Teacher-preparation programs across the nation are faced with multiple mandates that aim to increase rigor and effectiveness of future educators. In the state of Illinois, all teacher-preparation programs must revise and redesign their coursework to align with the new professional teaching standards and licensure requirements. This article will…

This article offers guidance to teachers and students in selecting materials for extensive reading (ER). First, the article explains characteristics of ER and reviews some of the potential gains for students who do ER. Second, the article considers criteria for teachers to bear in mind when selecting ER materials. Third, the article then suggests…

Cheating has been an area of concern in educational institutions for decades, especially at the undergraduate level. A particular area of concern is the increasing reports of the rise of cheating behaviors and the perceived cheating potential in online learning. As online learning continues to grow and become an integral part of education,…

Recent research suggests some teachers may not have a wide range of teaching and learning strategies for their most proficient mathematics students, which could impact on these students' learning and ongoing improvement in performance. This paper outlines the different drivers of high achievement and explores the main curriculum differentiation…

This study of English as a second language (ESL) reading textbooks investigates cohesion in reading passages from 27 textbooks. The guiding research questions were whether and how cohesion differs across textbooks written for beginning, intermediate, and advanced second language readers. Using a computational tool called Coh-Metrix, textual…

The current Kenyan secondary English curriculum (2002) has adopted an integrated approach not only to teaching, but also to the assessment of English language and Literature. This re-organisation is meant to improve the standards of teaching and performance in English. However, national performance in integrated English has remained consistently…

In spite of sustained efforts tertiary institutions implement to try and improve student academic performance, the number of students succeeding in first-year mathematics courses remains disturbingly low. For most students, the gap between their mathematical capability and the competencies they are expected and need to develop to function…

This study aims at determining to what extent visuals contribute to success in non-routine problem solving process and what types of errors are made when solving with visuals. Comparative model was utilized for identifying the effect of visuals on student achievement, and clinical interview technique was used to determine the types of errors. In…

This study explores reader, word, and learning activity characteristics related to vocabulary learning for 202 fifth and sixth graders (N = 118 and 84, respectively) learning 16 words. Three measures of word knowledge were used: multiple-choice definition knowledge, self-report of meaning knowledge, and production of morphologically related words.…

Introduction: This study characterizes self-reported functional vision goals and the use of low vision resources (for example, services and devices) in ophthalmology clinic patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and comorbid depressive symptoms. Methods: From July 2009 to February 2013, we assessed 188 consecutive patients (age 65+;…

The use of video has become well established in education, from traditional courses to blended and online courses. It has grown both in its diversity of applications as well as its content. Such educational video however is not fully accessible to all students, particularly those who require additional visual support or students studying in a…

This study extends research on manifestations of gender insensitivity in learners' reading materials by shifting attention to the linguistic strategies that authors of current texts employ for the realisation of gender sensitivity. We analysed the content of 12 current (2014) English workbooks (Grade 4-6) used in South African government and…

Instructional design is important as it helps set the discourse, context, and content of learning in an online environment. Specific instructional design decisions do not only play a part in the discourse of the learners, but they can affect the learners' levels of satisfaction and perceived learning as well. Numerous studies have shown the value…

This paper reports the results of an experiment designed to investigate the effectiveness of different collaborative group formations (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous in terms of prior computer knowledge levels) for learning complex tasks in computer programming from the perspective of cognitive load theory. Web-based learning platform was used to…

Despite the numerous studies on English article acquisition, the acquisition sequence, differences, and difficulties by English-as-a-second language learners (ELLs) remain to be further explored. With a detailed literature review, this study investigated the acquisition sequence, differences, and difficulties of English articles by ELLs with…