Drawing on game-design principles and an underlying situated theoretical perspective, we developed and researched a 3D game-based curriculum designed to teach water quality concepts. We compared undergraduate student dyads assigned randomly to four different instructional design conditions where the content had increasingly level of…

English education has entered a new era. Bonk (2008) boldly proclaims that "the World is Open" for learning. It is somewhat obvious that opportunities for learning have expanded with the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies. Now we can interact, participate, and collaborate on the Web in "a planetary community" attached to a…

Video usage in educational contexts is on the rise. We examined 3 alternative theories about cognitive mechanisms of learning and their implications for instructional design when video is employed to enhance text-based learning. Hypothesis-testing procedures followed a falsificationist approach, grounded in philosophy of science literature.…

To be effective, teacher education programs need to engage teachers in learning as professionals. This includes learning experiences grounded in classroom practice and guidance to develop as professionals so teachers can take on roles of leaders and mentors in their classrooms and in partnerships with universities. New web-based communication…

It is important for teachers of mathematics to know how pupils react to certain mathematical situations and what these reactions imply, in order to design more effective instructional environments based on their learning needs. This study reports the development processes of a digital learning tool (Learning Tool for Elementary School Teachers…

This study was conducted in the Faculty of Creative Multimedia, Multimedia University, Malaysia and investigated students' perceptions while working on a multimedia project that was embedded within a constructivist-based learning environment. We studied the impact of using multimedia on students who have little experience with working in a…

Research indicates that online learning often situates control of implementation with the learner. Recently, scholars have turned attention to the importance of self-directed learning (SDL) skills for online learning environments. Existing frameworks for understanding SDL focus primarily on process and personal attributes in face-to-face settings.…

Analyzing how Japanese people learned in the Edo Period (1603-1867), one realizes that Japan had one of the highest literacy rates in the world in the 17th century. By studying this period, I will introduce traditional non-directive teaching and learning theories which still influence educational practices in today's Japan. I will further propose…

Noting the current push for rigor in secondary school curriculums (the lead member of the "new three Rs" of rigor, relevance, and relationships), Washor and Mojkowksi take a closer look at the prevailing conception of rigor. They argue that a narrowly defining a rigorous curriculum as one with more advanced courses and more factual content…

When learning about a phenomenon, one must directly experience it in order to fully understand it (Kolb, 1984). So how may an instructor of introductory organizational communication ensure that students "directly experience the phenomenon" of organizing? The author describes an activity he developed to enable students to share a direct experience…

Transfer of learning continues to be a need among adult learners. All too often, professional development planners, trainers, and educators are criticized for planning and delivering learning experiences with little to no attention rendered to how participants will apply their newly-acquired knowledge and skills. This criticism can be adequately…

This study was designed primarily to examine how synchronous communication facilitated graduate students' online collaboration and their perceptions of synchronous communication. Thirty online graduate students were required to use instant messenger (IM) to discuss their group projects and later post their reflections on their collaboration. The…

Learning objects are a new form of learning resource, and the design of these digital environments has many facets. To investigate senior instructional design students' use of reflection tools in designing learning objects, a series of studies was conducted using the Reflective Action Instructional Design and Learning Object Review Instrument…

Traditional education, employing lectures or telecommunicative instruction methods, has been very effective in providing topical facts. However, the development of student skills and thinking ability require higher levels of instruction and more opportunity to practice and apply acquired knowledge. As students progress through a particular…

Annotation can be a valuable exercise when trying to understand new information. The technique can be used to create a "condensed" version of the original information for later review and to add additional information into the existing document. The growth in web-based learning materials and information sources has created requirement for systems…