The use of digital technologies is now widespread and increasing, but is not always optimized for effective learning. Teachers in higher education have little time or support to work on innovation and improvement of their teaching, which often means they simply replicate their current practice in a digital medium. This paper makes the case for a…

Dynamic concepts are difficult to explain in traditional media such as still slides. Animations seem to offer the advantage of delivering better representations of these concepts. Compared with static images and text, animations can present procedural information (e.g. biochemical reaction steps, physiological activities) more explicitly as they…

Currently postgraduate hospitality courses are attracting large numbers of international students, many of whom do not speak English as a first language. In addition, these programmes are also popular with first language students drawn from non-traditional academic backgrounds. Both cohorts experience difficulties with the academic genre…

This research study describes the experiences and perceptions of an instructor and an instructional design specialist who collaborated on the design and implementation of a university course using a new course design process. Findings uncovered differences between an informal collaboration process and the adaptation of that process for…

Recognizing the mismatch between a philosophy of holistic development and evaluation focused on external, quantitative criteria led Miami University's Honors and Scholars Program to revise its curriculum in accordance with student development theory. (Contains 1 table.)

Different approaches have demonstrated that learning improves when implemented in a constructivist and social way. In addition, electronic games and simulations are perceived to have high educational value because of their motivational and emotional factors. This potential value can be developed by defining appropriate scenarios in which players…

This article describes how two instructors used assessment data to improve an undergraduate course, Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom. This entailed revising the core assignment for the course--the creation of a thematic unit of instruction--and developing a scoring guide to assess teacher candidates' performance. Data collected…

Developing a clear and confident plan for every class is much easier when you use this book's model for success. Jane E. Pollock explains the four critical areas of teaching and describes how you can use an approach that increases student success and your own personal satisfaction. To execute your plan, the book offers step-by-step instructions…

The University of Sydney is a large, research-intensive, campus-based Australian University. Since 2004 a strategic initiative of project-based eLearning support has been creating teams of non-academic and academic staff, who have worked together to develop online resources to meet identified needs. The University's aims in continuing to provide…

Defines and discusses task analysis and presents a method by which goals can be achieved with the integration of task analysis and design. Highlights include the fact that prerequisites must be kept in mind during the development process. (JKP)

A designer of educational games and simulations analyzes his own design process which revealed unexpected weaknesses in his mode of working, led him to consider how to minimize them when designing future games and simulations, and resulted in changes to a more efficient and effective work style. (EAO)

Identifies six stages for the development of a comprehensive instructional system (planning, design, development, implementation, management transfer, client operation) and describes briefly the general purpose of each stage as it relates to the total development efforts. Maintaining a strong user orientation and involvement at each stage is…

The subtleties of instruction include interpretation, interaction, and longitudinality. Instructional leaders can help teachers make decisions about how to verbally mediate students' understanding during lessons. Includes references. (MD)

"Teaching English by Design" is two books in one: a primer for teaching secondary English and a comprehensive guide to creating and using four to six-week instructional units. Peter Smagorinsky shares important insight about students, how they learn, and what kinds of classrooms support their achievement in reading and writing. Then he uses those…

Describes a new method designed to identify defects in existing instructional programs so that ineffective parts may be repaired, and poor programs may be replaced with better ones. Four references are listed. (MER)