The purpose of this study is to examine the use of a Vending Machine applet as a cognitive root for the development of preservice teachers understanding of function. The applet was designed to purposefully problematize common misconceptions associated with the algebraic nature of typical function machines. Findings indicated affordances and…

The ability to comprehend and use metaphors in L2 which is referred to as metaphorical competence is an important issue in second language acquisition. Metaphors are so pervasive in our life that we might not realize their presence and simply neglect them even in our first language. Different models of communicative competence have been suggested…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the metaphorical images of "teacher" produced by 55 Spanish and 72 Turkish preservice teachers at Universitat de Barcelona, in Barcelona, Spain, and at Ege University, in Izmir, Turkey. It is based on a theory of teacher socialization which affirms that cultural values have an impact on the…

This is a theoretical paper that addresses the challenge of educational access to the Humanities and Social Sciences. It plots a theoretical quest to develop an explicit pedagogy to give "disadvantaged" students in the Humanities ways of working successfully with texts. In doing so it draws on Bernstein, Moore and Maton's work to…

The images of "enemies" and "friends" remain in the focus of attention due to escalating discriminatory practices towards communication partners from different groups that one tends to ascribe negative features based on various stereotypes, social attitudes and representations. In this paper, the problem of metaphorical and…

The aim of this research was to analyze pre-service teachers' perceptions of the concept "scientific knowledge" through metaphors. Phenomenology, one of qualitative research designs, was used in the study. A total of 189 pre-service teachers, including 158 females and 31 males, studying at different departments in the education faculty…

This paper provides an ethnographic understanding of harmony as language policy in China, grounded in a historical analysis of "harmony" ([character omitted] "he") as a distinct traditional Chinese (Confucian) ideal that gradually finds its new expressions through the policy of Harmonious Society ([characters omitted]…

Preservice elementary teachers hold a variety of beliefs about mathematics and mathematics learning, which influence their teaching. Previous research has shown that preservice elementary teachers believe that mathematics is doing arithmetic. However, it is unclear if preservice elementary teachers truly believe that mathematics is only…

The study aimed to examine the pedagogical implications of the "linguistic and orthographic proximity hypothesis." This hypothesis claims that the similarities and differences between first and additional languages and scripts help or hinder the acquisition of literacy in the novel language. In this study we examined the impact of Arabic…

Major African writers have never stopped exploring the themes of corruption, radical struggles and political instability in their respective domains. One of these writers and his monumental classic, Chinua Achebe; "Anthills of the Savanna", discusses these themes expertly and with utmost dexterity. The major task of this paper is not to…

Borrowing from marital research literature, a four-square matrix constructed from the twin dimensions of effort and comfort levels is used to describe a typology of campus and community associations. Results from a study using the Optimal College Town Assessment to measure community member perceptions on town-gown relationships are presented next,…

Many of the goals of research on conceptual metaphor in science education overlap with the goals of research on conceptual change. The relevance of a conceptual metaphor perspective to the study of conceptual change has already been discussed. However, a substantial body of literature on conceptual metaphor in science education has now emerged.…

This multi-university, three-year longitudinal study examined the relationship among seven secondary science teachers' personal, student and scientific epistemologies. Paying close attention to each participant's use of metaphor when speaking about his/her learning, students' learning and the products/processes of science, we were able to discern…

The hybridization of carbon is an important problem of quantum chemistry. It means that atomic orbitals could mix giving hybrid orbitals. Orbitals are not physical objects; they are mathematical solutions of the Schrodinger equation. The aim of this study is to determine through phenomenographic method how Science Teaching undergraduate students…

Children vary in their ability to use language in social contexts and this has important consequences for wellbeing. We review studies that test whether individual differences in pragmatic skill are associated with formal language ability, mentalizing, and executive functions in both typical and atypical development. The strongest and most…