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Microbial Engineering is a practical and applied course, it is therefore an indispensable part of teaching to let the students practice in the production line of an enterprise. However, lack of internship resources has always been a bottleneck hampering the high-level internship training during teaching the Microbial Engineering course. A virtual production line developed based on information technology enables students to learn the theoretical knowledge of the complex production system. Moreover, it enables students to perform complex virtual operations, thereby improving students' practicing and innovation abilities. In order to let the virtual simulation experiments project play a great role in undergraduate teaching, this article summarizes the progress, characteristics, and value of the virtual simulation experiments for Microbial Engineering. In addition, the main challenges that limit its shared application are also discussed, with potential solutions prospected.

Experimental learning is one kind of contextual learning, which places learners in a variety of virtual or real contexts to acquire knowledge, gain ability and experience, and generates emotion through experiencing and perceiving, communicating and exploring, and self-reflecting. Applying VR technology to experiential learning involves both technology and teaching. Based on the Learning Pyramid, Constructivist Learning Theory, and the characteristics of virtual technology, this study proposes a theoretical model of virtual reality experiential learning, which takes the international business negotiation scene as an example and employs such software as 3Ds Max and VR-platform to implement an experiential learning context. It is found that, compared with traditional teaching, this learning context has effectively increased the learners' memorization and understanding ability, their interest and motivation in learning, enhanced their learning experience and improved the learning effects. This study not only provides a theoretical framework for and verifies the promotion effect of virtual technology on learners but also enriches the research examples of virtual reality experiential learning, which has certain theoretical value and practical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined undergraduate and graduate students’ perceptions of the impact of in-class learning activities, out-of-class learning activities, and instructional materials on their learning. Using survey methodology, students anonymously assessed their perceptions of in-class activities, out-of-class activities, and instructional materials as most impactful, helpful, and enjoyable to their learning. Undergraduate college students found Jeopardy games, PowerPoint slides, and checking for understanding/review questions to be most helpful, while 50% often perceived Jeopardy games, Poll Everywhere, videos, and PowerPoint slides as enjoyable active learning strategies. Graduate students perceived small groups, out-of-class writing assignments, and Lino as most helpful to their learning. Additionally, an analysis of student comments about why these strategies were impactful, helpful, and enjoyable revealed 4 themes: fun, learning collaboratively, challenging but helpful, and variety in how students learn. Creating a learner-centered environment that is engaging as well as enjoyable for students positively impacts perceptions of students’ learning, which should encourage teachers to adopt this approach in their own college classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents a conceptual framework for determining the appropriate pedagogical techniques in management teaching/training and learning situations. The author notes that the design of effective learning situations requires careful consideration of at least eight input variables or situational contingencies. These variable are course or class goals, course or class content, student motivation, student skills, facilities, resources and norms, institutional and professional pressures or concerns, instructor skills and values and developmental nature of the learning process. The proposed conceptual framework and model are offered as one possible guide for considering the contingencies critical to the design of an effective management course.

Copyright of International Journal of Instruction is the property of International Journal of Instruction and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study, adoption of Social Media for learning and teaching purposes (SL/T) has been analyzed based on a conceptual research model. Factors included in this study have been categorized under two empirical factors, namely, socio-demographic and utilitarian. A survey approach has been adopted for this purpose and the least square regression techniques is used to investigate the relationships among the variables included in the research model. The test results indicate that, except perceived awareness (PAW), all the remaining factors have significant effect on the actual usage of SL/T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the authors describe how the use of multiple methods of qualitative data collection over a two-year period, including interviews, concept maps and journals, and the analysis of data through visual inquiry, categorizing (constant comparison thematic analysis), and connecting (narrative analysis) provided a more comprehensive understanding of the process of evolution in college teachers' perspectives on teaching and learning within a professional development program than would have emerged with only a single method . Concept maps provided an initial visual footprint of teachers' emerging perspectives. Categorization revealed four major patterns across teachers' perspectives. Connecting the data through narrative summaries exposed a contextualized rendition of aspects of individual teachers' perspectives. Each of these three