Compared to other subjects, the typical introductory programming (CS1) course has higher than usual rates of both failing and high grades, creating a characteristic bimodal grade distribution. In this article, I explore two possible explanations. The conventional explanation has been that learners naturally fall into populations of programmers and…

With the current concern over the growing need for more engineers, there is an immediate need to improve freshman engineering retention. A working model for freshman engineering retention is needed. This paper proposes such a model based on Tinto's Interactionalist Theory. Emphasis in this model is placed on pre-college characteristics as…

Reading comprehension is a multidimensional process and a key component of this process is the activation of prior knowledge in the comprehension of text. This study utilized video clips as a means to anchor instruction and assist struggling middle-level readers in comprehending text. Participants in this study were 17 seventh- and eighth-grade…

To foster medical students' diagnostic knowledge a case-based worked example approach was implemented in the context of a computer-based learning environment. Thirty medical students were randomly assigned to the condition "with erroneous examples", and 31 students learned with correct examples. Diagnostic knowledge was operationalised…

The focus of this special issue is on the cognitive load underlying processes of interactive knowledge construction in a wide range of instructional multimedia platforms. Multimedia comprehension involves the parallel processing of auditory-verbal and visual-pictorial channels within working memory. By means of integrating multimodal information,…

This research examined the nature of parent-child conversations at an informal science education center housed in an active gravitational-wave observatory. Each of 20 parent-child dyads explored an interactive exhibit hall privately, without the distraction of other visitors. Parents employed a variety of strategies to support their children's…

Previous research [S. J. Pollock et al., Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 3, 1 (2007)] showed that despite the use of interactive engagement techniques, the gap in performance between males and females on a conceptual learning survey persisted from pretest to post-test at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Such findings were counter to…

Increasing the cultural and linguistic diversity of the teaching workforce in Australia was a key recommendation of the House of Representatives Standing Committee Inquiry into Teacher Education in their report, "Top of the Class" (written by L. Hartsuyker). The report reflects findings from national and international research that…

Analogical reasoning is one mechanism that has been recognized as having the potential of bringing prior knowledge to bear on the acquisition of new information. Analogical reasoning involves the identification and transfer of structural information from a known system to a new and relatively unknown system. The productive use of analogy is often…

Noting that the sentence memory models formulated in the 1970s need to be altered so as to be consistent with the fact that people use prior knowledge to process new information, this report discusses issues to be considered in making such an alteration. The report focuses on three questions: (1) What conditions lead people to elaborate and…

Young students can use everyday experiences to give shape and meaning to the isolated pieces of information learned in the classroom. Unless past knowledge and experience is connected to new knowledge, the new learning is likely to be forgotten. Techniques are discussed and approaches for teacher education are suggested. (MT)

Recent studies using graduate students in one case and first graders in the other reached the same conclusion. If instruction capitalizes on what students already know, they learn more readily and transfer the knowledge well. Teachers can use children's knowledge as a bridge to new knowledge. (MT)

A teacher educator developed several exercises to illustrate the related concepts of "meaningful learning" (relating new information to prior knowledge) and "elaboration" (using prior knowledge to expand on new information and to make better sense of it). The exercises demonstrate that learning is easier and retention is better…

Presents an instructional strategy designed to teach inferential comprehension to primary grade children through the use of prior knowledge and prereading activities. (FL)

Investigated whether or not preservice teachers' factual knowledge and attitudes toward traditionally marginalized groups would be significantly changed through interaction with the "Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust" Website. Examined the state of preservice teachers' knowledge on the Holocaust, and analyzed any correlation between…