Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) brings students into active and reflective engagement with significant life experiences at the nexus of academic and nonacademic cultures. When done successfully, PLA orients students to academic ways of thinking and writing while encouraging self-exploration. Often students feel a sense of empowerment and…

A popular distinction in cognitive and social psychology has been between "intuitive" and "deliberate" judgments. This juxtaposition has aligned in dual-process theories of reasoning associative, unconscious, effortless, heuristic, and suboptimal processes (assumed to foster intuitive judgments) versus rule-based, conscious, effortful, analytic,…

This article explores the use of experiential teaching methods in social work education. The literature demonstrates that relying on experiential teaching methods in the classroom can have overwhelmingly positive learning outcomes; however, not much is known about the possible effect of these classroom methods on practice. On the basis of…

This self-reflexive essay teases out the predicaments that I have encountered through my past publishing experience, while situating them in a critical review of the existing English-language studies of Japanese education. Drawing on postcolonial theoretical insights and recent critical sociology of academic knowledge production, I use my personal…

This article provides readers with five lessons the author has learned over the years as a mentor teacher to several preservice teachers: (1) Build confidence; (2) Be patient, flexible, and honest; (3) Listen and learn; (4) Be ready for extra work; and (5) Embrace the experience. Included in her reflective thoughts are comments from two of her…

Personal reflections provide snapshots on Patricia Mason's journey from third grade to higher education and highlight family, teacher, and school influence on her academic growth. Integrated Catholic school and community experiences shaped the cultural and social dimension of her present teaching philosophy. Recollections of childhood school…

Self-assessment is frequently used to enable students to "reflect" on a learning experience. Often only the person involved in the "reflection" knows the criteria used to underpin the process. Here the author explains how, when the self-assessment is given some structure some tangible benefits can be observed. While the approach might not be a…

Writing in "Primary Science" 114, this author suggested that there was a perennial issue with initial teacher education (ITE) students and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) not engaging with the theory that underpins their practice. Having worked recently with primary and secondary NQTs in England, this concern proved true and raised…

Historically, students have been viewed as empty vessels and passive participants in the learning process but students actually are active forming their own conceptions. One way student learning is impacted is through assessment. Alternative assessment, which contrasts traditional assessment methods, takes into account how students learn by…

The science and technology of medicine is evolving and changing at a fast pace. With these rapid advances, it is paramount that physicians maintain a level of medical knowledge that is current and relevant to their practice in order to address the challenges of patient care and safety. One way physicians can maintain a level of medical knowledge…

Donald B. Bartalo reveals the experiences of school leaders and teachers who have discovered that meaningful school improvement does not necessarily come from the top--it comes from effective teaching and leaders who support it. Based on eight fundamental tenets, the text features a clear how-to process, success stories, and methods for bridging…

One of the most critical duties of a school principal is to evaluate and lead teachers. A school district in Texas has mandated that all administrators conduct one hundred and forty-four walkthroughs per school year. Given that time is a priceless commodity in a typical school day, how effective is the above mandate to teacher and principal…

Environmental education is not merely a modern form for the didactics of natural science, but is, on the contrary, an educational process that integrates ecological knowledge, philosophy, politics, economics and sociology, among others. This is because its purpose is to change the relationships of production, social structures of economics and…

While there is much evidence for the influence of automatic emotional responses on moral judgment, the roles of reflection and reasoning remain uncertain. In Experiment 1, we induced subjects to be more reflective by completing the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) prior to responding to moral dilemmas. This manipulation increased utilitarian…

This article reports on work to date by an arts practice-led research team exploring older adults' conceptions of, and connectivity with, the physical, social and cultural landscapes in which they locate themselves. The team is based at the Department of Art and Design, University of the West of England (UWE) and has conducted fieldwork,…