approaches offers a unique lens into qualitative data analysis, and when used together, they clarify important aspects of the phenomenon under investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a reflexive account of my experiences teaching online and blended doctoral research methodology courses and seminars. Vacillating between skepticism and affirmation, my thoughts mirror the many issues that arise from my daily professional practice and from what I have discovered in my quest to better understand the nature and workings of online and blended education through scholarly discourse. The purpose of sharing my experiences and points of view is to test a set of my truths among the community of experts on the subject. I refer to these truths as evocative discourses – emergent themes at the intersection of theory and practice of online and blended teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Both the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and recent efforts to hold schools and teachers accountable have been hotly debated among practitioners, policymakers, and the public at large. Much of the debate centers on the merits and demerits of these initiatives and the general approach they represent to reforming teaching and learning. In this article, we focus on a different issue, that is, the opportunity to advance research on policy implementation afforded by the intertwined nature of CCSS and accountability efforts. Arguing that it is essential for stakeholders, regardless of their stance on either reform, to understand whether and how both influence classroom teaching and learning, we outline elements of a research agenda to generate knowledge important to the design of future instructional policies. For this to happen, we argue that an implementation research agenda needs to build on (rather than reinvent) lessons learned from the past quarter century of implementation scholarship on instructional policy. To that end, we review theoretical and empirical insights from implementation research on standards-based reform and outline specific avenues for potential theory testing research on educational policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses one faculty member's journey from reading about others' pedagogical research to her use of data from her own classes to create new scholarship of teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Context: We lack strong and consistent information about which measures of knowledge matter most for good teaching and student learning, and what are trajectories of improvement for novice teachers. Research Questions: We explore the level, variation, and change in teacher knowledge and instruction in the first two years of teaching, the relationship between Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) and more distal measures such as certification. Sample: We studied 45 middle school math teachers in their first two years of teaching, in 11 districts of varying size and urban status in two southeastern and two mid-Atlantic states. Research Design and Analysis: This is a longitudinal (two-year) study of natural variation, which includes descriptive, correlational, individual growth curve, and regression analyses. Data Collection: Based on multiple administrations of survey data, MKT assessments, and classroom observations using the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA), we developed measures of (a) the rigor of lesson activities and classroom discussion, (b) the quality of classroom discussion, (c) the relative emphasis on procedural versus higher-order cognitive demands, (d) the proportion of time spent on basic versus advanced math topics, and (e) the number of topics covered, or instructional breadth. Findings: Key findings are as follows: (1) many beginning math teachers in our sample had neither a degree in math nor substantial coursework in math; (2) teachers generally had low MKT scores, a balanced approach to emphasizing cognitive demands, low levels of discussion quality, and substantial across-teacher variation in topic coverage; (3) teachers improved in some but not all measures of instructional quality; (4) there were no direct relationships between MKT and instructional quality; (5) we found little evidence that MKT is a better predictor of instructional quality than distal measures, but we did find suggestive evidence that MKT may help to explain their predictive power; (6) we found suggestive evidence that taking more advanced math courses predicts desirable teaching practices; and (7) the number of weeks of student teaching in math was consistently related to more rigorous instruction and less emphasis on basic topics. Conclusions: These results have implications for shaping teacher preparation programs, teacher in-service professional development, and certification policies, as well as how we study new teachers and calibrate our expectations for improvement in novice teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Context: There are few examples from classrooms or the literature that provide a clear vision of teaching that simultaneously promotes rigorous disciplinary activity and is responsive to all students. Maintaining rigorous and equitable classroom discourse is a worthy goal, yet there is no clear consensus of how this actually works in a classroom. Focus of Study: What does highly rigorous and responsive talk sound like and how is this dialogue embedded in the social practices and activities of classrooms? Our aim was to examine student and teacher interactions in classroom episodes (warm-ups, small-group conversations, whole-group conversation, etc.) and contribute to a growing body of research that specifies equity in classroom practice. Research Design: This mixed-method study examines differences in discourse within and across classroom episodes (warm-ups, small-group conversations, whole-group conversation, etc.) that elevated, or failed to elevate, students' explanatory