The worked example effect indicates that learning by studying worked examples is more effective than learning by solving the equivalent problems. The expertise reversal effect indicates that this is only the case for novice learners; once prior knowledge of the task is available problem solving becomes more effective for learning. These effects,…

Western cultural practices contribute to our understanding of the purpose of higher education and how we are to conduct ourselves in educational contexts. In this article, entitled "Seekers after truth?", I analyse recent works of popular fiction which draw on and contribute to the idea that postgraduate research is a process of locating and…

How do instructors guide students to discover mathematical content? Are current explanatory models of pedagogical practice suitable to capture pragmatic essentials of discovery-based instruction? We examined videographed data from the implementation of a natural user interface design for proportions, so as to determine one constructivist tutor's…

The author has successfully used a learning activity titled "The Year I Was Born" to motivate students to conduct historical research and present key scientific discoveries from their birth year. The activity promotes writing, helps students enhance their scientific literacy, and also improves their attitude toward the learning of science. As one…

A guided-inquiry lab, suitable for first-year general chemistry or high school advanced placement chemistry, is presented that uses only inexpensive, store-bought materials. The reaction of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) with aqueous acetic acid (vinegar), under the constraint of the challenge to completely fill a sealable plastic bag with the…

Discovery learning in higher education has been reported to be effective in assisting learners to understand difficult concepts and retain long term information. This paper seeks to illustrate how one self assessment model may be used to demonstrate discovery learning in a collaborative atmosphere of students sharing and getting to know each…

A characteristic of the modern mind is a disdain for tradition. Polanyi argues that neglecting the role of tradition leads to philosophical incoherence as well as moral and political chaos. Polanyi's postcritical philosophy represents an attempt to show how tradition plays a vital role in the process of discovery. Ultimately, a coherent account of…

Many have suggested that tinkering plays a critical role in novices learning to program, and recent work in learning analytics (Baker & Yacef, 2009 Blikstein, 2011) allows us to describe new relationships in the process. Using learning analytics, we explore how students progress from exploration, through tinkering, to refinement, a pathway…

"What is the right use of books?" Responding to the question he famously raised, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that "books are for nothing but to inspire," which we take as endorsing a pragmatic and pluralistic view of reading literature and other kinds of texts in a manner that keeps books open to a flow of continual questioning and renewal. The…

People are self-learning on the Internet and the various eLearning freeware tools of the 21st century diffuses a whole new pedagogy; yet, generational trends from organizations, corporations, and academic institutions minimally show implementation of various blended learning approaches online into their organizational culture and climate. The…

Discovery-based learning designs incorporating active exploration are common within instructional software. However, researchers have highlighted empirical evidence showing that "pure" discovery learning is of limited value and strategies which reduce complexity and provide guidance to learners are important if potential learning…

This study investigated the effect of class practices on students' learning gains in reading comprehension in the 5th grade. A sample of 4,344 students in 283 classes in 176 schools was studied. Several class practices that have previously been demonstrated to be effective were tested while controlling for student characteristics and socioeconomic…

Based on the dozens of interactive workshops that the author has facilitated with children, he has discovered that children are more knowledgeable about the natural and the built environment than typically accredited. Due to this discovery, he believes children should be part of the community engagement for planning projects, developments, and…

The authors of "Make Just One Change" argue that formulating one's own questions is "the single most essential skill for learning"--and one that should be taught to all students. They also argue that it should be taught in the simplest way possible. Drawing on twenty years of experience, the authors present the Question Formulation Technique, a…

Hypovolemic and orthostatic challenge can be simulated in humans by the application of lower body negative pressure (LBNP), because this perturbation leads to peripheral blood pooling and, consequently, central hypovolemia. The classic paper by Foux and colleagues clearly shows the effects of orthostasis simulated by LBNP on fluid shifts and…