What, if anything, do teachers need to know about how the brain works to improve teaching and learning? After all, a plumber needs to know how to stop leaks--not the molecular structure of water. And one can learn how to use a computer without knowing how a computer chip works. Likewise, teachers need to know how to help students develop…

Fads are common in every area of education. The problem with fads is that even promising developments are quickly abandoned to make room for the next innovation. Educational innovations become fads partly because they are without a firm foundation in theories of learning, or because that foundation is not fully identified and communicated. There…

In this article empirical examples are used to connect theories about young people, contemporary art forms and learning. The first part of the article introduces the new forms of consciousness which, according to the youth researchers Birgitte Simonsen and Thomas Ziehe, characterize young people of today. In the second part, the qualities of…

The article begins by highlighting recent trends and concerns in post-secondary Calculus and Precalculus education. The main purpose of the article is to discuss the transition to a new Precalculus/Calculus I two-semester course at Wabash College, a small liberal arts college for men. Three years of data from the earlier, traditional, sequence are…

This article reviews published research on (i) classrooms as communities; (ii) classrooms as communities of learners; and (iii) classrooms as learning communities. It is based on a reading of about 100 texts. It aims to answer the question "What do we now know about the effects of operating classrooms as learning communities?". Despite…

This paper considers the problem of analysis of correlation coefficients from a multivariate normal population. A unified theorem is derived for the regression model with normally distributed explanatory variables and the general results are employed to provide useful expressions for the distributions of simple, multiple, and partial-multiple…

This paper critically assesses the scholarship in introductory psychology textbooks in relation to the topic of latent learning. A review of the treatment of latent learning in 48 introductory psychology textbooks published between 1948 and 2004, with 21 of these texts published since 1999, reveals that the scholarship on the topic of latent…

All schools now have internet access, but the potential of internet technology as a teaching and learning tool is still far from fully realised. This book helps teachers develop pedagogical skills in using the internet through a series of case studies of practice, all of which are based on extensive classroom research. It is a guidebook on how…

This article examines cognitive models of peer learning in school and the implications that these models have for the teaching of science in primary schools. The article is a product of the European Commission, Socrates Comenius 2.1 funded project "The Implementation of Scientific Thinking in (Pre) Primary Schools Settings (STIPPS)" project…

Interaction is an essential ingredient in any learning process. However, every interaction does not lead to increased learning. When interaction has a direct influence on learners' intellectual growth, we can say the interaction is meaningful. The precise meaning of meaningful interaction is strongly related to the learning theories underlying the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe research into the requirements, practice and prospects for the field of learning design and provide the findings of this study to date alongside early recommendations for furthering the profession in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: The paper describes the findings of a review of the literature…

This paper presents the systematic development of a "Uses and Gratification Expectancy" (UGE) conceptual framework which is able to predict students' "Perceived e-Learning Experience." It is argued that students' UGE as regards e-learning resources cannot be implicitly or explicitly explored without first examining underlying communication…

The advantages of transformative learning approaches in graduate education parallel the tenets of mentoring and lifelong learning. Under this theoretical framework, adult student achievement in leadership programming can be assessed as a developmental and individualized process. The mixed methods study presented here illustrates that it is…

This paper investigates how teacher education programmes provide adequate preparation for its prospective teachers. It uses adult numeracy teacher education in the post-compulsory education sector in England as exemplar. Using findings from two research projects on adult numeracy teacher education courses, the article investigates the applications…

From 1980 to 1995, the University of Western Sydney at Hawkesbury (formerly Hawkesbury Agricultural College) in Richmond, New South Wales, Australia, pioneered an innovative undergraduate degree in Systems Agriculture based on experiential education, systems thinking, and adult learning theory. Today this program is in trouble and has reverted…