This article examines how students' subject knowledge acquired in short-term international courses (SICs) developed while engaging in university studies in the year following their SICs. It also explores factors associated with their engagement and disengagement. Two interviews with a 1-year interval with 25 students revealed their transformations…

This case study examines four Japanese pre-service teachers' (PST's) experience of learning Bob Moses' student-centered pedagogical framework (Moses & Cobb, 2001) in the context of teaching English as a foreign language, a subject arguably the most difficult for both Japanese students and teachers. The framework is most effective when used to…

Despite the rising interest in the practice of formative assessment (FA) in language classrooms, research has rarely examined the factors that contribute to differential use of FA. The present study adopts an explanatory sequential mixed-method design to examine differences in FA use among Japanese junior and senior high school EFL (English as a…

Virtual environments have the potential to be an important teaching tool for emotionally sensitive issues capable of producing a sense of presence, perspective-taking and introspection in users in a risk-free, rapid feedback experience. In designing such experiences, it is essential that users are regularly engaged in a collaborative design…

This edited book documents practices of learning-oriented language assessment through practitioner research and research syntheses. Learning-oriented language assessment refers to language assessment strategies that capitalise on learner differences and their relationships with the learning environments. In other words, learners are placed at the…

The dichotomy between content knowledge and 21st-century skills ("zest for life" in the Japanese context) has been an issue since the early 2000s in Japan. Recently it has been evident in the demand for a high school-university connection. In spite of such a division, involving apparently incompatible or opposite principles, Japan can…

It is now widely recognized that assessment and the feedback play key roles in the learning process. However, assessment-based learning approaches are not yet commonly practiced in Japan. This paper provides an example of an assessment-based approach to teaching and learning employed for a course entitled "English as an International…

Media headlines often announce that U.S. students do not shine in international comparisons in mathematics and science, but seldom does any one focus on the specifics of how instruction differs among countries and how U.S. educators can alter their practices to improve student achievement. Examining key findings from the Third International…

This study explores a teaching method for improving business students' skills in e-commerce page evaluation and making Web design majors aware of business content issues through cooperative learning. Two groups of female students at a Japanese university studying either tourism or Web page design were assigned tasks that required cooperation to…

Papers on aspects of second language program evaluation include the following: "The Role of Language Testing in Language Program Evaluation" (Adrian Palmer); "Defining an Appropriate Role for Language Tests in Intensive English Language Programs" (Margaret Des Brisay, Doreen Ready); "Principles and Practice in an…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…