John Lester is currently the chief learning officer at ReactionGrid, a software company developing 3-D simulations and multiuser virtual world platforms. Lester's background includes working with Linden Lab on Second Life's education activities and neuroscience research. His primary focus is on collaborative learning and instructional…

Sometimes we question whether students are incapable or capable and/or willing or unwilling in regards to their academics. This study determined where students lie in regards to these concepts and showed one example of motivating students to do their best via course design, in this particular case by the use of a writing process model.

This paper describes my journey from instructional technology professional and doctoral student to instructional technology leader and tenure-track faculty member. I reflect on 15 years of application, in government, industry, and higher education, of what I learned in the classroom from some of the giants of the field (Wager, Morgan, Kaufman,…

The purpose of this research was to provide a qualitative study exploring the collaboration between three teachers and the School Library Information Specialist (SLIS) on the instructional design of curriculum. In this study, collaboration means working together to meet standards and guidelines. The SLIS, in the role of instructional consultant to…

Purpose: This study sought to (1) identify and describe the experiences of international students participating in U.S. cohort- and text-based asynchronous online courses and to 2) analyze perceptions of belonging/isolation within online environments through group and organizational socialization theory. Research Methods: Data from interviews with…

Throughout the chapters in this issue, the authors have cited various definitions for learning transfer. For educators, in its simplest form, transfer of learning occurs when students put to practical use the knowledge and skills they gained in the classroom (near transfer). Chapter 1 defines near transfer and then goes into detail on the levels…

Background: The expanded use of online and blended learning programs in K-12 STEM education has led researchers to propose design principles for effective e-learning systems. Much of this research has focused on the impact on learning, but not how instructional design impacts student engagement, which has a critical impact both on short-term…

This article presents a case study of how systems thinking and the instructional systems design ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and assessment) model were used to design and develop one of the first MOOCs at a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States. Contemporary issues surrounding MOOCs at both the macro…

This paper presents a web-based education platform for the visualization and animation of the digital logic design process. This includes the design of combinatorial circuits using logic gates, multiplexers, decoders, and look-up-tables as well as the design of finite state machines. Various configurations of finite state machines can be selected…

Initial studies of learning in massive open online courses (MOOCs) primarily focused on participation patterns and participant experiences. More recently, research has addressed learning theories and offered case studies of different pedagogical designs for MOOCs. Based on a meta-analysis and synthesis of the research literature, this study…

While many institutions provide centralized technology support for faculty, there is a lack of centralized professional development opportunities that focus on simultaneously developing instructors' technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) in higher education. Additionally, there are few professional development opportunities for…

Extension personnel, agricultural companies, and contract researchers invest a great deal of resources through time, money, and manpower to educate crop consultants, producers, students, and new employees. Creating an in-field, real world, and hands-on learning environment affords an opportunity to engage individuals to learn in ways that cannot…

I have developed a new teaching and learning model called AAAW, which stand for Analyze, Acquire, Apply and Write. This model grows from action research and unique experience in teaching a biochemistry course to high school students who are talented in math and science. In this model, students first "Analyze" lab data to generate…

In his article "Principled Practical Knowledge: Not a Bridge but a Ladder," Carl Bereiter (2014) argues that theoretical knowledge is too shallow to support the generation of innovative learning activities. He makes a case for principled practical knowledge (PPK)--"principled know-how and know-why"--to fulfill this practical…

This article takes a contrarian position: an "instructional design" or "teacher training" model, because of the sheer number of its interconnected parameters, is too complex to assess or to compare with other models. Models may not be the way to go just yet. This article recommends instead prior experimental research on limited…