rigor in equitable ways. Data include 222 secondary science lessons (1,174 episodes) from 37 novice teachers. Lessons were videotaped and analyzed for the depth of students' explanatory talk and the quality of responsive dialogue. Findings: The findings support three statistical claims. First, high levels of rigor cannot be attained in classrooms where teachers are unresponsive to students' ideas or puzzlements. Second, the architecture of a lesson matters. Teachers and students engaging in highly rigorous and responsive lessons turned potentially trivial episodes (such as warm-ups) of science activity into robust learning experiences, connected to other episodes in the same lesson. Third, episodes featuring one or more forms of responsive talk elevated rigor. There were three forms of responsive talk observed in classrooms: building on students' science ideas, attending to students' participation in the learning community, and folding in students' lived experiences. Small but strategic moves within these forms were consequential for supporting rigor. Conclusions/Recommendations: This paper challenges the notion that rigor and responsiveness are attributes of curricula or individual teachers. Rigorous curriculum is necessary but not sufficient for ambitious and equitable science learning experiences; the interactions within the classroom are essential for sustaining the highest quality of scientific practice and sense-making. The data supported the development of a framework that articulates incremental differences in supporting students' explanatory rigor and three dimensions of responsiveness. We describe implications for using this framework in the design of teacher programs and professional development models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association of research and teaching, and the roles and responsibilities of students and academic staff and the nature of their interrelationship are important issues in higher education. This article presents six undergraduate student researchers’ reports of their learning from collaborating with academic staff to design, undertake and evaluate enquiries into aspects of learning and teaching at a UK University. The students’ reflections suggest that they identified learning in relation to employability skills and graduate attributes and more importantly in relation to their perceptions of themselves as learners and their role in their own learning and that of others. This article draws attention to the potential of staff–student collaborative, collective settings for developing pedagogic practice and the opportunities they can provide for individual student's learning on their journey through higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents the results of a quasi-experimental intervention study with a 2 × 2 factorial design. We implemented a problem-based intercultural learning unit in four secondary schools (grades 9 to 12) and varied the teaching approach (analytical/affective-experiential) and the language of instruction (German/English). The learning unit covered six 45-min lessons and was conducted in nine school courses ( n = 143). Five additional school courses ( n = 66) served as a control group. In all experimental groups, students engaged with critical incidents. These were either analysed (analytical focus) or acted out as role plays (affective-experiential focus). In addition, students analysed film clips (analytical focus) or participated in a simulation game (affective-experiential focus). The experimental groups outperformed the control group in the post-test, which required the analysis of critical incidents. Both teaching approaches were equally effective; however, students evaluated affective-experiential learning more positively. Using a foreign language for teaching did not impair performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have found moderate relationships between measures of teaching practice and student achievement gains, but have focused on teacher quality as a uniform construct. This paper draws on data from 179 middle school language arts teachers to explore factors that might mediate the relationships between measures of teaching and student achievement, using the Protocol for Language Arts Teaching Observation (PLATO) and value-added measures. We find various factors– including student demographics and school characteristics—may mediate the relationship between teaching variables and student outcomes. Discussion focuses on theoretical issues in research on teacher quality and empirical lessons learned about research design and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the concept of 'community of learners' was used to improve initial vocational education. The framework of a 'community of learners for vocational orientation' that we present offers both a theoretical understanding of teaching-learning processes in initial vocational education and heuristics for the design of innovative learning environments for optimising these processes. In a design research study, we investigated if, and how, learning environments designed on the basis of these heuristics fostered communities of learners for vocational orientation, in which students experience to learn in a shared, meaningful, reflective and transfer-oriented way. We examined students' perceptions of the learning environment and their learning activities during eight curriculum units specifically designed to foster the communities of learners. During almost all of the units that we designed, students found themselves learning in a more shared, meaningful, reflective and transfer-oriented way than during regular units. We conclude that the proposed heuristics had been useful starting points for the design of innovative learning environments that foster communities of learners for vocational orientation. In addition, we show how the heuristics can be elaborated for a particular school, based on practical and pedagogical