Because scaffolding is a crucial form of support for students engaging in complex learning environments, it is important that researchers determine which of the numerous kinds of scaffolding will allow them to educate students most effectively. The existing literature tends to focus on computer-based scaffolding by itself rather than integrating…

This study investigates the beliefs and practices of seven high school chemistry teachers as a result of their participation in a year-long inquiry professional development (PD) project. An analysis of oral interviews, written reflections, and in-class observations were used to determine the extent to which the PD affected the teachers' beliefs…

This paper proposes modelling based learning as a tool for learning and teaching mathematics in high school. We report on an example of modelling real world problems in two high schools in Serbia where students were introduced for the first time to the basic concepts of modelling. Student use of computers and educational software, GeoGebra, was…

Many middle school teachers lack adequate criteria to critically select materials that represent a variety of L2 teaching models. This study analyzes the illustrated and written content of 33 ELL textbooks to determine the range of L2 teaching models represented. The researchers asked to what extent do middle school ELL texts depict frequency and…

Conceptual database design is a difficult task for novice database designers, such as students, and is also therefore particularly challenging for database educators to teach. In the teaching of database design, two general approaches are frequently emphasized: top-down and bottom-up. In this paper, we present an empirical comparison of students'…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a traditional lecture-based curriculum versus a modified "flipped classroom" curriculum of cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal physiology delivered to first-year graduate students. Students in both courses were provided the same notes and recorded lectures. Students in the…

Curriculum has two major approaches, technical and scientific approach and the nontechnical-nonscientific approach. Both are different and distinct. Schools need to distinguish which approach is suited for their students.

In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the importance of learner autonomy and the role of individual learners in directing their own learning process, both inside and outside the classroom (Alford & Pachler, 2007; Benson, 2000; Breen, 2001; Conacher & Kelly-Holmes, 2007). However, in practice it is not always clear how to support…

Three decades ago, Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli reflected on the state of the art in gifted and talented programs. His work in schools and his evaluation of existing programs made it patently clear it was time to review existing definitions of gifted and talented students and to develop defensible programs for the gifted and talented. The result was the…

This paper presents an analysis of the different types of reasoning and physical explanation used in science, common thought, and physics teaching. It then reflects on the learning difficulties connected with these various approaches, and suggests some possible didactic strategies. Although causal reasoning occurs very frequently in common thought…

This article describes how action learning can be accompanied by a project to encourage shared learning about organisation culture, the external environment, political context and team dynamics, while allowing space for personal issues. It drives forward reflective practice and encourages sets to deliver a tangible pay-back to the organisation.…

This book brings literacy research and culturally relevant pedagogy together to offer a comprehensive vision of what socially just teaching can look like in the secondary English classroom. The author, an experienced professional developer and teacher, provides a powerful framework for analyzing classroom instruction with regard to ideals of…

The efficacy of a teaching sequence designed for a specific content of learning of electrochemistry is described in this paper. The design of the teaching draws upon theoretical insights into perspectives on learning and empirical studies to improve the teaching of this topic. A case study involving two classes, the experimental and baseline…

Since MIT and Harvard started edX, their joint experiment with free online courses, the venture has attracted enormous attention for opening the ivory tower to the world. But in the process, the world will become part of an expensive and ambitious experiment testing some of the most interesting--and difficult--questions in digital education. Can…

Cost-effective, easily replicated program is a win-win situation for high schoolers who teach science and for their elementary students. The thank-you letter from Leslie, a grade-schooler in San Diego County's Ramona Unified School District, speaks volumes about the excitement generated by "Celebrate Science"--an innovative,…