This study adopted design and development research methodology (Richey & Klein, "Design and development research: Methods, strategies, and issues," 2007) to systematically investigate the process of applying instructional design principles, human-computer interaction, and software engineering to a performance support system (PSS) for behavior…

Recent calls to close the rigour-relevance gap in business school education have suggested incorporating principles and ideas from action learning in small business management education. In this paper we discuss how business simulation exercises can be used as a platform to trigger students' learning by providing them with a platform where they…

In this article, the authors report on the construction and evaluation of a game-based driving simulator using a real car as a joystick. The simulator is constructed from off-the-shelf hardware and the simulation runs on open-source software. The feasibility of the simulator as a learning tool has been experimentally evaluated. Results are…

Background: The emergence of a participatory culture, brought about mainly by the use of Web2.0 technology, is challenging us to reconsider aspects of teaching and learning. Adapting the learning-as-digital-game-building approach, this paper explores how new educational practices can help students build skills for the 21st century. Purpose: This…

Since 2001, there has been a dramatic decline in Information Technology and Computer Science student enrolments worldwide. As a consequence, many institutions have evaluated their offerings and revamped their programs to include units designed to capture students' interests and increase subsequent enrolment. Likewise, at Victoria University the…

We provide a description of how a culturally and linguistically diverse elementary school in the Midwest implemented core features of a response-to-intervention (RTI) framework for improving school-wide reading instruction and decision making. A multi-year timeline illustrates how this school implemented additional elements of the RTI framework…

The theory and lessons of knowledge exchange, in both a physical and virtual environment, suggest a framework for understanding the specific requirements for a digital design class in "Second Life". Through teaching and observing students who were asked to complete a machinima project, our research provided examples of the strengths and…

This article considers how theories of instructional scaffolding--which call for a skilled expert to teach a novice a new task by breaking it into smaller pieces--might be employed in graduate-level qualitative methods courses. The author discusses how she used instructional scaffolding in the design and delivery of a qualitative methods course…

Written environments in online learning enable professional discourse to be analysed in depth and provide greater knowledge for improving learning and for planning and delivering courses aimed at professional development. Until now, research into professional discourse has highlighted the importance of interaction in the development of…

The "My Favorite Assignment" Session at the 2009 Association for Business Communication (ABC) annual convention in Portsmouth, Virginia, featured over a dozen teachers sharing pedagogical innovations in a fast-paced, 4-minute format designed by Dan Dietrich. The wide variety of ideas and techniques presented makes these sessions popular…

RTI has the potential to meet the challenges of increasing diversity in student populations and the need for increasingly complex systems of instructional design. Three fundamental shifts in understanding systems and systems change must ground RTI policy and implementation work. First, RTI must be seen as an activity system nested within a larger…

Educational robotics activities are gaining in popularity. Though some research data suggest that educational robotics can be an effective approach in teaching mathematics, science, and engineering, research is needed to generate the best practices and strategies for designing these learning environments. Existing robotics activities typically do…

In April 2009, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam invited more than 30 experts in the field of Holocaust education from a dozen countries for a three-day seminar to share their thoughts and experiences to provide insight into the kinds of opportunities and challenges educators might face in the future when teaching about the Holocaust in diverse…

Synchronous e-learning has received much less research attention, as compared with asynchronous e-learning. Practitioners that consider using and designing synchronous e-learning are in urgent need of guidance. In order to address this need, we propose design exemplars for synchronous e-learning. They are directed towards a primary constituent…

Teaching a required introductory Bible course to non-majors at a church-related college presents a number of pedagogical challenges. When considering how to teach such a course in the context of concerns common to the liberal arts, I find myself reflecting on authority. My thoughts on the teaching of this course in my own context are organized…