iPods are one of the hottest selling gadgets on the market. They are everywhere, and that includes college campuses. Duke University initially distributed iPods to all incoming freshmen and then moved to a classroom focus, and even smaller campuses, such as Georgia College & State University, have gotten considerable publicity for their…

Educational researchers are increasingly using design as a means of advancing their understanding. Historically design in educational research has served as a way to implement theories for testing. The emerging design research paradigm treats design as a strategy for developing and refining theories. In this article, I discuss the lessons that can…

How do adult learners make the connection between ethical thinking and ethical action--between what they believe and how they act? This article explores implications for religious education for social justice based on a case study of transformative learning theory, Freirean pedagogy, and popular education principles. (Contains 8 footnotes.)

In this essay, Christopher Winch explores the relevance of Ludwig Wittgenstein's account of rule-following to vocational education with particular reference to the often-made claim that any account of an activity in terms of rule-following implies rigidity and inflexibility. He argues that most rule-following is only successful when it involves a…

This article follows Engestrom (2001) in suggesting a new approach to learning in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based on the social and cultural realities of the workplace. The article briefly reviews the theoretical status and practical standing of work on lifelong learning in SMEs, and suggests that Engestrom's work may help us to…

In this paper, the authors argue that chemical knowledge in the classroom will be enriched by the application of characterizations of models drawn from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. This discussion highlights two important issues relating to chemical knowledge in the classroom: (1) the status of chemical knowledge in the classroom,…

Official state program reviews of 204 substitute care facilities were assessed for the types of behavior management and behavioral interventions used and the extent to which agency practices were consistent with learning theory principles. Data were also collected on the type and number of professional staff available to implement and oversee…

This article reflects on current debate over transformations of scientific research and universities. Four well-known mutation theories (Mode-2 knowledge production, triple helix of university-industry-government relations, academic capitalism and enterprise university), and their recent critiques, are reviewed. It is suggested that a better…

Examination of motivational dynamics in academic contexts within self-determination theory has centered primarily around both the motives (initially intrinsic vs. extrinsic, later autonomous vs. controlled) that regulate learners' study behavior and the contexts that promote or hinder these regulations. Less attention has been paid to the goal…

This paper stems from the ESRC TLRP Learning How to Learn--in Classrooms, Schools and Networks Project, and explores how Assessment for Learning (AfL) relates, conceptually, to learning how to learn (LHTL). The term LHTL was intended to draw attention to a primary focus on learning practices, and we have related the processes of AfL to LHTL. A…

The American education system and its rigorous accountability and performance standards continually force educators to explore new ways to increase student achievement. The improvement in computer technology and intelligent computing systems may offer new tools for student learning and higher academic achievement. These systems have the potential…

In recent years, educational policies for boys have not been given as much attention as those for girls in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rural Nigerian nomadic boys are especially disadvantaged, considering their livelihood is based on a pastoral economy that demands constant migration to interior grasslands in search of pasture. For a…

Practice-based or experiential learning has come to be dominated by mentalist models of reflection on experience. The argument here is that these models split mind from body and subject from environment in ways that yield problematic practices. An alternate conception of practice-based learning is offered here, based on the notion of…

This paper considers the work of Martin Heidegger and its relation to situated cognition. The motivation for the paper springs from the perceived misconception that many educators have on situated cognition by applying situated learning strategies in a dualistic orientation, whereas situated cognition is fundamentally relativist (non-dualistic) in…

If teachers are expected to change their teaching behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs, they need to be involved in interactive, sustained, job-embedded approaches to learning. Research shows how the brain works and what reinforcements it needs to retain information and translate that to practice.