The distant future: In a universe where humanity's mortal enemy is the alien race known as Bugs, an Imperial battleship suffers a mysterious and devastating attack that sends Captain Alan Corinth crash landing onto an unknown planet. Much to his surprise, rather than the technologically advanced humanity he knows, the humans he encounters there seem to live in a fantasy world filled with swords and magic! A galactic officer stranded in a world of magic must adapt to survive!

Alan Corinth, the only survivor of an attack on his galactic navy vessel, crashes down onto an unknown planet. There he meets a girl named Cleria with an unclear past, and learns that a mysterious power that everyone calls "magic" exists in this world. To understand the everyday workings of his new home planet, Alan sets out with Cleria to meet more people in the towns and villages along their path, blending science and technology with the local customs. Will he be able to survive, unlock ...

This book describes the design and implementation of a discipline-specific model of professional development: the disciplinary Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). TLC was born from a strong commitment to improving undergraduate science education through supporting the front-line educators who play an essential role in this mission. The TLC’s comprehensive approach encompasses consultation, seminars and workshops, acculturation activities for new faculty members, and teaching preparatory co...

The idea of teachers Learning through Teaching (LTT) – when presented to a naïve bystander – appears as an oxymoron. Are we not supposed to learn before we teach? After all, under the usual circumstances, learning is the task for those who are being taught, not of those who teach. However, this book is about the learning of teachers, not the learning of students. It is an ancient wisdom that the best way to “truly learn” something is to teach it to others. Nevertheless, once a teacher has ...

Characterizing Pedagogical Flow presents conclusions from a multi-disciplinary, multi-national research project blending quantitative and qualitative approaches through a discourse methodology. The work produced portraits of mathematics and science education that were dramatically different for each of the countries involved: France, Japan, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. To explain these differences, it is proposed that the interaction of curriculum and pedagog...

In a changing world that demands new skills, a vital concern of public education is the gap in academic performance between low- and high-achieving students. There is no excuse for the achievement gaps that persist among poor and minority students in schools today. All students can succeed at high levels, regardless of race, ethnicity and economic background. Several countries have successfully confronted inequities in achievement, demonstrating that any school can close achievement gaps r...

During the summer of 1990, while taking my holidays to teach a university course of physics for elementary teachers, I also tutored one of the tenth-grade students at my school in physics, chemistry, and mathematics. In return for working with him for free, I had requested permission to audiotape our sessions; I wanted to use the transcripts as data sources for a chapter that I had been in vited to write. It so happened that I discovered and read Jean Lave's Cognition in Practice that very...

This book brings together a collection of internationally renowned authors in the STEM field to share innovations in the teaching of STEM. It focuses on the junior secondary years of education (students aged 11-15), since this is the age range in which students choose whether or not to formally opt out of STEM education. It is here that the book makes a significant contribution to the field by integrating the STEM area and focusing on the junior years of schooling.While developing ...

This book provides a detailed examination of how systems located within five countries shape the early career learning of beginning teachers. It describes, discusses and analyzes comprehensive teacher induction found within France, Japan, New Zealand, Shanghai and Switzerland. We refer to the phenomena we observed as induction ‘systems’ because they are am- tious, substantial and established: all beginning teachers in these various locales are served; there are no unfunded mandates; these ...

PREFACE The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and the g- ernments of the participating countries, is acomparative study of education in mathematics and the sciences conducted in approximately 50 educational systems on six continents. The goal of TIMSS is to measure student achievement in mathematics and science in participating countries and to assess some of the curricul...

This second edition goes beyond the question of whether or not a pedagogical technique is effective, towards more of a focus on answering the question of why a particular technique or class of techniques is effective. In particular it is shown that students’ epistemological beliefs could become more expert-like with a combination of appropriate instructional activities. The debate in the science education community between those who believe that students come in to the classroom with a the...

A Splintered Vision: An Investigation of U.S. Science and Mathematics Education is the US report on the curriculum analysis component of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) which was sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).The report summarizes data from the TIMSS curriculum analysis and integrates it with teacher questionnaire data from the US, Japan, and Germany on science and mathem...