In this paper, the main points of Lamarck's and Darwin's theoretical conceptual schemes about evolution are compared to those derived from 15 years old students' explanations of evolutionary episodes. We suggest that secondary students' preconceptions should not be characterized as "Lamarckian", because they are essentially different from the…

Content analysis is a powerful empirical method for analyzing text, a method that technical communicators can use on the job and in their research. Content analysis can expose hidden connections among concepts, reveal relationships among ideas that initially seem unconnected, and inform the decision-making processes associated with many technical…

The authors' purpose is to help students clarify the difference between scientific laws and scientific theories. Understanding the nature of science is important to our students; however, persistent misconceptions, such as misunderstandings about scientific laws and theories, are still present. In this two-part activity, students will have a…

Many institutions of higher education are hesitant to consider themselves as customer-driven entities. Even the suggestion of the term customer can arouse many emotions, preconceptions, and misconceptions. The idea that students are partners in developing and delivering quality education threatens the historic, traditional academic role of faculty…

This article aims to clarify some of our pre-conceived assumptions when we address issues of learning in practice. It argues that we need to develop an understanding of practice based on its own premises. For this purpose the German philosopher Martin Heidegger's (1889-1976) understanding of practice and learning is introduced. Heidegger…

Do video games and simulations really belong in the classroom? A growing body of evidence--from education conference sessions to ramped-up gaming research and university pilot programs--all point to the affirmative. However, sensationalized press accounts, a personal lack of familiarity with games, and other factors still contribute to a broad…

Students' understanding regarding force and frictional force was probed by administering a force concept inventory (FCI) and a frictional force concept inventory (FFCI) which was followed by practical activities to investigate the application aspect of the concepts in real situations. Analysis of the two audio-video recorded interviews and…

In this article, the author offers his critiques on Downs and Wardle's course, Introduction to Writing Studies. Downs and Wardle use their course to alert students to the very misconceptions that prompt the shift from "teaching writing" to "teaching about writing"--namely the inability of first-year composition courses to make good on the pledge…

This paper seeks to unpack some dimensions of formative assessment not yet fully articulated in the existing literature. It introduces the term, pre-emptive formative assessment to denote teacher actions which attempt to clarify student understandings before misconceptions have resulted in ineffective learning outcomes and/or loss of marks in…

This article challenges misperceptions about the definition of systemic change in school districts. While many contemporary change efforts are described as "systemic," in fact, they are not. The author also argues that a special instance of systemic change known as systemic transformational change is required to transform entire school…

While there are lots of books with information on why and how to differentiate instruction, here at last is a book that gets to the heart of why some efforts to differentiate flop while others lead to sweeping, positive results. When it's your job to support differentiated instruction in a single school or systemwide, you need the guidance from…

In the socio-economic context of Bangladesh, involvement of women in agriculture is very important. It would be easier to control rural-urban migration by engaging women in agricultural activities to a greater extent. Women play a vital role in agricultural production throughout the Bangladesh, making a significant contribution to the basic…

Despite being a landmark of 20th century biology, the "classical molecular gene concept," according to which a gene is a stretch of DNA encoding a functional product, which may be a single polypeptide or RNA molecule, has been recently challenged by a series of findings (e.g., split genes, alternative splicing, overlapping and nested…

In this article, the author, who has a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), shares her concerns about the stereotypes that too often surround the disorder. She suggests that because most biases and stereotypes are born of ignorance and misinformation, it is important that parents and educators do their part to…

Pre-service teachers face many challenges as they learn to teach in ways that are different from their own educational experiences. Pre-service teachers often enter teacher education courses with pre-conceptions about teaching and learning that may or may not be consistent with contemporary learning theory. To build on preservice teachers' prior…