This experimental study explored whether, and to what extent, differences in gender and experience with word processing affect how students perceive their classroom environment in high school writing classes. Treatment of experimental and control groups is described, and the classroom environment questionnaire for the experimental…

Discusses how language teacher education has shifted to constructivist, process-oriented theories of learning; the idea that teacher education programs have failed to prepare teachers for the classroom; the importance of teachers' prior experiences; and the concern that teaching be viewed as a profession where teachers have an active role in…

Agricultural development programs often produce unexpected results. This can be attributed to the fact that the target-farmers already have their own knowledge and competencies which, in turn, determine their practices. In order to be adopted, an innovation has first to be discussed, and then appropriated by a local group of farmers in their…

Integrating funds of knowledge--the resources, processes, and strategies attached to family and community proficiencies--has widely been accepted as a worthwhile pedagogical intervention. In this article, we argue that two of the primary assumptions underlying such interventions have yet to be explored. First, because funds of knowledge are…

We examined direct and interaction effects of learners' characteristics (cognitive ability, prior knowledge, prior experience, and motivation to learn) and classroom characteristics (videoconferencing and class size) on learning from a 16-week course. A 2x2 quasi-experimental design varied the class size between large (approximately 60 students)…

The aims of this study were considered under three headings. The first was to elicit misconceptions that students had about the terms "solute", "solvent" and "solution." The second was to understand how students' prior learning affected their misconceptions. The third was to determine if students were able to make a…

This articles describes a qualitative research project investigating the effects of participation by preservice teachers in a literacy tutorial early intervention program that was based on a constructivist model utilizing self-reflection and inquiry. Seven recurring themes emerged from the data analysis providing little evidence of growth in…

Chemistry learning involves establishing conceptual relationships among macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic representations. Employing the notion of intertextuality to conceptualize these relationships, this study investigates how class members interactionally construct meanings of chemical representations by connecting them to real-life…

Few studies have explored the work of successful beginning teachers in diverse settings. This investigation follows one promising young, white elementary teacher through her student teaching in the inner city of Washington, D.C. and into her first year of teaching in a suburban, diverse Virginia school. Seven themes articulate her journey into…

In pursuit of quality, the learning process should be continuously improved by changing, among other things, the learning material and the way learning is facilitated. A concern for academics, teaching experience in the B.Ed. module: Personnel Management, a module offered by means of distance education at the University of South Africa, is to…

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between such factors as learning style, gender, prior experience, and successful achievement in contrasting modules taken by a cohort of thirty design and technology trainee teachers during their degree programme at a University in the North East of England. Achievement data were collected…

This paper briefly identifies a number of contemporary pressures for change which condition the way universities will behave and which provide both opportunities and threats for the future; it then goes on to consider the implications for distance education universities. Pressures on universities include such factors as the growth of other…

This study was conducted to investigate the microcomputer experience of female preservice teachers. A questionnaire developed to evaluate prior computer experiences of teacher education students enrolled in an educational technology and media course was administered during the first week of class. The sample included 40 males and 215 females.…

This guide to developing a prior learning portfolio was prepared to assist students in the Credit for Lifelong Learning Program (CLLP) at Sinclair Community College (SCC) in Dayton, Ohio, through the process of identifying college-level prior learning, matching their learning to specific courses, and articulating and documenting their learning.…

This paper reports on the results of a study investigating attitude toward computing for a large group (n=509) of students undertaking an introductory information systems course in an Australian university. Students were surveyed using a two-part questionnaire. The first section dealt with gender, previous computing experience, and level of…