A social studies methods course for preservice Inuit student teachers in Canada mediated between the knowledge and professional skills required of social studies teachers as presented in the textbook and the knowledge brought by the Inuit students. Using genealogy, concept webs, and timelines, the instructor gave Inuit knowledge as much weight as…

Investigated undergraduate art history majors' image retrieval tasks and image query modes. Discusses gender differences; prior information retrieval experience; significant differences between the number of search terms users planned to use and the number they actually used; and implications for image indexing tools, image retrieval system…

Discusses the limitations of dominant notions of background knowledge (BGK) as neutral information and objective knowledge and of the reading techniques that accompany these notions. The article argues that the notion of BGK should be broadened to include awareness of the social processes of production and interpretation of text. (26 references)…

Explains the process of creating a curriculum based on the National Science Education Standards (NSES). Introduces an activity where students experience flowers and their environments. Focuses on Content Standard C of the NSES. (YDS)

Explores the interface between skills used outside college and those perceived as relevant to studies in college, based on a survey of mature part-time undergraduate students. Respondents also rated personal abilities and characteristics of mature students and offered suggestions for integrating their skills and experience into the study programs.…

Provides strategies to help teachers develop their self awareness and voice about what they know in the following knowledge areas: (1) self knowledge; (2) child development knowledge; and (3) knowledge about individual children and families. Suggests that these strategies help teachers consolidate their knowledge and develop professionally. (SD)

About one quarter of first-semester students enrolled in engineering technology programs at a Newfoundland (Canada) college dropped out. Student interviews and surveys indicate that academic difficulty was the most significant factor. Part-time attendance, uncertainty about future employment opportunities, work, and time elapsed since high school…

Discusses results of an evaluation of a Web-based course at the United Kingdom's Open University relating to student satisfaction. Considers skills versus academic content, previous computing experience, interaction through computer conferencing, online group work, online tutoring, lack of time, and course revision; and compares results with three…

Discussion of the design and development of multimedia learning materials to foster sound pedagogy focuses on a set of 10 principles that reflect current beliefs about the processes and contexts of optimal learning, especially within multimedia environments. Highlights include motivation, prior knowledge, learner control, critical literacy, and…

Examines instructional practices organized around the funds of knowledge that children bring to the classroom, attempting to debunk the cultural deficit perspective, which disregards the cognitive and linguistic schema that students already have in place. Describes how these instructional practices transformed the literacy development of one…

Recommends the use of heart models in teaching about the circulatory system. Argues that simulation activities can deepen students' understanding of heart structure, dispel misconceptions of the cardiac cycle, and foster awareness of the importance of maintaining a healthy heart. (DDR)

Describes a bilingual Spanish/English teacher's grade 4/5/6 students, many of whom are children from migrant families with little or no formal schooling. Notes that classroom routines are helpful for these students. Describes an agriculturally-themed unit that draws on students' prior knowledge and that presents concepts they may have missed in…

Discusses how second-language reading research is focusing increasingly on the cognitive processes involved in reading--the interaction of lower-level, bottom-up processes such as vocabulary acquisition with high-level, top-down processes such as activating prior knowledge. This knowledge is combined with current research on learning with…

Describes three multimedia resources, produced with an emphasis on the use of images, by a consortium headed by the University of Exeter for initial teacher education. Discusses the educational framework within which the resources were designed, including an integrative approach, constructivism, prior knowledge, user expectations, and affective…

Discusses validity issues associated with three popular content-general reading college placement tests and then presents a theoretical argument to support an alternative placement procedure using content-specific testing. Proposes that content-specific tests would have improved content-related and construct-related validity. States that more…