content knowledge of teachers, as well as students' perceptions of the learning environment and their learning activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, policymakers have expanded the use of performance management in public education in the United States. Education researchers have focused heavily on the ways these practices and policies shape teaching and learning, but have given much less attention to other expected outcomes of performance management. This article explores two specific areas where more research is needed: whether performance management improves public satisfaction and trust in public education, and whether it improves public oversight of education. We provide background on relevant educational issues and context for the study of performance management in education scholarship. Our goal is to draw additional researchers into this important line of inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

You've been teaching for years. Your evaluations have always been good, but lately things are stagnant. Student satisfaction with your teaching is decreasing and you feel your classes are losing energy. The students seem to be coming to class, but not like in years past. Whereas you could always count on 90% of the class to show up on any given day, now it is almost half as much. You've been to teaching and learning conferences and have tried new things, but you still can't seem to regain the sparkle and drive from years past. Even to you, your classes seem blah. It's time to reenergize yourself and your classes, but how? Today's students need more than content. They need to be engaged like never before. Attention spans are short and getting shorter by the week. You know that many students talk about the "funny" professors. Those classes seem to fill up first and are well attended. But you're not funny. You don't necessarily consider yourself dull, but you are not the type of person whose sense of humor comes easy. Still, you know you need to somehow add some levity to your classes. Fortunately, much has been written about the impact humor has on learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite all the benefits claimed for open education resources (OER), studies reveal that these are used less than anticipated. One reason for this is potential users' uncertainty over whether the products' aims, design and processes are fit for the intended purposes. This paper proposes a simple-to-use framework for faculty and students to apply in determining whether OER have fitness for purpose in their teaching and learning. The selection criteria are based upon the benefits claimed in the literature for OER, MERLOT's framework of evaluation criteria for OER selection and Merrill's first principles of instruction. The criticality, feasibility and applicability of these criteria were reviewed by 207 OER researchers and users through a cross-regional online survey and subsequent consultations with a small team of experts familiar with researching and using OER. The final 25-item final framework was developed in accord with the agreed criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that there is a reciprocal relationship between all scholarly activities, most importantly between teaching, learning, research and professional learning. The article builds on the work of others who call for a social justice approach to inform the SoTL. It focuses on the implications for professional learning, as an aspect of the SoTL which has been neglected. The tripartite account of participatory parity as advanced by Nancy Fraser is shown to be a valuable frame to describe instances of social justice, as well as the kind of institutional arrangements that should be instituted to support participatory parity. Alongside this, the notion of a ‘pedagogy of discomfort’ is shown to be an effective, but challenging means to advance awareness of justice and injustice amongst academics. The article draws on examples from three action based research projects run by the authors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Teaching and learning is a growing field of research and practice globally, and increasing investments are being made in developing academics as teachers. An inability to adequately account for disciplinary knowledge can lead to academic development inputs that are unable to fully address the needs of students, educators, or disciplines themselves. Semantics, from Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), provides insight not just into the hows of pedagogy but also the whats and whys, particularly the ways in which knowledge needs to be connected up in meaning-making. This paper argues for the use of semantic profiles to open up conversations with educators about teaching, learning, and the nature of knowledge in their disciplines. It raises important questions about the practical uses of LCT tools in higher education and shares initial ideas, informed by lecturer feedback in one case study, of how these tools can be used in academic staff development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents how some Australian schools are changing their approaches to leading the teaching and learning in their diverse and multi-characteristic contexts. Experiences of these schools shows that the development of a school wide approach to pedagogy and its implementation needs to be firmly embedded in the leadership of learning. Drawing on recent research conducted in the Sydney Catholic Education Office system in Australia (Crowther et al. in Leading and Managing 18(2):1-33, ) there is evidence of relationship between the development and implementation of a school wide approach to pedagogy and student achievement. There is also evidence to support leadership that is based on a mutualistic relationship between teacher leaders and the principal. This paper focuses on the way schools have used their visions and pedagogical frameworks to enhance whole of school