Describes a study of secondary school students in the Netherlands that compared the use of paper and pencil or computer spreadsheets to solve correlational problems in geography. Discusses results of videotape transcripts that compared teacher and student behaviors and considered mechanisms through which computers contribute to learning.…

Describes PT3 (Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology) at Vanderbilt University, focusing on the development of a modular architecture for creating, sharing, and studying the impact of high-quality learning resources. Discusses three case studies that explored preservice teacher education in three areas: how people learn, mathematics, and…

Discusses the mathematics learning related to NCTM standards that emerges as children engage in play in early childhood and kindergarten settings and offers suggestions for the effective use of play in teaching young children mathematics. Focuses on the use of blocks and manipulatives. Discusses how teachers' assumptions and mathematics knowledge…

Attempts to make sense of the complexity of mathematics teaching and its development at secondary school level. Conducts a partnership between teachers and researchers in U.K. schools and analyzes interactions between the teacher and students at whole class and small group level. Uses the teaching triad as an analytical device and reflective agent…

A study comparing peer and teacher evaluations of British university biology students' (n=39) performance found such comparison misleading as a guide to the validity of peer assessment. When individual criteria were analyzed, agreement of peers and teacher ranged from 31-62%, with specific areas of the criteria prone to over- and undervaluation.…

Former candidate for U.S. Assistant Attorney General Lani Guinier is attempting to make law school and the legal profession more welcoming to women, in part by rejecting use of the Socratic method in classroom discussion, which she feels is intimidating, combative, and discriminates against women. Others say the Socratic approach encourages men…

The media's ebonics hysteria has sparked a national debate concerning the failure of the nation's urban schools to serve African American and other minority students' needs. Oakland Unified School District's systemic reform of curricula and standards hinges on new teaching practices exploiting the connections among language, literacy, and…

Discusses variation in interlanguage and suggests two hypotheses to explain such variation as multiple internal representations of a form and processing errors. Suggests that second language learners can initially represent new forms as prototype schemas, and that such non-discrete representations are a third source of variation in interlanguage.…

Estimates the effects of three types of differences in Taiwanese vocational schools on students' achievement: institutional investment, student background, and learning processes. The analysis is based on multilevel modeling. Although some subgroups of the qualitative differences affect students' performance, student background has little effect…

Discusses the experiences of a group of teachers sharing their everyday teaching activities through the use of sketch journals, journals inscribed with insights, and drawings gleaned from the classroom, as a means to gather information and help teachers reflect on their learning. Suggests that sketch journals helped teachers find natural ways to…

Describes a 7-year-old whose mathematical performance in class embodies much of what is important according to "Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics". She speaks little English and therefore scores low on standardized, norm-referenced tests. Concludes that changes in curriculum and classroom instruction require changes in…

Examines the scientific concept of evaporation. Attempts to show how students develop their understanding through the levels of the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy. Shows how designing learning experiences to suit the learners' developmental stages in understanding a concept is paramount to the overall growth of the…

States that the traditional instruments used to measure teacher performance at the end of the semester promotes a student-as-consumer analogy. Presents an alternative end-of-semester questionnaire that enables students to assess their own efforts and responses to learning processes. Includes a copy of the student opinion survey and lists…

Reviews the history of and describes what biology educators should know about the topic of bioterrorism. Suggests materials that can be used to communicate more effectively with students and the community and prepare a classroom discussion on bioterrorism. (KHR)

Develops a set of educational evaluation criteria for online continuing professional development (CPD) courses using Kolb's experiential learning cycle theory. Evaluates five courses provided by online CPD Web sites, concludes that these online courses neglect parts of the learning cycle, and suggests improvements. (Author/LRW)