Built from data collected through three-phase in-depth interviews, this study explores from cultural and social perspectives why Chinese students may initially be termed silent participants when they first commence group work with western students; and then examines the impact of cultural interaction through group work on their adjustment.…

Extensive engagement with current academic sources is expected of all psychology undergraduates. Thirty-eight undergraduate psychology students took part in a series of focus group discussions of their information-searching experiences and skills. The majority of students had not been required to engage with any form of information searching while…

In order to prepare effective writing teachers, teacher educators need an understanding of how preservice preparation programs, inservice professional development, and the policies and practices of K-12 schools work together to influence teachers' writing instruction. This qualitative case study uses complexity theory (Davis & Sumara, 2006) to…

This study examined the effectiveness of a professional development (PD) experience on preschool teachers' instructional strategy development. Focusing on supporting young children's peer social competence as a common interest, preschool teachers were guided to design the specific contents of the PD workshops and were offered an on-site…

The paper draws initially on theoretical literature describing schools and universities as, necessarily, dialogic learning communities, which is then applied to an investigation into the use of peer review in teacher education in an Australian university. The empirical research described was completed with pre-service teachers of religious…

Summer Enrichment Workshop (SEW) is a 3-week enrichment program held at The University of Alabama (UA) Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for students identified as gifted and talented. The faculty of the College of Education, Program of Gifted and Talented (GT), formed a partnership with a College of Engineering faculty member who mentored the graduate student…

Background: Given the increasing presence of aborigines in Taiwan higher education, especially in nursing institutes, the retention and adaptation of aboriginal students is a critical issue for research. Understanding the adjustment and transformation process of aboriginal nursing freshmen is very important for improving their learning, but very…

Mainstream education studies have shown that teachers have a strong desire to control their work situation and maintain classroom autonomy. Issues of control and power are also prevalent in outdoor education, where the facilitator is put in a position of power, controlling the participants' learning experience. What follows is an examination of…

With the increase of educational programs and classes offered online, any people have taken advantage of the convenience of these offerings. Along with the rapid growth of distance learning, there has been a reported high attrition rate among online learners. Some research suggests that part of the attrition involved student expectations not being…

The complex profession of nursing requires the practitioner to be knowledgeable, skilled, and autonomous. It is estimated that only 34.2% of today's nurses hold degrees at the baccalaureate level and above. Growing evidence indicating baccalaureate-degreed nurses are better prepared to meet the demands of this complex profession has led to…

The chemistry-based computer video game is a multidisciplinary collaboration between chemistry and computer graphics and technology fields developed to explore the use of video games as a possible learning tool. This innovative approach aims to integrate elements of commercial video game and authentic chemistry context environments into a learning…

Affective factors in language learning have long attracted attention. While research findings indicate substantial links between affect and achievement, further inquiry into the role and contribution of affect in language learning has been limited by a narrow focus on single emotions and on the disruptive effects of emotion. Drawing on social…

In academia, interdependence or shared responsibility between instructor and student is an essential part of the educational process, yet research examining its effect on student responses toward their learning experience is scant. To offer insight into this context, two studies are developed. Study 1 finds that perceptions of shared…

This paper summarizes the work and conclusions of a working group established by the European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN). The aim of the working group was to identify potential areas for innovative approaches to the teaching and learning of chemistry in Higher Education, and to survey good practice throughout the EU. The paper starts by…

The derivative of a composite function, taken with the chain rule is one of the important notions in calculus. This paper describes a study conducted in Turkey that shows that the chain rule was given with the formula in function notation and/or the Leibniz notation without relating these formulas to life-related problem situations in the…