To infer the sophistication of epistemic thinking in a sample of undergraduate students, 25 participants completed a free-response task in which they were asked to give reasons for their agreement or disagreement with a small number of beliefs about the role of tutorials and of tutors in gaining knowledge. Responses were analysed according to King…

This study assessed how rewards impacted intrinsic motivation when students were rewarded for achievement while learning an activity, for performing at a specific level on a test, or for both. Undergraduate university students engaged in a problem-solving activity. The design was a 2 * 2 factorial with 2 levels of reward in a learning phase…

In a promising gesture of diversity, the Modern Language Association has been welcoming community colleges (CC) into its conference agendas. Since this sector constitutes the majority of college teachers, and a silent one at that, it could furnish valuable perspectives to the Association. What are these perspectives? To begin with, take the…

This article explores the synergy that can be created when concept-mapping techniques are used in collaboration with the construction of PowerPoint presentations to increase the richness of the learning experience. Some weaknesses of the typical PowerPoint format are highlighted with a description of how they can be overcome through a more…

This article considers the transition from A-level to degree-level study from the schoolteacher's point of view. It highlights the conflicting subject philosophies that exist at A level, and the resistance to the revised English of Curriculum 2000 that has been apparent in debates about the nature of English Literature post-16. Its main argument…

The diversity and interdisciplinarity of computer science and the multiplicity of its uses in other sciences make it hard to define computer science and to prescribe how computer science should be carried out. The diversity of computer science also causes friction between computer scientists from different branches. Computer science curricula, as…

The education dispensation in South Africa underwent tremendous changes during the last decade of the twentieth-century and in the early years of the new millennium. Many lecturers are not necessarily equipped to face all the challenges that are a result of the changes. Since it is the vision of the new government to have a "rational,…

Assumptions about knowledge construction, knowledge transmission and the nature of mathematics always underlie any teaching practice even if often unconsciously. In the paper we explain our theoretical assumptions about these cognitive and epistemological issues and derive from them a "model" of teacher. Finally we discuss why and how…

The purpose of this paper is to theorize the author's teaching in a course for experienced university teachers, in a context of increased attention to such courses. The focus in the course is transforming and enhancing ways of being university teachers, through integrating knowing, acting and being. In other words, epistemology is not seen as an…

This article is part of a larger scale project on some aspects of the process of academic socialization of a group of Iranian Ph.D. students studying in five UK universities, particularly focusing on the relationship between these students and their supervisors. The study included eight engineering and five social sciences/humanities students, as…

This study examined the utility of social cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) in predicting engineering interests and major choice goals among women and men and among students at historically Black and predominantly White universities. Participants (487 students in introductory engineering courses at 3…

The connections among relational trust, learning and development are implicit in transformational leadership theory. They have also been established empirically in recent studies. Leadership preparation programs often endorse the need for leaders to build effective collaborative relationships that rely on trust. Trust is an emotional phenomenon.…

In this response to Gould, the author has two goals: first, to forward another, not necessarily competing, postmodern understanding of feminism and power; and second, to expand Gould's project of examining professional climate. Koza defines feminism as a constellation of dynamic political positions that address and attempt to change the unequal…

In the context of research that reports weaknesses in adults' critical thinking skills, the primary aim was to examine adults' use of critical thinking skills that are described in taxonomies and to identify areas for development. Position papers written by an opportunity sample of 32 experienced adult educators formed the data for a descriptive…

This paper reports the results of a small-scale (n = 9) interview study of the "ways of knowing" of academics in a Design School at a South African polytechnic. The focus of the study was on exploring the perceptions of these academics about discipline-specific knowledge in their fields. The paper presents an analysis of the responses,…