When organic chemistry students encounter competing reactions, they are often overwhelmed by the task of evaluating multiple factors that affect the outcome of a reaction. The use of a decision tree is a useful tool to teach students to evaluate a complex situation and propose a likely outcome. Specifically, a decision tree can help students…

This essay is grounded in the scholarship of teaching and learning and will focus specifically on the ways in which the Harry Potter books highlight the diversity of learning and teaching styles; privilege active experiential learning and problem solving over passive rote learning; and emphasize the benefits of collaboration over competition.…

Too often, in discussing the teaching of English, language teachers behave as if language were the most important factor in the classroom. The author thinks this is seldom the case. Language teachers need to see English as essentially an educative subject, linked to the cognitive development of learners, rather than as something isolated from the…

In the June 2010 "Harvard Business Review," Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, wrote a column entitled "You Are What You Measure." In it, he thoughtfully prods business leaders to consider the problematic correlation between the tools for measuring progress and actual…

Simulations are of growing interest within the social studies in terms of research and practice. Although the findings of early research were unfavorable to simulations in terms of student learning, recent research has revealed new and interesting findings related to different domains of student learning that earlier research did not. In light of…

In some countries physics lessons are limited in many cases due to different constraints to lecturing and rote learning with in short supply use of teaching materials and other practical activities. These limitations can make physics abstract and difficult for students to understand. This paper presents one of activities, which can be done by…

Despite the long-standing interest in educational technology reforms, many researchers have found that it is difficult to incorporate advanced information and communications technologies (ICT) in classrooms. Many ICT projects, particularly in the developing world, are limited by the lack of integration between pedagogy and technology. This article…

Young students generally don't make up their lessons as they go along. But many music educators are encouraging just that by teaching composition alongside traditional musical concepts. Rather than simply relying on rote exercises that focus on basic musical principles and techniques, teachers are asking students to create their own music early on…

Drama and imagination have a place in every classroom, not just in the English teacher's. In fact, nowhere are they more critical to students' motivation than in bringing to life the often arcane equations of science. By inventing curiosity-provoking scenarios that require students to apply science concepts and processes as integral and…

Rote memorization of vocabulary has long been a common way for Chinese students to learn lexical items. Cultural, educational background and traditional teaching practice in China are identified to be the factors that contribute to many students' heavy reliance on memorization as their sole approach to vocabulary learning. In addition to rote…

In mathematics education, there has been tension between deep learning and repetitive learning. Western educators often emphasize the need for students to construct a conceptual understanding of mathematical symbols and rules before they practise the rules (Li, 2006). On the other hand, Chinese learners tend to be oriented towards rote learning…

Enrolling in an introductory course in psychology is a staple of many community college students' core curriculum. For those students who plan to pursue social science and humanities-related majors in particular, introductory psychology helps provide a solid base upon which future coursework at all academic levels will be built. The goal of any…

In this study I examine the construct of aptitude in learning Chinese as a second language (L2) to an advanced level. I test 2 hypotheses: first, that L2 aptitude comprises 4 components--working memory, rote memory, grammatical sensitivity, and phonemic coding ability--and second, that L2 aptitude affects learning both directly and indirectly…

A variety of excellent method books aim to help student musicians develop skills in music reading and instrumental technique, but sometimes the best approach is not simply to move ahead line by line through the book. Rather, teachers will find it beneficial to consider apposite strategies to be used before, during, and after rehearsing a line so…

Over the last eight years, the primary focus in schools has been on passing standardized tests based on a core curriculum. The emphasis on learning content is in direct contrast to the world outside the school walls where the technological capability to provide access to content, i.e., information at lightning speed, already exists. In fact,…