Pre-laboratory activities have been known to improve students' preparation before their practical work as they assist students to make available more working memory capacity for actual learning during the laboratory. The aim of this investigation was to compare two different teaching approaches which supported a pre-laboratory session by using the…

The development and application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the field of Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) have had a considerable impact on the teaching methodologies in China. With an increasing emphasis on strengthening students' learning initiative and adopting a "student-centred" teaching concept in FLT,…

Featuring an increased emphasis on the way today's changing science and technology is shaping our culture, this Second Edition of "Teaching Science in Elementary and Middle School" provides pre- and in-service teachers with an introduction to basic science concepts and methods of science instruction, as well as practical strategies for the…

In 2006 and 2008, two large trans-national residential summer schools on conservation science were organized as intensive programs. Learners were not only second/third cycle students in both exact sciences and humanities, but further practicing restorers; consequently their educational background, and even their way of approaching scientific…

The Spanish educational system will require certain changes in order to achieve the Bologna objectives for the European Higher Education Area, including a more professional profile, with new activities and roles for both students and teachers, who must assume new skills that will affect concepts and attitudes related to the teaching and learning…

Social construction of understanding has long been a significant underlying principle of learning and teaching, and while there are many models for the design of online activities to promote this, there are considerably fewer models for the facilitation of such dialogue. This paper examines some of these facilitation models from the point of view…

This case study discusses a collaborative three year project involving two school clusters located in the North Island and South Island of New Zealand. The project was named "Project ACTIVate" and its main thrust was to study how the use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) combined with teaching, learning and research across schools. The…

Ubiquitous computing and mobile technologies provide a new perspective for designing innovative outdoor learning experiences. The purpose of this study is to propose a formative assessment design for integrating PDAs into ecology observations. Three learning activities were conducted in this study. An action research approach was applied to…

For students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), reading exercises are critical not only for developing strong reading comprehension, but also for developing listening, speaking, and writing skills. Prior research suggests that social, collaborative learning environments are best suited for improving language ability. However, opportunities…

At Dalarna University, Sweden, modes of communication are offered at many points of Kenning's continuum with a web-based learning platform, including asynchronous document exchange and collaborative writing tools, e-mail, recorded lectures in various formats, live streamed lectures with the possibility of text questions to the lecturer in real…

Despite a growing development of virtual laboratories which use the advantages of multimedia and Internet for distance education, learning by means of such tutorial tools would be more effective if they were specifically tailored to each student needs. The virtual teaching process would be well adapted if an artificial tutor can identify the…

The state of Kentucky has embarked upon a large scale systems change effort to integrate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, including use of digital curriculum and computerized reading supports to improve overall student achievement. A major component of this initiative is the use of Read & Write Gold. As higher expectations are…

The present study expands the design of Warschauer (1996) surveying freshman foreign language students at a Turkish university. Motivating aspects of computer assisted instruction in terms of writing and e-mailing are explored through an exploratory factor analysis conducted on the survey developed by Warschauer (1996). Findings suggest that…

What reading programs have been proven to help middle and high school students to succeed? To find out, this review summarizes evidence on four types of programs designed to improve the reading achievement of students in grades 6-12: (1) Reading Curricula (Curr), such as "LANGUAGE!," "McDougal Littel," and other standard and alternative textbooks;…

The Open University of Indonesia (Universitas Terbuka, UT) has over 450,000 students distributed across a vast, diverse archipelago. UT will play a central role in meeting the requirement that over 1 million primary teachers earn four-year postsecondary degrees by 2015. While the Open University has considerable capacity in print-based and…