Engaging students in class is paramount if they are to gain a deep understanding of class content. Student engagement is manifested by attention to the various components of instruction. However, there is little research at the tertiary level focusing on what aspects of instruction are related to changes in student attention during class. To…

While the traditional lecture remains a key feature in the teaching of mathematically intensive disciplines at a tertiary level, what students do outside class, the resources they use, and how they use them are critical factors in their success. This study reports on a survey of students studying a range of engineering subjects, giving their views…

This study challenges the assertion that an increase in L1 glossing results in more L2 reading comprehension. The results of this study, a quantitative meta-analysis, indicate that there is a significant difference (p = 0.04) in L2 reading comprehension between groups based on how much L1 glossing is provided. It was found that the group with the…

Two sections of an introductory microbiology course were taught by one instructor. One was taught through a hybrid format and the other through a traditional format. Students were randomly assigned to the two sections. Both sections were provided with identical lecture materials, in-class worksheets, in-class assessments, and extra credit…

This study seeks to design and facilitate active reading among secondary school students with an online annotation tool--Diigo. Two classes of different academic performance levels were recruited to examine their annotation behavior and perceptions of Diigo. We wanted to determine whether the two classes differed in how they used Diigo; how they…

Studies on using still images and dynamic videos in multimedia annotations produced inconclusive results. A further examination, however, showed that the principle of using videos to explain complex concepts was not observed in the previous studies. This study was intended to investigate whether videos, compared with pictures, better assist…

Researchers have theorized that cultural emphasis on education plays a major role in explaining Asian students' achievement. While Asian parents often view education as the main vehicle for upward social mobility, the social and cultural make-up of Asian societies and the context within which education is conducted in Asia often clash with the…

Having low domain knowledge is a significant constraint when using the Internet. This study examined the effectiveness of three potential supports for learners with low domain knowledge, including having plenty of time to search the Internet, using notes taken during the search when writing an essay about the topic, and having high levels of…

The field of distance education is a dynamic field which includes a growing body of research. The field of distance education raises many questions which encompass the spectrum of human and technological questions of interest to those of us who practice various forms of distance education. As doctoral students in the field of distance education,…