It is well known that emotions participate in the regulation of social behaviors and that the emotion displayed by a conspecific influences the behavior of other animals. In its simplest form, empathy can be characterized as the capacity to be affected by and/or share the emotional state of another. However, to date, relatively little is known…

As people become more sophisticated in their understanding of the workings of the human mind, it becomes increasingly clear that the processes of teaching and learning are more complex and subtle than was once thought. Models of education that were appropriate in the past are now obsolete. Cornell (2002) proposed an emerging paradigm of teaching…

This paper describes an educational analysis of a first year physics experiment on standing waves for engineering students. The educational analysis is based on the ACELL (Advancing Chemistry by Enhancing Learning in the Laboratory) approach which includes a statement of educational objectives and an analysis of student learning experiences. The…

The Illinois Initiative on Transparency in Learning and Teaching is a grassroots assessment project designed to promote students' conscious understanding of how they learn and to enable faculty to gather, share, and promptly benefit from data about students' learning by coordinating their efforts across disciplines, institutions, and countries.…

For six years the Food Security Research Network at Lakehead University, Canada, has been engaged in an interdisciplinary theme-based service-learning initiative focusing on food security. Informed by complexity theory, the contextual fluidity partnership model brings community partners, students, and faculty into a nexus through which new…

Very little research has been conducted into teaching advanced learners of German as a foreign language (GFL), and the few publications that exist describe such learners as very heterogeneous in respect of their learning needs, motivations, prior knowledge and expectations. Not surprisingly, didactic suggestions for teaching GFL at an advanced…

This paper explores pedagogical practices which can support the role of imagination in foreign language learning. Over the past decade, work on self and identity in motivation research--most notably Norton's (2001) imagined communities and Dörnyei's (2009) L2 motivational self system--has suggested that teachers might foster students' motivation…

We describe the Science Semester, a semester-long course block that integrates three science courses and a science education methods course for elementary teacher education majors, and examine prospective elementary teachers' developing conceptions about inquiry, science teaching efficacy, and reflections on learning through inquiry. The…

Language learning process works through the learners' own reflection on how they learn and it makes learners active in the sense that they learn to analyze their learning strategies. So they start making decisions, e.g., whether to improve them or not, and in which way. Generally, this trait is missing in traditional language teaching process and…

To address the need to better prepare teachers to enact science education reforms, the National Science Foundation has supported a Research Experience for Teachers (RET's) format for teacher professional development. In these experiences, teachers work closely with practicing scientists to engage in authentic scientific inquiry. Although…

Student perceptions of 63 concentration year MSW students, grades, and faculty perceptions were examined to evaluate differences in educational outcomes and in learning experiences among a traditional classroom model, a mixed or hybrid model, and a webinar online model for delivery of integrative field seminars. No significant differences were…

In the current digital environment, it is vital for learners to develop digital literacy skills. The UK's Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (HE) requires graduates to demonstrate digital literacy. Employers consider these skills essential. With the high cost of HE in the UK, learners themselves also expect university courses to…

Two articles are presented in this column. "Life in an Auto Factory: Simulating how Labor and Management Interact" by Eric B. Freedman describes a classroom simulation of management and labor relations in an auto factory. Classroom handouts are included. The next article, "Women of Action and County Names: Mary Musgrove County--Why…

This article uses the blog entries of student teachers to examine what they learn during their internships. Data reveal how novice teachers, for better or worse, are socialized to conform to the status quo, thereby calling the current model for student teaching into question. The article argues that a better model for student teaching would…

This paper describes an ongoing language-learning project, three years into its development. We examine both the feasibility and the limitations of developing English reading and grammar skills through the interface of mobile phones. Throughout the project, reading and grammar materials were regularly sent to students' mobile phones. Students read…