Inquiry-based instruction teaching helps students to think independently and scientifically, which in turn enables problem solving ability in them. Different approaches to encourage inquiry-based instructions like verification approach, and discovery approach are discussed by matching the background knowledge and reasoning skills among the…

The author's thesis is that there is sufficient research evidence to make any reasonable person skeptical about the benefits of discovery learning--practiced under the guise of cognitive constructivism or social constructivism--as a preferred instructional method. The author reviews research on discovery of problem-solving rules culminating in the…

Observation is a complex activity; that teachers of science should know how to make observation and how to apply it at all grade levels and finally how to monitor and evaluate their students as a guide. The aims of this experimental design study were to create observation methods and to develop student teachers' process skill of observation. The…

This study extrapolated from Liberman's (2004) calibration model and Kimball and Metcalfe's (2003) conceptualization in order to evaluate students' judgment of learning (JOL) of material presented in either an expository or a constructivist format. The purpose of this study was to determine if students have differing degrees of JOL based on the…

In many mathematics classes, students are asked to learn via the discovery method, in the hope that the intrinsic beauty of mathematics becomes more accessible and that making conjectures, forming hypotheses, and analyzing patterns will help them compute fluently and solve problems creatively and resourcefully (NCTM 2000). The activity discussed…

"Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" (NCTM 2000) proposes that mathematics instruction provide opportunities for students to engage in mathematical inquiry and in meaning-making through discourse. Mathematics teachers are encouraged to build on student discoveries in designing subsequent instruction. In this article, the author…

Throughout the history of education, debate has existed between the relative merits of instructed versus constructed knowledge. In this article, we review our program of research in science education for students with disabilities in order to reveal some insights into this debate. We review research in science curriculum, mnemonic strategies,…

A comprehensive, formal comparison of strategies used by preservice teachers to learn how to use new technology has yet to be researched. Understanding the relative strengths and weakness of learning strategies would provide useful guidance to educators and students. The purpose of the current study was to explore the effectiveness of four…

To increase the efficiency of exploratory learning on the Web, we previously developed a free-hyperlink environment that allows adaptive link generation. In this environment, learners can make new hyperlinks independent of static hyperlinks and share them on the Web. To reduce hyperlink overflow, the adaptive link generation filters out sharable…

In the United States, people get very little news about Africa, and what news they do get is about war or famine, with little historical information or context. In this article, the authors describe how they developed and implemented a Pan-African Summit simulation project in order to give their approximately 100, 9th-grade students (in five World…

This paper reports on an ongoing project to develop an "eLingua" Latin language-learning application that combines natural-language text-input with computer game-based approaches to discovery learning. The program aims to create a content-based immersive environment within which to test the hypothesis that second-language learning is more…

The opinions of second language learning (L2) theorists and researchers are divided over whether to use authentic or simplified reading texts as the means of input for beginning- and intermediate-level L2 learners. Advocates of both approaches cite the use of linguistic features, syntax, and discourse structures as important elements in support of…

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been an emerging topic for psychological, educational, and management researchers and consultants in recent years. However, existing literature has concentrated on demonstrating the effects of EI on either the mental health or on job outcomes such as job attitudes and performance. There is relatively little…

Designed as a follow-up activity for gifted and talented classes that have been using learning centers, this contract directs students in building their own learning centers. Six sections cover choosing a subject, researching, setting objectives for the learning center, developing activities for the center, writing directions and collecting…

Investigates the transfer effects produced by cued (errorless) and trial-and-error (errorful) learning of a serial motor task. (Author/DEP)