This study determines the relative strength of predictors of school violence among a sample of 229 girls enrolled in a single middle school. The four-part questionnaire, comprising sociodemographic items, a school violence inventory, a self-esteem scale, and an attitudes toward violence scale, measured school violence in terms of suspendable…

Six Mandarin affricates (i.e., zh[ts], ch[ts[superscript h]], z[ts], c[ts[superscript h]], j[tc], q[tc[superscript h]), which are not universally present in other languages, have been extensively challenging for learners of Mandarin Chinese. In the current study, perception of these affricates was investigated via an experiment in which native…

The aim of this study is to develop a framework for professional development programmes that empowers chemistry teachers to teach and design context-based chemistry curricula. Firstly, teachers' involvement, their concerns and their professional development in several context-based curriculum innovations is discussed. Secondly, to develop such a…

Educators and Trainers both focus on adult learning theory when teaching. In the workforce, as well as in higher education, current literature pertaining to adult learners tends to lump all adults into the same category. Scant research exists that reviews the adult learner through a generational lens. This paper examines the elements that engage…

"Threshold concepts" are concepts that, among other things, transform the way a student looks at a discipline. Although the term "threshold" might suggest that the transformation occurs at a specific point in time, an "aha" moment, it seems more common (at least in computing) that a longer time period is required.…

The present study takes an interdisciplinary mathematics-physics approach to the acquisition of the concept of angle by children in Grades 3-5. This paper first presents the theoretical framework we developed, then we analyse the concept of angle and the difficulties pupils have with it. Finally, we report three experimental physics-based teaching…

Listening skills are fundamental in the author's approach to teaching music to children. As a Suzuki instructor, the author is always looking for ways to help students listen more effectively. This article sets forth ways listening can be fostered, both in private instrumental study and in general music preschool and elementary classrooms. The…

Social learning theory, sociodramatic play, and the use of puppets and stuffed animals may be beneficial for improving social behaviors of preschoolers with and without disabilities. Therefore, this action research study is developed on the belief that a stuffed animal (Bob Bear) will enhance appropriate behaviors for preschool children when used…

Much research into postgraduate student learning focuses on generic issues of research development. Early work, reported here, uses threshold concept theories and theories of conceptual threshold crossing to focus on the learning and supervisory support of postgraduates researching in the fields of literature and art. This paper is based on…

Despite broad recognition that teaching excellence requires meeting students' intellectual and social needs, teachers struggle to manage--and learning theory struggles to explain--the interplay between the academic and social dimensions of classroom life. Drawing from research on parenting and child development, the author offers parenting style…

The paper addresses the relationship between the twin tasks of enabling pupils both to learn about and learn from religion in the state education systems of Finland and the UK. Recognising that the relationship between these two tasks is the subject of considerable confusion, it is argued that the most appropriate way to view the connection is…

The paper is the outcome of an experiential learning episode encountered by a teacher educator (the author) with a group of student-teachers under his mentorship during a session of the practice teaching programme (2006-07) at the secondary school level. The crisis faced by a student teacher in connection with the development of a lesson template…

The Gilfus Education Group predicts that over the next few years, educators will make great progress in combining existing technology capabilities with the practices and theories of learning communities to develop a vigorous community learning platform which enables a richer set of educational experiences and facilitates the positive effects…

Instructional coach initiatives aimed at teachers' professional development are expanding in reforming school districts across the United States. This study addresses the lack of research regarding the professional development of instructional coaches. Drawing on sociocultural learning theory, specifically a model called the Vygotsky Space, the…

Whilst there is considerable literature on feedback for students and on the use of audio feedback, literature in the area of podcasting assignment feedback (PAF) remains sparse. Partly, this may be due to a lack of clarity about what counts as feedback, the way in which feedback is located pedagogically and the relationship between feedback…