quality outcomes. It highlights the power of teacher leaders taking responsibility for pedagogical development and implementation. In addition, it illustrates the power of mutualistic relationships (parallel leadership) when the principal takes responsibility for unleashing and trusting the creative expertise of teacher leaders in line with the role of strategic leadership and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on determining the elements of problem solving strategies that occur during Project-based Laboratory (PB Lab) teaching and learning (T&L) activities. Problem solving strategies are defined as strategies which significantly relate to the elements involved in problem solving procedures that guide students to solve problems during T&L activities. Four groups, each of which consists of five students and one PB Lab facilitator, were observed. Seven PB Lab facilitators were interviewed. The respondents are from the Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Power) (SEE) program in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. This qualitative research employed the thematic analysis technique in determining the themes related to the elements of problem solving strategies that occurred during the PB Lab activities. The results of the analysis have indicated that there are five main processes associated with the problem solving elements that took place during the PB Lab course activities, which led to enhancing the students' problem solving skills in the laboratory context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research presented in this paper started from an initial study at the primary school level. Through polls applied through focus groups and questionnaires the teacher's perceptions on determinant factors of the quality of the teaching process at the primary school level were identified. Starting from these conclusions we considered that a closer attention should be given to the teaching process quality through an approach oriented toward innovation of the educational design and the initiation of some endeavours of improvement at the level of each subject in the educational design is necessary. The development of the research took place in the school years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 each of them being a distinct stage in identifying and implementing the solutions considered being the most pertinent in reaching the intended results. The whole enterprise took place according to the Deming cycle/ PDCA (plan-do-check-act). We have to mention the fact that the research process that is the identification of the improvement means is not considered closed at the present moment, being, according to the Kaizen philosophy, an everlasting one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests a conjunction between the learning space of educational edge community (EEC) and the Deleuzeguattarian thought regarding the nature of teachers’becoming. It attends to the emerging subjectivities of teachers/learners within an EEC, a nomadic, open, and smooth space of learning. It is suggested that autonomous learning processes that are enabled in nomadic spaces provide the freedom that is essential for the immanent growth of complexity that leads to creative becomings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT Research on science teacher cognition is important as findings from this research can be used to improve teacher training, leading to improved classroom practice. Previous research has often relied on two underlying assumptions: Cognition is an individual process, and these processes are detailed and introspective. In this paper, we put forth a complimentary model of cognition, drawing from theoretical assumptions suggesting (1) there exist social influences on the cognition of individuals and (2) cognitive processes are often less introspective than previously assumed. We then detail a method of data collection that we used to gather evidence in support of our complimentary model of teacher cognition. Results are consistent with the theoretical predictions of this model, suggesting the cognition of science teachers may be shaped by social and implicit influences. We then provide implications of our data collection method and theoretical framework. Finally, we provide directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tzur and Simon (2004) postulated 2 stages of development in learning a mathematical concept: participatory and anticipatory. In this article, we discuss tire affordances for research of this stage distinction related to data analysis, task design, and assessment as demonstrated in a 2-year teaching experiment. We describe our modifications to and further explicate and exemplify the theoretical underpinnings of these stage constructs. We introduce a representation scheme and use it to trace the development of a concept from initial activity, through the participatory stage, and to the anticipatory stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of the current study was to explore whether non-linguistic conventions, especially gesture, have a significant impact on children's vocabulary learning. Fifty male and female Iranian children aged between 3 and 6 years of age (mean age = 3.5) from two classes of a language institute were taught a set of lexical items using two different teaching procedures: one employing linguistic conventions only, without gesture, and the other through a combination of linguistic and non-linguistic approaches. The data analysis revealed that non-linguistic conventions, including gesture, significantly influence children's learning of vocabulary items. The study contributes to the literature examining vocabulary and gesture and may inform early years practitioners' approaches to vocabulary teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Pedagogic strategies are action plans designed to manage issues related to sequencing and content organization, specifying learning