The bulk of current research on teacher professional development is focused on teacher learning in the context of teacher professional learning communities (PLCs). In teacher PLCs, groups of teachers meet regularly to increase their own learning and the learning of their students. Teacher PLCs offer a learning model in which, "new ideas and…

In this article, the authors describe a lesson that uses the 5E Learning Cycle to help students not only understand the atomic model but also how Ernest Rutherford helped develop it. The lesson uses Rutherford's gold foil experiment to focus on three aspects of the nature of science: the empirical nature of science, the tentativeness of scientific…

Despite extensive discussion on critical thinking (CT) by Chinese students, there are still debates over the question of why Chinese higher education students, when studying abroad, lack (or rather do not demonstrate) CT skills. The main objective of this paper is to explore how far it can be established from the published research literature…

This action research aims to identify the teacher trainees' attributions for their failure, their locus of control and their achievement goals as a result of high failure rate in "Teaching English to Young Learners" course at a large state university in Turkey. For this purpose, qualitative and quantitative data were gathered via an…

In this article, I examine the potential for developing preservice social studies teachers' understanding of transformational resistance, Latin@ civil rights movements, and culturally sustaining pedagogy through a project using the film Precious Knowledge. This documentary depicts high school students in a Mexican American Studies (MAS) program…

Approximately 80% of youth on the autism spectrum in the U.S. who attend college will attend a 2-year college at some point in their postsecondary education. These community-based colleges are universally-accessible educational institutions which offer both academic and vocational courses and are experienced in teaching diverse learners who may…

New York City's elite public specialized high schools have a long history of offering a rigorous college preparatory education to the City's most academically talented students. Though immensely popular and highly selective, their policy of admitting students on the basis of a single entrance exam has been heavily criticized. Many argue, for…

Context: A concept map is a graphical and cognitive tool that enables learners to link together interrelated concepts using propositions or statements that answer a posed problem. As an assessment tool, concept mapping reveals a learner's research skill proficiency and cognitive processing. Background: The identification and organization of the…

If teacher value-added estimates (VAEs) are to be used as indicators of individual teacher performance in teacher evaluation and accountability systems, it is important to understand how much VAEs are affected by the data and model specifications used to estimate them. In this study we explored the effects of three conditions on the stability of…

This paper argues that all learners need teachers who are not only professionally qualified but also culturally competent. This is particularly so with teachers of indigenous students, who face the conflicting expectations of schools and those of their home cultures. References to Pacific students will be used to illustrate some of the conflicts…

This study examined the effects of educational technology training workshops on perception changes of mathematics teachers. Three perceptions, namely, pedagogical orientation, efficacy, and liking in relation to technology integration, were explored in this study. Two research questions were addressed: Do educational technology training workshops…

This article argues that the model of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in use at the Workers' College in South Africa may be seen as a form of "radical pedagogy." Drawing on documentary sources, focus group interviews with staff, and observations, it describes an educational philosophy which aims to build the competencies of activists…

In the changing global economy, employability skills increasingly are the focus of vocational education and training institutions. This paper explores the effect of academic disciplines, students' background characteristics and industry training on the acquisition of employability skills through competency-based training. A significant…

Many college students struggle with first-semester general chemistry. Prior studies have shown that a student's prior knowledge of chemistry, a cognitive factor, does not account for the total variance when measured by examination scores. This study explored the role of self-regulated learning (SRL) to identify the degree of success or failure of…

Change in high school student information literacy (IL) knowledge and skills, from freshman year to senior year in high school was the focus of this quasi-experimental research project. Researchers used a free information literacy skills assessment tool entitled TRAILS (Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) to measure…