Describes experiments designed to explore the distribution of potential difference between two uncharged capacitors when they are suddenly connected to a source of constant voltage. Enables students to explore the evolution of a system in which initial voltage distribution depends on capacitor values, and the final voltage distribution depends on…

Describes students' initial thinking strategies and investigates the influence of learning environments on progress, transfer, and retention of students' thinking strategies. Results indicate that students do not use scientific reasoning when first encountering the problem, but interaction with the learning environment increases the rate of…

Provides teachers with answers to questions frequently asked by beginning French students relating to gender, infinitive use, placement of adjectives, the existence of so many irregular verb forms and different tenses, conjugation with "avoir" and "etre," the frequency of silent consonants, and the source of words that are…

Argues that writing about physics forces students to come to grips with the material and with what they do and do not understand. Describes the use of writing in an introductory course. Discusses benefits of a decentralized "writing across the curriculum" program. (JRH)

This article on using mnemonics with students having learning and behavior problems first offers a case study of a 7th grade student and then describes the letter strategy, the keyword mnemonic method, and the pegword method. Seven steps for implementing mnemonic strategies are offered. An inset reviews the research literature on using mnemonic…

Discussion of online education focuses on a study that investigated the efforts of faculty who teach courses online to adapt the curriculum to meet the needs of nontraditional students. Examines online teaching strategies, faculty engagement, learning support, and overall online services and navigation. (Author/LRW)

Builds on the results of earlier research that investigated principles that facilitate higher levels of learning in Internet-based distance learning university courses. Explores how these can be applied to Internet-based distance learning environments, using results of questionnaires from experts and scholars that considered complex abstracted…

Discusses assessment of Web-based instruction and reports results of a study that investigated whether segmentation of information and the provision of an overview of the Web system differentially facilitated learning performance, measured with recall questions and a short essay question, for individuals with different cognitive styles. (LRW)

Describes an education initiative developed by a company in Malaysia, the KDU, to implement a student-centered, teacher-facilitated, educational technology-enabled and knowledge-based learning environment. Explains the KDU e-Community Network that enables passive, interactive, collaborative, and constructivist learning for a variety of…

Explains a framework for the analysis of learning designs using new technologies. Discusses a learner-centered view derived from literature in higher, professional and adult education; outlines the process of developing guidelines for applying the framework to particular learning activities; and considers the strengths and limitations of this…

Explores programs at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Focuses on the museum's preschool program and the hands-on science facility. (DDR)

Introduces naturalist writers who discuss environments and natural resources, the issue of human population growth and its impact on the environments, and the nature and history of science. Includes activities addressing the interpretation of naturalist writing geographically, chronologically, and by the environment. (KHR)

Notes case study evidence that points to some success in using writing frames to encourage pupils to both develop and express their procedural understanding in science. Suggests that fundamental to the success of such frames in encouraging pupils' expression of understanding is the teacher's active promotion of learning as a social process in…

Asserts that learning in arts programs outside of school can be instrumental in improving learning inside the classroom, examining a non-school site for learning (a video arts center) and discussing the interdisciplinary nature of such learning, negotiated versus high stakes learning in arts environments, and implications for school learning…

Examines the use of the Herringbone technique as a writing tool with fourth-grade children. Notes that the Herringbone technique provides students with a structure for identifying and organizing important story elements and observing relationships when reading or writing. Demonstrates that the Herringbone strategy is a useful tool for effective…