An analysis of a 10-minute episode in which 7-year-old students (n=3) engage in collaborative small group activity is presented to explore the relationship between individual learning and group development. Students learned as they interactively constituted situations for justification or validation, yielding an institutionalized solution method.…

Examines how cognitive modeling and self-efficacy affected preservice teachers' learning of teaching strategies. Two groups of students viewed videotaped training sessions with direct instruction or cognitive modeling. They then viewed either self-efficacy or task-oriented commentaries. Results indicated significant effects favoring cognitive…

Presents the conclusion of chapter 6 ("The Mental Development of Younger Schoolchildren in the Process of Learning Activity") from V. V. Davydov's "Problems of Developmental Teaching." Examines experimental teaching methods for elementary art education. Reviews research on effects of Davydov's developmental teaching, concluding…

This article examines the role of social context in teaching and learning at the college level and reviews principles of six research and conceptual approaches which address social context: the transactional perspective; student-centered instruction; cooperative learning; communication theory; group-process theory; and curricular/structural…

Summarizes a study that maintains that students who work together in small groups had a better understanding of map concepts. Discusses why making maps in groups can enhance students' conceptual geographic understanding and offers suggestions for improving geography instructions using small group configurations. Includes statistical and graphic…

It has been proposed that situated cognition theory, in which learning is conceptualized as induction into a community of practice through the activity of legitimate peripheral participation, offers an appropriate theoretical perspective for examining issues of gender in science education. This study critically engages with this proposal by means…

This article considers the question of what specific actions a teacher might take to create a culture of inquiry in a secondary school mathematics classroom. Sociocultural theories of learning provide the framework for examining teaching and learning practices in a single classroom over a two-year period. The notion of the zone of proximal…

In inclusive education different pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and high ability pupils, can be stimulated to learn according to their capacities and potentials. The research question concentrates on the design features of inclusive education that will optimally promote the motivation and learning processes and outcomes of…

Teachers everywhere are being held accountable for their professional actions through the test-driven curricula sweeping the nation. The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2002) makes it clear that promotion of reflective practice is an important component of teacher education programs. This multiple case study…

This article is based on a study conducted in a teacher education classroom in an attempt to 1) recognize and acknowledge teacher candidates' prior beliefs and experiences; 2) formalize the connection between theories of child development and learning and teacher's implicit beliefs; and 3) encourage teacher candidates to reflect on their own…

Understanding how people learn is the foundation of informed teaching, yet it is difficult for teachers to articulate and effectively use. This study investigated how two preservice teachers' conceptions of learning theories transferred to their decisionmaking during student teaching. This paired-sample case study examined Research-Based Framework…

Although science centres and museums are important educational resources, school trips to these places are not often conducted in a manner that could maximise learning. In addressing this issue, a Framework for Museum Practice (FMP) is proposed, derived from the perspectives of Cultural Historical Activity Theory, theories of intrinsic motivation,…

Instructional strategies determine the approaches an educator may take to achieve learning objectives. Research has shown that sets of strategies or instructional models anchored on social constructivist learning theories were found to be effective in enhancing active participation. It is particularly influential and meaningful in many areas of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how, from 2004-2006, a New Zealand research team experimented with the "change laboratory" learning process to create a new method of government policy development and implementation, referred to as "practice-making". The apple industry in Hawke's Bay was chosen because of the…

This text on the education of gifted children is organized into two parts--the first on curriculum principles and the second on applications of those principles. The first chapter examines such topics as theories of intelligence, qualitatively different curricula, and a comprehensive approach to curriculum. Chapter 2 considers several continuums…