Reports the results of a study that compared two concept-mapping techniques, one high-directed, "fill-in-the-map" and one low-directed, "construct-a-map-from-scratch". Examines whether: (1) skeleton map scores were sensitive to the sample; (2) the two types of skeleton maps were equivalent; and (3) the two mapping techniques provided similar…

Points out difficult issues for program evaluation when information and computer technology (ICT) is a component of major school reform. Describes two basic procedures to assist program developers and evaluators in gaining control of such complex interventions in education. (Author/YDS)

The abstract nature of the mole and its applications to problem solving make learning the concept difficult for students, and teaching the concept challenging for teachers. Presents activities that use concept maps and graphing calculators as tools for solving mole problems. (ASK)

Scores student-constructed concept maps (n=17) that emerged from post-instructional interviews about chlorofluorocarbons against a teacher-expert map using a scheme weighted for relationships. Supports the recommendations of others to use expert referents and emphasize concept relationships in assessing concept maps. (Author/MM)

An author cocitation analysis of information retrieval research (1987 to 1997) from Social Scisearch via DIALOG analyzed the top 40 authors to reveal the intellectual structure of information retrieval. Concludes that cocitation analysis contributes to the understanding of intellectual structures in the sciences and possibly in other areas when…

This study examined the use of story-mapping to improve the reading comprehension of six third- and fourth-grade students with specific learning disabilities who exhibited reading deficits. Also of interest was whether the effects would maintain once the intervention was discontinued. Using a descriptive, three-phased, single-subject design, the…

As educators struggle to find ways to engage students in literacy development and content area exploration, performance literacy is emerging as an important pedagogical tool. This article defines performance literacy as the process of teaching students to write and perform stories. The author lists the five major components in the development of…

Although it has become very common to use World Wide Web-based information in many educational settings, there has been little research on how to better search and organize Web-based information. This paper discusses the shortcomings of Web search engines and Web browsers as learning environments and describes an alternative Web search environment…

The key research question in this small-scale study focuses on the effects that an ICT (information and communications technologies)-based concept mapping intervention has on creativity and writing achievement in 10-11-year-old primary age pupils. The data shows that pupils using a concept mapping intervention significantly improve their NFER…

This paper reports on a paper and pencil concept-sorting strategy that enables trainee teachers to restructure their knowledge in any one domain of science. It is used as a self-study tool, mainly to enable them to break down and understand the progression of concepts beyond the level at which they have to teach. The strategy involves listing key…

Concept mapping activities were trialed over a 2 year period as part of an undergraduate microbiology course. This paper describes this developmental process and offers insight into the most beneficial ways of employing this tool in a higher education setting. The aim was to investigate the use of mapping activities to improve students'…

As faculty, our goals for students are often tacit, hidden not only from students but from ourselves as well. We present a conceptual framework for considering teaching goals--what we want our students to achieve--that encourages us to think more broadly about what we mean by achieving in our knowledge domains. This framework includes declarative…

This paper explores how the three concepts of vision, metaphor, and fantasy serve educational research for a better understanding of teachers' minds regarding educational issues. Drawing upon data based on a review of the literature, the following has been found: a semantic comparison showed that the concepts were similar in their abilities to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to share practice on how two approaches to work-based learning (WBL) are used to develop the knowledge and skills of health care staff with different levels of experience and educational attainment within the Department of Nursing and the Department of Allied Health Professions at a post-1992 university…

This article provides an empirical evaluation of an indexing technology, topic maps (ISO 13250), in the context of an academic task in a higher education context. Topic maps are a form of indexing that define and display the interrelationships between various topics in a given domain, as well as anchor these topics to specific resources that help…