A characteristic of the modern mind is a disdain for tradition. Polanyi argues that neglecting the role of tradition leads to philosophical incoherence as well as moral and political chaos. Polanyi's postcritical philosophy represents an attempt to show how tradition plays a vital role in the process of discovery. Ultimately, a coherent account of…

A guided-inquiry lab, suitable for first-year general chemistry or high school advanced placement chemistry, is presented that uses only inexpensive, store-bought materials. The reaction of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) with aqueous acetic acid (vinegar), under the constraint of the challenge to completely fill a sealable plastic bag with the…

Many have suggested that tinkering plays a critical role in novices learning to program, and recent work in learning analytics (Baker & Yacef, 2009 Blikstein, 2011) allows us to describe new relationships in the process. Using learning analytics, we explore how students progress from exploration, through tinkering, to refinement, a pathway…

"What is the right use of books?" Responding to the question he famously raised, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that "books are for nothing but to inspire," which we take as endorsing a pragmatic and pluralistic view of reading literature and other kinds of texts in a manner that keeps books open to a flow of continual questioning and renewal. The…

Discovery-based learning designs incorporating active exploration are common within instructional software. However, researchers have highlighted empirical evidence showing that "pure" discovery learning is of limited value and strategies which reduce complexity and provide guidance to learners are important if potential learning…

This study investigated the effect of class practices on students' learning gains in reading comprehension in the 5th grade. A sample of 4,344 students in 283 classes in 176 schools was studied. Several class practices that have previously been demonstrated to be effective were tested while controlling for student characteristics and socioeconomic…

The authors of "Make Just One Change" argue that formulating one's own questions is "the single most essential skill for learning"--and one that should be taught to all students. They also argue that it should be taught in the simplest way possible. Drawing on twenty years of experience, the authors present the Question Formulation Technique, a…

Hypovolemic and orthostatic challenge can be simulated in humans by the application of lower body negative pressure (LBNP), because this perturbation leads to peripheral blood pooling and, consequently, central hypovolemia. The classic paper by Foux and colleagues clearly shows the effects of orthostasis simulated by LBNP on fluid shifts and…

Most of the transport along the nephron uses membrane proteins and exhibits the three characteristics of mediated transport: saturation, specificity, and competition. Glucose reabsorption in the nephron is an excellent example of the consequences of saturation. Two classic papers by James A. Shannon and colleagues clearly show the ability of the…

People are self-learning on the Internet and the various eLearning freeware tools of the 21st century diffuses a whole new pedagogy; yet, generational trends from organizations, corporations, and academic institutions minimally show implementation of various blended learning approaches online into their organizational culture and climate. The…

Based on the dozens of interactive workshops that the author has facilitated with children, he has discovered that children are more knowledgeable about the natural and the built environment than typically accredited. Due to this discovery, he believes children should be part of the community engagement for planning projects, developments, and…

Introduction: The achievement goals framework has been researched and used to explain and account for individuals' learning and academic achievements. Over the past three decades, progress has been made in the conceptualizations and research development of different possible theoretical models of achievement goals. Notably, in this study, we…

Differences in definitions of limit and continuity of functions as treated in courses on calculus and in rigorous undergraduate analysis yield contradictory outcomes and unexpected language. There are results about limits in calculus that are false by the definitions of analysis, functions not continuous by one definition and continuous by…

This article details how certain mathematical "discoveries" that Cavazos' fourth graders made were recorded throughout the year. Cavazos invited a math professor, a biologist, a literacy professor, a chemist, a statistician, and an engineering student, as well as their school principal and computer lab technician, both of whom are…

Error-based simulation (EBS) has been developed to generate phenomena by using students' erroneous ideas and also offers promise for promoting students' awareness of errors. In this paper, we report the evaluation of EBS used in learning "normal reaction" in a junior high school. An EBS class, where students learned the concept…