Multiple (external) representations can provide unique benefits when people are learning complex new ideas. Unfortunately, many studies have shown this promise is not always achieved. The DeFT (Design, Functions, Tasks) framework for learning with multiple representations integrates research on learning, the cognitive science of representation and…

Recent research demonstrates that videogames enhance literacy, attention, reaction time, and higher-level thinking. Several scholars have suggested that massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) such as "Everquest" and "Second Life" have educational potential, but we have little data about what happens when such tools are introduced in the…

Very few elementary public school teachers in the United States expose their students to religion and spirituality in an in-depth way. Even when they have the necessary knowledge base, they shy away from so dangerous an enterprise. They might fear provoking a challenge from parents who are irreligious and are shocked to find religion being…

This paper describes the conflicts Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) face such as: personal, departmental, institutional, regional, and national, and presents possibly solutions for reducing the stress related illnesses attendant with the work. Often administrators' responses are somatic: conflict becomes a physical trope and administrators…

In this article, the author notes that it is not an uncommon scenario for a student assigned an argumentative paper in the composition classroom to appropriate a "hot" topic from the currency of public discourse, one for which they often already have a pre-formed opinion that becomes codified simultaneously with the need to formulate a…

It is recognized that parametric methods (e.g., t-tests, discriminant analysis, and methods based on analysis of variance) are special cases of canonical correlation analysis. In canonical correlation it has been argued that structure coefficients must be computed to correctly interpret results. It follows that structure coefficients may be useful…

Kaplan (1964) describes the now classic distinction between "logic-in-use," the more or less logical cognitive style and procedures used by the educational scientist, and "reconstructed logic," the scientist's after-the-fact, explicit formulation and idealization of the logic and procedures. However, most technical documents…

A theoretical cornerstone of cognitive therapy is the idea that the relationship between experience and cognition, the interpretation of experience, is recursive. Human beings can respond to a given experience with more than one description and/or explanation of the experience and these alternative interpretations can have different experiential…

Chemists have bemoaned for years their students' inability to solve problems in introductory chemistry courses. However, at least part of this inability must be attributed to the fact that chemists have historically tried to teach their students to solve problems by doing nothing more than working examples. In recent years, chemists have begun to…

Describes a teaching method in which high school sophomores (1) read A. Munro's "Connection," a short story connecting the author to her family origins; (2) interview relatives about their personal history; and (3) compose vignettes based on the notes collected during a three-week period. Provides numerous questions and prompts used to help the…

Discusses the heuristic role of yes-no questions in college composition and provides two such methods for brainstorming and focusing. Presents a binary graph device ("Matrix") that correlates subjects and concerns to generate yes-no questions. Also presents a flow-chart model structuring information in the question-evidence-resolution pattern. (JG)

Investigates which formal principles govern subjective probability, and whether the validity of these principles depends on age. Results indicate that these principles are valid as principles of subjective probability for all age groups. (RWB)

Discusses the heuristics that should guide the creation of good examples to be used in instructional design. The elements of accuracy, clarity, attractiveness, and transferability are described, and an example of the concept of role conflict is given. (LRW)

Discusses histories of three current issues in the psychology and pedagogy of mathematical thinking: (1) the notion of a "prescriptive method"; (2) "associationism" as an explanation for learning; and (3) Gestaltism. Reviews theoretical perspectives that emerged starting in the mid-twentieth century, including behaviorism,…

This study examined a teacher's use of metaphors in the language she employed when talking about her work. Results show that metaphorical figures can be studied with a view to comprehending a teacher's construction of professional reality. (RM)