Compared with standard arithmetic word problems demanding only the direct use of number operations and computations, realistic problems are harder to solve because children need to incorporate "real-world" knowledge into their solutions. Using the realistic word problem testing materials developed by Verschaffel, De Corte, and Lasure…

This study attempts to reconcile viewpoints on the role of errors in the design of computer-based training (CBT) systems. From one perspective, errors are detrimental to learning; from another, they can be beneficial. The results of an experiment are presented and discussed. When a CBT system is designed to allow learners to correct their own…

This meta-analysis summarizes teaching effectiveness studies of the past decade and investigates the role of theory and research design in disentangling results. Compared to past analyses based on the process-product model, a framework based on cognitive models of teaching and learning proved useful in analyzing studies and accounting for…

In response to an evaluation conducted by the Netherlands Inspectorate of Education of the nation's elementary schools, the Institute for Educational Development and Advice (Christelijk Pedagogisch Studiecentrum, CPS) undertook a 3-year intervention to revitalize 5 schools experiencing problems with student achievement, curriculum,…

This article presents an annotated bibliography of books, articles and other documents published in 2006, which is a continuation of those published in "Teaching of Psychology" (e.g., Berry & Daniel, 1984; Fulkerson & Wise, 1987; Johnson & Schroder, 1997; Wise & Fulkerson, 1996). It maintains similar search methods and criteria for inclusion that…

This collection brings together many of the world's leading sociologists of education to explore and address key issues and concerns within the discipline. The thirty-seven newly commissioned chapters draw upon theory and research to provide new accounts of contemporary educational processes, global trends, and changing and enduring forms of…

McCarthy (1985) constructed the 4MAT teaching model, an eight step instrument developed in 1980, by synthesizing Dewey's experiential learning, Kolb's four learning styles, Jung's personality types, as well as Bogen's left mode and right mode of brain processing preferences. An important implication of this model is that learning retention is…

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of distance education (DE) is that it is characterized by noncontiguous communication between the supporting organization and its students. A theory of DE must include phenomena and concerns that are internal to its practice and can also embrace external conditions influencing or being influenced by DE. In view…

In April 1993, the Assistant Director-General of the quality-assurance review program in New South Wales, Australia, established guidelines, called "best practices descriptors," to provide schools with collaboratively developed statements that reflect the characteristics of an effective school or classroom. The statements will provide a…

Instructors in general, but particularly first-year graduate teaching assistants tend to lump their undergraduate students into groups and give them various attributes. However appeasing such generalizations are at the moment, they are dangerous both to the teacher and the students. If the instructor thinks his or her students are all honors…

This study reviews interventions in history teaching history from 1985 and 1995, an era of major redefinition in the field of instruction. Kindergarten through grade 12 are the focus population for the research. The study examines the context for educational change and addresses four central questions about the development of new curriculum…

Available literature pertaining to the following topics was reviewed: cognitive skill retention across the life span, literacy and basic skills retention, and policy implications of skill retention work. Among the key findings of the review were the following: (1) available evidence suggests that adult literacy skill retention may vary…

This article provides a brief introduction to learning organization and systems thinking. It contains three experiential learning activities designed to teach systems thinking concepts. The first activity, "Pellets," helps learners discover the advantages of applying systems thinking to the solutions of workplace problems. The next two…

This paper briefly reviews the learning outcome aspects of seven recent follow-up studies completed for seven different transfer discipline areas at William Rainey Harper College (Illinois). It notes an increasing interest by the field of institutional research in evaluating how students learn. Faculty in the fields of psychology, English,…

This study investigates whether the Student Mediation Model is useful for understanding how undergraduates learn from international teaching assistants (ITAs) teachers who are not from the United States and are not native English-speakers. The study examines a sample of over 8,300 students enrolled in beginning and more advanced calculus and…