Children with special learning needs participate fully in the authors' science classes every day; their job as teachers is to bring about meaningful science connections for all students, including those who do not communicate their knowledge most effectively through the ways most typically associated with classroom learning (i.e., reading,…

The Statistical Reasoning Assessment or SRA is one of the first objective instruments developed to assess students' statistical reasoning. Published in 1998 (Garfield, 1998a), it became widely available after the Garfield (2003) publication. Empirical studies applying the SRA by Garfield and co-authors brought forward two intriguing puzzles: the…

The aim of the present study was to investigate those factors influencing performance in solving story problems in a web-based environment. A situational simulation, "Hiking across Estonia," was explored by two samples of voluntary groups of students, comprising 65 and 50 groups, respectively. They solved 25 ecological and environmental story…

This document consists of a workshop presentation on curriculum development, design, specification, and assessment in the engineering classroom. Ten sessions focus on: (1) the format and purpose of the workshop, which is designed to help instructors develop an understanding of the basic principles of curriculum and instruction and the ability to…

This practicum provided a 12-week group instruction program which was designed to enable 8 high school students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to gain knowledge about ADHD, implement strategies for coping with the disorder, and employ self-advocacy skills. The program involved administration of an ADHD measure prior to and…

An investigation was designed to reveal, describe, and assess the rote-level and meaningful-level understandings students attained as they progressed through the learning of new concepts. This study used an assessment technique used in previous research called "mental modeling" to ascertain the nature (meaningful, rote) of the…

This 1-week study explored the extent to which high school students (n=140) acquired meaningful understanding of selected biological topics (meiosis and the Punnett square method) and the relationship between these topics. This study: (1) examined "mental modeling" as a technique for measuring students' meaningful understanding of the…

This study investigated the retention of meaningful understanding of the biological topics of meiosis, the Punnett square method and the relations between these two topics. This study also explored the predictive influence of students' general tendency to learn meaningfully or by rote (meaningful learning orientation), prior knowledge of meiosis,…

This book explores concepts and methods of self-directed learning (SDL), documenting and illustrating the SDL methodology with practical examples. SDL is a synergistic process in which a teacher helps learners use various strategies and perceptual skills to learn on their own, become more responsible for their learning, and take charge of their…

This report summarizes the Engineering Curriculum Transformation Project (ECTP) instituted at the University of Maryland during the 1995-1996 academic year. This initiative focused on facilitating the development of engineering course curricula based on diverse learning styles, more inclusive examples, and the incorporation of diversity and…

Translating William Glasser's quality school ideas and Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences into simple language and practical ideas, this book contains 21 activities or strategies designed to help students in developing and organizing some new learning behaviors. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1, entitled "Paving the…

The two articles in this newsletter issue focus on and discuss the multiple intelligences (MI) theory and its application in schools. Developed by Howard Gardner at Harvard University, the theory argues that individuals differ in their abilities, learning styles, and interests, and that these differences need to be acknowledged and nurtured in…

This paper presents a model of college choice that suggests that students' choice of college can be related to perceived "capital conversion" benefits. The model was tested on an evenly distributed sample (n=22,109) of students; one group attending elite colleges (with average freshman Scholastic Assessment Test scores of 1200 or higher)…

This instructional resource provides classroom teachers with information for working successfully with all students by incorporating management tools and strategies to ensure students' success as they move from school to work. The guide is organized in five parts. Part I, Strategies for Learning and Teaching, covers these topics: learning styles,…

This project attempts to provide a comprehensive list of recently written, high quality journal articles relating to the subject of Native Americans and special education, handicapping conditions, social and medical issues that may contribute to handicapping conditions, and alternative teaching methods that can be used to help Native Americans in…