynamics of the attentional focus process that is suspected to be involved in this task. In Experiment 1, 2.5-year-old children were…

The study examined relationships among key domains of science instruction with English language learning (ELL) students based on teachers' perceptions of their classroom practices (i.e., what they think they do) and actual classroom practices (i.e., what they are observed doing). The four domains under investigation included: (1) teachers'…

The science education literature clearly shows that knowledge of the nature of technology is an educational goal; however there is a lack of research on student conceptions about the nature of technology. To address this gap in the literature, this research began with a thorough review of the literature on scientific and technological literacy,…

This paper investigates teaching practices at the Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC), which comprise a unique official development assistance (ODA) program funded by the Government of Australia (GoA) and managed through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) with the aim of training and equipping workers from the…

This study investigates attitudes toward disability held by children with disabilities and average- and high-achieving children, and the latter two groups' experiences in inclusive elementary classrooms. Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons Form-Scale (ATDP; Yuker, Block, & Young, 1966) responses did not differ. Females were more accepting. Children…

This study contributes to research that characterises the affective learning that is evoked and taken on by students in response to their perceptions of their contextual learning environments. Interview-discussions were held with lecturers of both introductory and higher-level physics courses (n = 3) concerning how they formulated their patterns…

Recent investigations challenge the construct validity of sustained silent reading tests. Performance of two groups of post-secondary students (e.g. struggling and non-struggling) on a sustained silent reading test and two types of cloze test (i.e. maze and open-ended) was compared in order to identify the test format that contributes greater…

We investigate the effects of age-related factors and formal instruction on the development of reading-related skills in children aged 4 and 7 years. Age effects were determined by comparing two groups of children at the onset of formal schooling; one aged 7 (later-schooled) and one aged 4 (earlier-schooled). Schooling effects were measured by…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education has become a key focus in the U.S. government's public education agenda. Many STEM degrees require the successful completion of undergraduate introductory organic chemistry (O-Chem), which is notorious for its difficulty and high attrition rate. Concept Maps (CM) have been used as…

First year undergraduate students at the University of Edinburgh hone their enquiry skills and learn to investigate current environmental issues by carrying out research projects. A list of 60 possible projects has been compiled and is available on a website, to be used directly or adapted to suit the requirements of other educators. This paper…

The impact of music activity on children's motor and cognitive skills has been investigated with music learning, instrument lessons and classroom music. While none have employed natural utterances, singing games or playground/street songs, these musical experiences of childhood are acknowledged as a major platform for child development. The…

Although command of good writing skills is crucial to student success at all levels, throughout the world most L2 writing instruction is delivered by inexperienced and under-prepared writing teachers. In L2 contexts, writing teacher education is under-developed, and research on writing teacher preparation is a relatively uncharted territory. Using…

Study of the developmental relationship between language and working memory skills has only just begun, despite the prominent role of their interdependency in some theoretical accounts of developmental language impairments. Recently, Archibald and Joanisse (2009) identified children with specific language impairment (SLI), or specific working…