activities, and deciding how to deliver content and activities in teaching processes. In this paper, we present an approach to personalization of pedagogical strategies in Intelligent Tutoring Systems using pedagogical knowledge rules in a Web environment. The adaptation of pedagogical strategies is made based on a multilevel pedagogical model. An Intelligent Tutoring Systems called FUNPRO was developed to validate the multilevel pedagogical model. The results of empirical tests show that the multilevel pedagogical model enables FUNPRO to improve the process of personalization of pedagogical strategies, due to the reduction of inappropriate recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to provide the reader with an overview of the endodontic curriculum in Fiji from 2009 to 2013. It also intends to inform readers of the changes in endodontic teaching, the learning methods utilised, curriculum development, the transition from block teaching to partial block teaching combined with longitudinal teaching, and the future plans for the endodontic module. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In classroom teaching, especially in multicultural settings, conflict-affected regions, or other challenging contexts, the gap between expectations and reality can be jarring for students and teachers alike. However, child-centered approaches can be particularly helpful in quieting this dissonance. The active learning approach places students and teachers on the same team and fosters confidence and agency in the classroom. While this approach may be particularly difficult in cultures with high power distance, where a strong separation exists between superior and subordinate actors—in this case, teachers and students—child participation is critical to building the 21st century skills in problem solving, analysis, and critical thinking that will be essential to a brighter, more sustainable future. By engaging students in discussions about their lessons, providing differentiated learning opportunities that acknowledge and celebrate a variety of learning styles and competencies, and granting students the freedom to explore and discover, teachers can cultivate memorable, lasting learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study examined the effects of teaching self-regulated learning strategies on EFL students' reading comprehension. Upper intermediate undergraduate EFL students (N=24, each group containing 12 students) were assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received training on self-regulated learning strategies and how to use these strategies in their reading comprehension course in 8 sessions, 4 weeks and 16 hours, while control group did not receive any instruction. Two parallel multiple choice TOEFL reading tests were used to measure the effects of self-regulated learning strategy training. The data was analyzed through a sample of independent sample t-test. The results of the study suggested that experimental group performed significantly better on posttest administration of the reading test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers suggest that musical training prepares the mind for learning; however, there are many obstacles to the implementation of research to practice in music education. The purpose of this article is to apply key principles of mind brain education to music education and to evaluate how music prepares the mind for learning. Practical teaching strategies and approaches are presented to maximize benefits for musical and general cognitive development. Application of such strategies and approaches discussed in mind brain education may enhance music classroom teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epistemological beliefs are the individuals' point of view on what is knowledge, how to accumulate it, defining its boundaries and identifying the criteria. This study aims to investigate whether there is a change in the beliefs of the prospective teachers related to knowledge, learning and teaching in a social constructive teaching setting. The research has been conducted with 119 prospective teachers. This study is a semi-experimental one conducted with pretest and post-test without a control group. Data has been collected with 'Epistemological Belief on Learning and Teaching' scale developed by Ching Sing Chai, Timothy Teo and Chwee Beng Lee. The findings indicated a positive change in the beliefs of the candidates about relative knowledge and a visible decrease in the beliefs about absolute knowledge. Also, learning environment significantly affected the beliefs of the prospective teachers about relative knowledge. The results have proven that there occurred changes on the beliefs of prospective teachers' knowledge, learning and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Taiwan elementary schools, Scratch programming has been taught for more than four years. Previous studies have shown that personal annotations is a useful learning method that improve learning performance. An annotation-based Scratch programming (ASP) system provides for the creation, share, and review of annotations and homework solutions in the interface of Scratch programming. In addition, we combine the ASP system with the problem solving-based teaching approach in Scratch programming pedagogy, which boosts cognition development and enhances learning achievements. This study is aimed at exploring the effects of annotations and homework on learning achievement. A quasi-experimental method was used with elementary school students in a Scratch programming course over a 4-month period. The experimental results revealed that students' thoughts and solutions in solving homework assignments have a significant influence on learning achievement. We further investigated that only making annotations in solving homework activities, among all other variables (the quantity of annotations, the quantity of one's own annotations reviewed, the quantity