In 1970, deposition of fly ash from a coal burning power plant in downtown Peoria produced minor damage in the vicinity of its smokestack, including runs in ladies nylon stockings. In this article, we review the historical event and discuss the chemistry behind the depolymerization of the nylon, as well as laboratory experiments demonstrating how…

A lot of research has focused on the beneficial effects of using multimedia, that is, text and pictures, for learning. Theories of multimedia learning are based on Baddeley's working memory model (Baddeley 1999). Despite this theoretical foundation, there is only little research that aims at empirically testing whether and more importantly how…

In this article, the author presents one instructional strategy--scribing--tailored to the Tablet PC. He illustrates the role of the scribe during discussion through two classroom examples: (1) generalizing the polygon sum theorem; and (2) proving the third angle theorem. Then he analyzes scribing as an instructional strategy as well as students'…

Demographic trends indicate that older adults live longer and maintain active lifestyles. The majority are educated and many enjoy the stimulation that ongoing learning opportunities present. In order for these older adults to benefit from learning opportunities, circumstances specific to these individuals (e.g. age-related decline) need to be…

Integrative curriculum has been noted as a best practice toward effective learning. Quality physical educators struggle and search for different ways to integrate other content areas (e.g.., language arts, math, and social studies) into their daily lessons; however, due to budgetary limitations, they must find ways to do so with educationally…

Today virtual world instruction faces many of the same educational challenges faced by Web-based instruction during its infancy. There is a lot of jargon and visions of the future being bandied about, but as Hirumi et al. note in the May/June and July/August 2010 issues of "TechTrends" "there little understanding of how to apply" pedagogical…

A podcast refers to an interactive audio-visual presentation. In this article, the author focuses on four instructional design strategies he used in the podcast that had the greatest impact on his students' aesthetic experience with the work of art. The first strategy was developing questions that encourage personal connections that lead to an…

Effective curricula are a cornerstone of successful Extension programming. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Nutrition and Health Planning and Guidance Committee (NGPGC) developed a set of recommendations for a curriculum review system and created a curriculum review checklist. The checklist describes components of an effective…

A floating bowling ball? No way! There is no better way to get students' attention and reinforce the need for conceptual understanding than with a discrepant event like this. Density is a central concept in chemistry and physical science from middle school to college. But often, particularly at the high school and college levels, we think students…

This article presents findings from a study of first tier managers (FTMs) within further education. While studies of managerial resistance are rare, this research highlights a range of resistant behaviours employed by first tier managers as they struggle to meet demands from students, their teams and the organisation. Resistance here is considered…

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) utilization in Chinese as a "second" foreign language has mainly been focused on Learning Management System (LMS), digital material development, and quantitative analysis of learners' grammatical knowledge. There has been little research that has analyzed the effectiveness of…

This paper describes a global professional development program called 21st Century Learning Design (21CLD), which helps teachers design academic lessons that integrate opportunities for students to develop 21st Century competencies in a variety of dimensions such as collaboration, knowledge construction, and the powerful use of ICT for learning.…

Successful implementation of historical approach to teach nature of science (NOS) requires suitable curriculum material. Several research and development projects have produced lesson plans for science teachers. 25 lesson plans from four different projects involved in creating curriculum material utilizing historical approach in chemistry…

This study reflects on a research and development project between two dance practitioners, one of them a wheelchair user, working together to develop pedagogical design within teacher education at a university in Norway. The aim of the authors is to encourage student teachers toward becoming inclusive and brave teachers who define diversity among…

This paper uses methods derived from the field of futures studies to explore the future of technology-enhanced assessment. Drawing on interviews and consultation activities with experts, the paper aims to discuss the conditions that can impede or foster "innovation" in assessment and education more broadly. Through a review of relevant…