Card tricks based on mathematical principles can be a great way to get students interested in exploring some important mathematical ideas. In this article, the author discusses a simple spreadsheet implementation that shows students why the card trick works and allows them to explore several variations. As an added bonus, students are introduced…

The development of appropriate scenarios is critical in high-fidelity simulation training. They need to be developed to address specific learning objectives, while not preventing other learning points from emerging. Buying a patient simulator, finding a volunteer to act as the patient, or even obtaining ready-made scenarios from another simulation…

This article features two documents which can serve as a starting point for a lesson on public service while students debate the amount of pay that public servants should receive. These are: (1) the printed draft of the Constitution showing George Washington's handwritten corrections that eliminated state payments and included the phrase "to be…

This article is written as a tribute to R. Garry Shirts who through his exemplary authorship and publication of gamed simulations was designated "Defender of the Playful". Garry Shirts was the master of creating the "Aha! Moment" in learning through "deep play". Among the many gamed simulations he designed, the…

In an attempt to study the emerging questions about design of mathematical tasks that could support the solving of challenging problems, we designed two settings of interactive diagrams that share an example represented as an animation of multi-process motion but differ in their organizational functions. The interactive settings, each comprising…

Willingness to communicate (WTC) can be conceptualized as changing from moment to moment, as opportunities for second-language communication arise. In this study we present an idiodynamic methodology for studying rapid changes in WTC. The methodology consists of recording responses from six young adult, female speakers to second-language…

Over the years, many training methods for creativity and innovation have been developed. Despite these programs and research, further improvement is necessary, particularly in schools of technology and engineering education, where previous efforts have focused on developing solutions to defined problems, not in identifying and defining the…

This article presents the current development of a serious game for the simulation of massive evacuations. The purpose of this project is to promote self-protection through awareness of the procedures and different possible scenarios during the evacuation of a massive event. Sophisticated behaviors require massive computational power and it has…

The battle between educators and entertainers continues when it comes to gaming. While this is so, the edutainment battleground has expanded to include actors outside formal schooling agencies, namely International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs). These actors employ digital games with the aim to educate and activate towards specific social…

This article describes the assignments the author created to engage preservice teachers in designing instructional materials that befit today's students to help them overcome hurdles sometimes present when learning classic literature. Secondary and middle school English teachers may find these assignments useful as well so their students, too,…

One study, covering the last 25 years, reports that undergraduates in college complete about 30 percent of assigned work. Would it be surprising--in these days of DVRs, Internet, texting, email, and video games--if high school and middle school students' homework completion rates were even less? What are teachers to do? Comprehension strategies,…

Bridges are some of the most majestic features in the American landscape. For classrooms, the bridge serves as an important component of one of the main themes of geography: movement. One bridge, north of Manhattan and crossing the Hudson River, is the Tappan Zee. One aspect that stands out in a way that does not at all appear reasonable: the…

Due to the eroding family composition of American families today and other important variables contributing to children's lack of social skills and inappropriate behaviors, the implementation of a Character Education curriculum is a greater need in schools today. This need is much more pressing than during the middle of the last century. Some…

The purpose of this study was to construct an instructional systems design model for chemistry teaching laboratories at the undergraduate level to accurately depict the current practices of design experts. This required identifying the variables considered during design, prioritizing and ordering these variables, and constructing a model. Experts…

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of students' mapping and discourse behaviors while constructing causal maps to articulate their understanding of a complex, ill-structured problem. In this study, six graduate-level students were assigned to one of three pair groups, and each pair used the causal mapping software program,…