We explore how small-format laptops ("netbooks") have been used within evidence-based investigations undertaken by secondary school students, to what extent these are suitable for effectively supporting learners across different locations and contexts, and their implications for open learning. Over the course of seven trials with 300…

In this study, we investigated the influence of individual learners' motivation on the collaborative discovery learning process. In this we distinguished the motivation of the individual learners and had eye for the composition of groups, which could be homogeneous or heterogeneous in terms of motivation. The study involved 73 dyads of 10th-grade…

This article reports on a study that examined the effects of integrating corpus and contextualized lexicogrammar in foreign and second language teaching. The study was conducted in English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) courses at 1 Chinese university and 2 U.S. universities, involving 244 participants (236…

A WebQuest is an inquiry-based lesson plan that uses the Internet. This article explains what a WebQuest is, shows how to create one, and provides an example. When engaged in a WebQuest, students use technology to experience cooperative learning and discovery learning while honing their research, writing, and presentation skills. It has been found…

Concepts must not only be learned in an inquiry-conceptual program; they must also be put to use in observing, classifying, generalizing, and other processes. Both analytic (general) and integrative (particular) concepts should be used as needed in a given study or inquiry. (CK)

Have you ever had an experience too good to be true; one that you could not wait to share with your friends? In this article, the author describes such an experience that she had last summer when she was a part of the "Passport to Discovery" tour offered by CRIZMAC Art and Cultural Education Materials, Inc., and led by founder Stevie Mack and…

Guided-inquiry experiments also known as discovery-based experiments, which combine the pedagogical advantages of open-inquiry methods with the practical advantages of expository experiments, are described. Unlike open-inquiry or problem-based experiments, guided-inquiry experiments could be readily adapted to large laboratory sections and induces…

Children differ in how much they spontaneously pay attention to quantitative aspects of their natural environment. We studied how this spontaneous tendency to focus on numerosity (SFON) is related to subitizing-based enumeration and verbal and object counting skills. In this exploratory study, children were tested individually at the age of 4-5…

Creativity has become a buzzword in UK culture in the twenty-first century and is in increasing demand across many spheres. In education, its usage is often generic and has become ever more widespread as it has found its way into a plethora of government documentation pertaining to primary schools over the last decade. However, with a continued…

Technological advances have made research-based learning possible now in ways that were unimaginable in previous generations. Such learning can and, the authors argue, should be at the center of the undergraduate experience. In this article, the authors describe an approach that combines research-based learning with student development theory to…

Many of our greatest joys in life are related to our learning, but, unfortunately, most of that learning takes place outside of school. Educators can put more joy into the experience of going to school and get more joy out of working inside school by focusing on several essentials. Help students find pleasure in learning by giving them the freedom…