With the aim to promote students' mathematics learning, we extended the Cognitive Tutor Algebra (CTA), a computer-based tutoring system for high school mathematics, to a collaborative setting. Furthermore we developed a collaboration script to support students' interactions. In an experimental classroom study, we compared three conditions:…

While it is recognised that prior knowledge is a key factor in determining future learning, its influence on learning to teach is less well known. This study investigates two cohorts of teacher candidates studying for a one-year, graduate qualification for primary teaching, who completed two tasks at entry to their initial teacher education…

Although the study of the Synoptic Problem has been the focus of scholarly attention for over two hundred years, the social learning theory known as Communities of Practice is a relatively recent phenomenon. This article describes a communities of practice approach to the study of the Synoptic Problem in an upper-division undergraduate course at a…

In this article, the authors endorse a model that uses themes as springboards for language improvement, accompanied by the added benefit of content learning, though to differing degrees depending on the instructional setting. The themes that teachers choose to integrate into their language classrooms may reflect serious issues (e.g., elections,…

This study examined the suitability of the FIT-Choice scale in a Dutch educational context among two cohorts of preservice teachers (Ns = 62, 89), surveyed at the end and the beginning of their one-year program respectively. The relationships between the motivations for becoming a teacher and concurrent commitment were examined, as well as the…

The Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has come to stay as an alternative mode to meet the higher educational requirements of diverse groups. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), a system leader in India, plays a major role in giving access and equity, besides maintaining and coordinating standards of distance education in the country.…

This study examines how students in Finland (16-18 years of age) constructed meaning and knowledge in a collaborative online reading situation. Student pairs (n = 19) were asked to write a joint essay on a controversial issue. First, the pairs discussed the topic freely to activate their prior knowledge. Next, they gathered source material on the…

Too often, teachers scratch their heads and ask, "What were my students thinking?" then answer, "I don't want to know." But teachers should want to know, and students should question their own thinking, as well. Critical thinking involves not just problem solving, creativity, analysis, and synthesis but also self-awareness of learning and learning…

In recent years, education quality and quality assessment have received a great deal of attention at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Bangladesh. Most of the HEIs in Bangladesh face severe resource constraints and find it difficult to improve education quality by improving inputs, such as better infrastructure and modernized classroom…

When mentors and mentees enter a mentoring relationship, they bring their assumptions with them. An assumption is a belief one possesses that is thought to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn. It can also be a belief that someone should behave in a particular way. Often unspoken, these assumptions are powerful predictors of success or…

How do children decide which elements of an action demonstration are important to reproduce in the context of an imitation game? We tested whether selective imitation of a demonstrator's actions may be based on the same search for relevance that drives adult interpretation of ostensive communication. Three groups of 18-month-old infants were shown…

This article argues that greater understanding of the Aristotelian concept of "phronesis" or practical wisdom would make an important contribution to the conceptualization and implementation of Recognition (Assessment) of Prior Learning (RPL/APL) in formal education contexts. However, there is a need to identify "phronesis"…

With the assistance of four writers and dozens of expert reviewers, Lumina Foundation for Education offers the first step in creating a Degree Qualifications Profile for American higher education. The Degree Profile is a baseline set of reference points for what students should do to earn associate, bachelor's and master's degrees--regardless of…

This paper reports on findings based on analyses of a unique dataset collected by ACT that includes information on student achievement in a variety of subjects at the high school level, which allow us to examine the relationship between teacher effect estimates derived from VAM specifications employing different student learning assumptions.…

Long before deciding to become second language (L2) teachers, novice teachers have subconsciously developed conceptions of teaching cultivated by their experiences as learners in both general and language education classrooms. This "apprenticeship of observation" (Lortie, 1975) can foster deeply held beliefs about teaching that are carried with…