Wiggins' view of understanding requires students to integrate facts, information, knowledge, and applications to develop understanding. Understanding, from this perspective, is an extensive web of interrelated ideas, experiences, and beliefs that transforms information from simple, memorized facts into knowledge that can be the basis for action.…

Demand for well-qualified health care professionals (including pharmacists) is projected to increase over the next 10 to 20 years. In many jurisdictions, immigration will become an increasingly important human resource to replace aging, retiring workers and drive ongoing economic prosperity and growth. Higher education has been an underutilized…

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) involves an idea of "making learning visible"--of valuing knowledge irrespective of how, when and where it is learnt. This is a phenomenographic analysis of how a group of caretakers from a Swedish property management company experience participation in an RPL initiative focusing on their vocational competence.…

This essay considers the question of why we should teach science to K-2. After initial consideration of two traditional reasons for studying science, six assertions supporting the idea that even small children should be exposed to science are given. These are, in order: (1) Children naturally enjoy observing and thinking about nature. (2) Exposing…

For the mature student, the recognition and validation of prior knowledge, much of which may be tacit, is central to both confidence and further learning. From a theoretical stance the use of interdisciplinary study or applying interdisciplinary approaches within monodisciplinary study should benefit the learning of the mature student. Such…

Previous research has shown that short-term memory for serial order can be influenced by background knowledge concerning regularities of sequential structure. Specifically, it has been shown that recall is superior for sequences that fit well with familiar sequencing constraints. The authors report a corresponding effect pertaining to serial…

In order to make predictions about a text, students must have prior knowledge or experiences about the topic and a means or a reason to retrieve this latent information and knowledge. The Imagine, Elaborate, Predict, and Confirm (IEPC) strategy takes the predictive process back to its origins in the imagination and extends it throughout the…

In this study we investigated the design of assignments by students as a knowledge-generating activity. Students were required to design assignments for 'other students' in a computer simulation environment about electrical circuits. Assignments consisted of a question, alternatives, and feedback on those alternatives. In this way, subjects were…

It is well established that children are already learning science before entering school as they actively construct meaning from the world around them. Using children's previous and personal experiences to engage them with new and unfamiliar concepts can be a powerful tool, and their motivation to learn will increase if they see how the science…

Guided by the Model of Domain Learning (MDL), the study was designed to explore the extent of interrelations among prior knowledge, learning strategies, interests, physical engagement, and learning outcomes in a sixth-grade (N = 91) volleyball unit. Pearson product-moment correlations and a path analysis were conducted for the research purpose.…

According to cognitive load theory, instruction needs to be designed in a manner that facilitates the acquisition of knowledge in long-term memory while reducing unnecessary demands on working memory. When technology is used to deliver instruction, the sequence in which students learn to use the technology and learn the relevant subject matter may…

This study was aimed at clarifying relations between the way students learn and personal, contextual and performance variables. Students from seven different academic disciplines completed the Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS). Besides, data about their age, gender, academic discipline, prior education and exam performance were gathered.…

This article examines the relationship between student perceptions of team learning experience and communication style. Student group learning perceptions were evaluated and team communication style was measured using dyads derived from Myers-Briggs personality profiles. Groups containing similar personalities were classified as compatible,…

As students move through the grades, the demands of comprehending increasingly complex text increase, and some students begin to struggle. What are the differences between skilled and struggling readers? How can educators teach students to become more proficient readers? This Teaching Tip describes research into middle-level students' reading…

This study examined how the report of the National Reading Panel (NRP) in 2000 might have differed if qualitative research had been included in their examination of text comprehension instruction. Electronic and hand searches yielded 12 qualitative studies meeting criteria for inclusion in the study. Each of the studies was read and coded to…