Creating graphical representations can foster knowledge gains on science topics in elementary school students by promoting active integration and translation of new information. Collaborating on joint representations may encourage children to discuss and elaborate their knowledge. To foster productive interactions, children may greatly benefit…

The mentor's background in educational roles has been presented as a moderator of School-Based Mentoring (SBM). However, the analysis of overlapping mentoring and teaching roles has been underemphasized in the literature. The aim of this study is to test whether the combination of mentoring and teaching roles influences the mentees'…

This study explored the effects of student engagement in a knowledge-building (KB) environment on their collaborative learning process and the perceived creative climate of that environment. The participants were 30 college students who undertook a living technology course in which KB were employed. The main data sources include students'…

Traditional structures in higher education support a separation between faculty members' and students' perspectives on classroom practice. This is in part because student-faculty interactions are typically defined by a focus on content coverage and by a clear delineation between faculty and student roles in engaging that content. This…

Teachers and students have their own perceptions of education. Congruent perceptions contribute to optimal teaching-learning processes and help achieving best learning outcomes. This study investigated patterns in differences between students' and teachers' perceptions of their learning environment. Student profiles were identified…

Although researchers have long investigated ways to improve study habits and raise achievement, few studies compare study strategy systems with one another. No study to date has compared the long popular SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) system with the more modern SOAR (Select, Organize, Associate, Regulate) system. This study…

Many innovative teaching approaches lack classroom impact because teachers consider the proposals impractical. Making a teaching approach practical requires instrumentality (procedures), congruence (local fit), and affordable cost (limited time and resources).This paper concerns a study on the development and effects of a participatory design…

In the past technology products created to overcome accessibility and usability issues experienced by individuals with special needs have also resulted in greater usability for the wider population. Technology is increasingly being seen as a key component within the education of children with special needs and recently researchers have developed…

The ability to analyze and understand classroom situations through the eyes of not only teachers but also students can be seen as a crucial aspect of teachers' professional competence. Even though video case-based learning is considered to have great potential for the promotion of analytical competence of teachers (i.e., becoming immersed in…

This discussion explores the journal's special issue from the construct of ownership and how it relates to participatory design. I examine the articles of researchers from Europe and the United States which offer data-centered perspectives and data-driven suggestions. These works suggest how to best involve different stakeholders and I…

This study was concerned with identifying prerequisites for the successful use of videos that offer different levels of interactivity. In a homework scenario, 64 ninth graders participated either in a search training demonstrating the efficient use of features facilitating the selection of relevant information or in a control training focusing on…

Multiple studies have shown benefits of problem-solving prior to instruction (cf. Productive Failure, Invention) in comparison to direct instruction. However, students' solutions prior to instruction are usually erroneous or incomplete. In analogy to "guided" discovery learning, it might therefore be fruitful to lead students…

To explore the assessment challenge related to case based learning we study how experienced clinical teachers--i.e., those who regularly teach and assess case-based learning--conceptualize the notion of competent reasoning performance for specific teaching cases. Through an in-depth qualitative case study of five expert teachers, we investigate…

Biggs' 3P (Presage-Process-Product) model, a key framework in Student Learning Theory, provides a powerful means of understanding relations between students' perceptions of the teaching and learning environment, learning strategies, and learning outcomes. While influential in higher education, fewer tests of the model in secondary…

The current study examined efficient modes for providing standardized feedback to improve performance on an assignment for a second year college class involving writing a brief research proposal. Two forms of standardized feedback (detailed rubric and proposal exemplars) were utilized is an experimental design with undergraduate students (N = 100)…