Minimal research has been accumulated in the field of social studies education for Novakian concept mapping, yet there are many benefits from adding this learning tool to a teacher's instructional toolbox. The article defines Novakian concept mapping and invites readers to adopt digital Novakian concept mapping into the social studies classroom as…

This lesson plan is designed to stimulate awareness and reflection on personal attitudes toward gender expression and sexual orientation. Participants are guided to identify and analyze how external influences from various socialization agents shape gender and sexual orientation norms and, consequently, personal attitudes about gender expression…

Active-learning techniques have been advocated as a means to promote student engagement in lower-division biology courses. In this case study, mini-lectures in combination with active-learning activities were evaluated as strategies to promote a culture of learning and participation in a required botany course. These activities were designed to…

How can teacher educators gauge what participants have learnt after taking a course in teaching English as a second language (TESL)? One method that can help both language teacher educators and their students trace conceptual changes as a result of taking a course is the use of concept maps. This paper examines the conceptual changes of a group of…

Common examples of graphic organizers include flow diagrams, concept maps, and decision trees. The author has created a novel type of graphic organizer called a decision map. A decision map is a directional heuristic that helps learners solve problems within a generic framework. It incorporates questions that the user must answer and contains…

Although researchers in higher education propose alternatives to traditional approaches to assessment, traditional methods are commonly used in college or university science courses. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility and validity of Prospective Science Teachers' (PSTs) concept maps as authentic assessment tools in a…

Presents a lesson, Scientific Literacy Is a Lifetime Skill, that provides thought and discussion on science as an aspect of everyday life. Uses concept mapping to help students explore from their perspective the relationship between formal science education and real-world situations. (JRH)

This article reports on findings from research aimed at examining new teachers' change over the first two years of teaching through their own perceptions, the perceptions of their students and analyses of the school culture in which they worked. Overall, a general pattern was found: most teachers developed according to a narrow, individual and…

This study examines the views of students and teachers in a United Kingdom high school on the students' use of information literacy skills. The students were provided with a scaffold in the form of the PLUS information literacy model. The study demonstrates that there exists a range of understanding amongst students about the value of information…