of peers' annotations reviewed, the quantity of one's own homework solutions reviewed, and the quantity of peers' homework solutions reviewed), can significantly predict learning achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Context: In spite of the widely acknowledged importance of creativity to society and the economy, scholars have had difficulty providing research-based recommendations for how to foster creativity in schools. The article extends three strands of research that have attempted to provide such recommendations: studies of whether creativity training enhances domain-general creativity; studies of whether arts education and arts integration enhance cognitive skills that transfer to other content areas; and studies of collaborative learning environments, designed to foster deeper conceptual understanding in the content areas. Purpose/Objective: The focus of the article is to provide recommendations for how to design learning environments to foster greater creativity. I bring together arts education research, creativity research, and learning sciences research to provide recommendations for how to design learning environments to foster creative learning outcomes. Research Design: This is primarily a review article. It provides meta-analyses of three strands of research--creativity training, arts education, and learning sciences. The conclusion of this review is that domain-general creativity training is less effective than domain-specific changes in how each subject is taught. Conclusions: We are not likely to enhance student creativity by teaching for creativity in a distinct, domain general way. Instead, educating for creativity is most effective when schools change the way each subject is taught. Learning sciences research has provided strong evidence that the most creative learning, in all subjects, results from pedagogical strategies that are active, constructivist, collaborative, and improvisational. I provide research-based recommendations for how to design learning environments that result in creative learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over the past century, the role of creativity in teaching and learning has been interpreted in many ways, leading to often conflicting discipline-specific definitions, measurements, and pedagogical applications. Purpose/Objective: This issue takes on the perspective of creativity as ubiquitous, and follows that line of inquiry in its psycho-social manifestations, its application in innovative educational settings, and the persistence through which ideas and imagery become active forces for transformation and social change. Research Design: As an introduction to the issue, this article summarizes and articulates the relatedness between scholars within a variety of educational fields. Conclusions/Recommendations: When viewed as ubiquitous, creativity can be a lens through which to interpret learning as a transformational experience, where the learner resources the social and physical environment to move from not knowing to knowing. Motivating such transformation are (a) the ability to identify what is not known, (b) the juxtaposition of difference to reveal alternate ways of knowing, and (c) the openness to possibility and willingness to explore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Seely Brown suggested that learning environments should be spaces in which all work is public, is subject to iterative critique by instructors and peers, and in which social interaction is primary. In such spaces, students and teachers engage in a situated cognition approach to teaching and learning where “cognitive accomplishments rely in part on structures and processes outside the individual”. Here we describe a qualitative analysis of a socially situated learning setting that aimed to develop children who can design, analyze, critique, and transform media, subjecting existing social media, their designs, and their peers’ designs to public and iterative critique. In this setting, adult mentors supported children’s self-expression, self-reflection, and skillbuilding through authentic, socially situated reading, writing, and discussion, and media production. Creating and leveraging such spaces is essential for preparing all children for successful experiences in the new knowledge economy in formal and informal educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Classroom management is the process of organizing and conducting the lecture of the classroom relatively free of behavior problems. Classroom management involves the establishment and maintenance of the classroom environment in order to reach the educational goals while teaching and learning. Maintaining the effective management is the ability to provide a positive, social and physical environment to the learning process. Setting the stage for teaching and learning, the instructor should create an orderly, safe environment where learners feel esteemed and comfortable and need to consider wall space, classroom furniture, equipment, and storage areas as well. In this process; educator's goal is to establish an aesthetic classroom environment. Sitting arrangement, discipline maintenance, interaction between educator-learner, giving feedback are the aspects of classroom management, which constantly appear as the major concern of instructors, and students. Nowadays, the best way of classroom management to focus on students' needs for nurturing relationships and opportunities for selfregulation, guiding students to become more proficient at self-discipline and less dependent on external control. The educator should decide on his/her own managerial style. How the educator respond to management problems will depend on which approach or approaches along the process of management strategies best fits the educator's educational philosophy. Moreover, how the instructor respond to student misbehavior should also be related to the cause of the misbehavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the