Most psychological theories treat the features of objects as being fixed and immediately available to observers. However, novel objects have an infinite array of properties that could potentially be encoded as features, raising the question of how people learn which features to use in representing those objects. We focus on the effects of…

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has emerged as an alternative to traditional social work practice and has ignited a new round in the decades-old debate about the relationship between knowledge and practice in the field. This article identifies several limitations inherent in the EBP perspective and argues that it would be unfortunate if EBP were to…

Quality end-of-life care is subjective and based on individual values and beliefs. An advance directive provides a legal means of communicating these values and beliefs, as well as preferences in regards to end-of-life care when an individual is no longer able to make his or her desires known. In many nations, advance directives are underused…

On the basis of the Research Project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education under the title "Design, production and evaluation of a 2.0 learning environment for faculty training in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)" (EDU2009-08 893), experts have used the external competence coefficient to evaluate the…

This paper explores different approaches for developing skills in economics in schools. It considers the different preferred learning styles of students through the VARK method and applies a contextual learning approach to engage students and develop skills. The key skills that are considered are literacy, numeracy, information and communication…

This paper presents findings of a pilot study which used pedagogical agents to examine disclosure in educational settings. The study used responsive evaluation to explore how use of pedagogical agents might affect students' truthfulness and disclosure by asking them to respond to a lifestyle choices survey delivered by a web-based pedagogical…

This paper reports the results of a qualitative research study designed to examine the effectiveness of an attempt to make a conceptual change among pre-service teachers to their role as trainees and the role of their pedagogical advisor. The participants are six Arab-Muslim female student teachers who are highly influenced by their first learning…

This article introduces an intergenerational strategy for organizations planning centennial celebratory events. The methods and findings from the 4-H through the Generations session conducted at the joint 4-H Leadership Conference and 4-H Leaders Forum to celebrate the Pennsylvania 4-H Centennial are reported. Youth and adult participants shared…

Despite the clear long-term benefits of spaced practice, students and teachers often choose massed practice. Whether learners actually fail to appreciate the benefits of spacing is, however, open to question. Early studies (e.g., Zechmeister & Shaughnessy, 1980) found that participants' judgments of learning were higher after massed than after…

Colleges of business are typically formed around functional divisions like accounting, finance, management, and marketing. This discipline-based structure serves to convey basic information to the students, but it is poorly suited to provide an educational experience that integrates the functional areas into a holistic framework. Efforts to refine…

This article reports the findings of a qualitative research project that explored pre-service English teachers' perceptions of and attitudes toward the aspects of culture and intercultural competence addressed in their English classes in the undergraduate programs at three Colombian universities. Findings reveal that pre-service teachers are…

Using research data on teacher codeswitching in South Korea, this article investigates the attitudes and perceptions among Korean learners of English as a foreign language towards English-only instruction as opposed to instruction which contains some switching to the learners' first language. The study was in part operationalized by exploring…

Insights into teachers' planning of mathematics reported here were gathered as part of a broader project examining aspects of the implementation of the Australian curriculum in mathematics (and English). In particular, the responses of primary and secondary teachers to a survey of various aspects of decisions that inform their use of curriculum…

With the growing population of undergraduate students on our campus and an increased focus on their success, librarians at a large midwestern university were interested in the citation management styles of this university cohort. Our university library spends considerable resources each year to maintain and promote access to the robust…

Pupil talk and discussion are seen as having important social and cognitive outcomes. In science classes, pupils' collaborative talk supports the construction of meaning and helps examine the status of evidence, theory and knowledge. However, pupil interactive talk in groups is rare in science lessons. The research reported is part of a project to…