L. Mason - Böcker

This is an account of the current state of using writing in service of learning. It presents psychological and educational foundations of the writing across the curriculum movement and describes writing-to-learn practices implemented at different levels of education, ranging from elementary school to higher education. It also puts the question into the broader context of schooling and society, including writing and modern technology. "Writing as a Learning Tool" is useful for educators, curriculum developers, psychologists, cognitive scientists, writing researchers, and teachers at all levels and all disciplines. It provides concrete applications and ideas about how to enhance student learning by means of writing. It pictures writing being more than a mere skill. Writing is an act for making meaning and advancing thinking.

This is an account of the current state of using writing in service of learning. It presents psychological and educational foundations of the writing across the curriculum movement and describes writing-to-learn practices implemented at different levels of education, ranging from elementary school to higher education. It also puts the question into the broader context of schooling and society, including writing and modern technology. "Writing as a Learning Tool" is useful for educators, curriculum developers, psychologists, cognitive scientists, writing researchers, and teachers at all levels and all disciplines. It provides concrete applications and ideas about how to enhance student learning by means of writing. It pictures writing being more than a mere skill. Writing is an act for making meaning and advancing thinking.

An account of both theoretical and practical issues in the present-day research on conceptual change. The text is divided into four parts and each of them is commented on by an invited contributor. The first two parts deal with theoretical perspectives on conceptual change. The last two focus more on implications that can be drawn from research and practical aspects to foster knowledge construction and re-construction. The book highlights the fact that not only purely cognitive aspects are involved in conceptual change processes. It indicates that for individuals to be able to achieve deep revision of their prior knowledge, it is crucial that they also modify other aspects such as their beliefs about knowledge and knowing, their motivation, affect and achievement goals. Moreover, this book indicates that the social and cultural nature of the contexts in which the change of individuals' conceptions is desired to occur plays an essential role. This book should prove useful for psychologists, cognitive scientists, educational researchers, curriculum developers, teachers and educators at all levels and all disciplines.

Particular attention was paid to discussing the characteristics of individuals’ prior knowledge and to the more recent topic of how to integrate social, motivational and contextual aspects of learning within conceptual change research (Parts 1 and 2).