current federal, state, and local contexts of educational reform, teachers must be recognized as central actors in policy work, but rarely do we explicitly consider preparing teachers to become policy actors. Understanding these implications for teacher education, we investigate teacher candidates’ learning of the complexity and dynamism of educational policy through a field-based teacher preparation program. Situated across four unique school contexts in the diverse neighborhoods of Chicago, Illinois, we qualitatively study the cases of eight teacher candidates as they explore policy in practice. We found that candidates developed enduring understandings about policy as complex, situated, and multilayered, as well as the central role of the teacher. This learning was mediated by multiple facets of the field-based module, including readings, panels, and observations. Implications center on the use of field-based teacher education to support policy-related learning and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian Federal Government's Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) has built an important collection of learning and teaching resources for the higher education (HE) sector, a product of the many projects OLT and its precursors, including the Australian Learning and Teaching Council and the Carrick Institute, have funded over the past two decades. Although these resources are freely available on its website, the OLT considers them underutilised. Hence it has commissioned a project to reorganise the collection using more accurate and consistent metadata. This paper presents the results of the initial phase of the project, in which a new metadata schema for the OLT's repository was developed through a systematic analysis of the collection, users' and prospective users' search needs, and the domain of HE learning and teaching. While the methods used to develop controlled vocabularies, such as subject thesauri, are well established, there has been far less discussion about how schemas for describing particular kinds of information resource should be constructed. This article contributes to this discussion by showing how methods used to build controlled vocabularies can be applied, and combined, to the development of a schema used to support effective access to a scholarly repository of national importance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Improvements in the tertiary education of accounting students benefit the profession. Analysis of the interaction of learning styles and teaching methodologies in accounting degree programs revealed that when learning styles matched teaching methods used, usefulness was assessed as high. When they differed, usefulness deteriorated. To maximise educational benefit this interaction should be considered, but this has resource implications. Accounting education is critical and any improvements in the tertiary education of accounting students should result in better prepared graduates entering the profession. This study evaluates accounting students' learning styles and the interaction of learning styles and teaching methodologies in degree programs. Nine classes of accounting students (648 students) spread across four years and two degree programs were evaluated. Students self-evaluated their learning styles, pre-instruction. They were then subject to two separate teaching techniques (one active and one passive) in each course. Learning styles were then re-assessed and teaching techniques evaluated. Accounting students displayed a preference for passive learning, even those far advanced in their degrees. Furthermore, when learning styles matched teaching methods used, usefulness was assessed as high but when learning styles and teaching methods differed, usefulness deteriorated. Overall, active learners rather than passive learners deemed the teaching methods to be more effective. The implications are significant. To maximise educational benefit for the accounting profession, student learning styles should be assessed before designing appropriate teaching methodologies. This has resource implications, which would have to be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Engineering Faculty members should adopt effective pedagogical approaches in order to maximize student learning. The beliefs of faculty members about instructional practice are an important construct in determining what and how they teach. Purpose This study investigates the effect of faculty members' involvement in model-eliciting activities on their beliefs about classroom instruction. This study is guided by the following research question: How do faculty members' beliefs about teaching, learning, and assessment change through the use of model-eliciting activities (MEAs)? Design/Method Using a multicase study design, four engineering faculty members from across the United States were studied while they developed, implemented, and assessed MEAs. Data were collected from sources including semistructured interviews about teaching beliefs and practices, a demographics and academic background survey, and biweekly surveys on MEA implementation and beliefs. Yearly interviews were coded using a rubric that classifies beliefs on a scale from instructor-centered to student-centered. Results Over the course of the three-year study, the beliefs of all four faculty members shifted towards a more student-centered view of teaching. The faculty members indicated that they were able to emphasize teamwork, real-world practice, problem-solving skills, timely feedback, constructed knowledge, communication, active learning, formative assessment, and the discipline of engineering through the use of MEAs. Conclusions This study provides evidence that developing and implementing MEAs can help both experienced and beginning faculty members change their beliefs toward a student-centered view of instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]