This article focuses on the challenges facing middle level professors who desire to practice what they preach by using an approach to teaching and learning called problem-based learning. Problem-based learning is a means by which prospective middle grades teachers can design interdisciplinary units and gain familiarity with using them in…

Effective professional learning requires that staff developers thoughtfully plan to meet varying teacher needs and be responsive to differences--that they model the differentiation teachers will practice in the classroom. Staff developers must be mindful of participants' current learning needs and plan according to their readiness, interest, and…

A class of 37 in-service government school teachers from the Nablus (Palestine) district was studied to investigate the effects of 18 hours of training in Instructional Designer's Competencies (IDC) on teachers' planning routine, and their students' academic achievement. A questionnaire measured IDC in five domains: analysis, design,…

This paper summarizes research conducted on three computer based video models' effectiveness for learning based on memory and comprehension. In this quantitative study, a two-minute video presentation was created and played back in three different types of media players, for a sample of eighty-seven college freshman. The three players evaluated…

Because of the nature of their subject, technology teachers have found ways to make learning active and exciting, often through new activities and projects that have real-world relevance. As technology fields grow, the success of technology teachers is tied in with innovation rather than the accomplishments of the past. This book provides a…

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center along with their partners at other NASA centers, and in private industry, are designing and beginning to develop the next generation of spacecraft to transport cargo, equipment, and human explorers to space. These vehicles are part of the Constellation…

Research spanning the last thirty years confirms that people learn better by active enquiry, collaboration and experimental problem solving than by passive reception and acceptance of information. Empirical evidence, as well as the pressing demands of pervasive social and technological change, requires learning and teaching approaches that combine…

Many academics continue to approach the multi-path and multi-voiced capacity of the Internet's networked nodal structure as if it were a book with pages and paragraphs and sentences that flow together in one direction to make a whole. A different approach to that of traditional writing, is required to make effective use of the distinctive…

Learning styles are increasingly being incorporated into technology-enhanced learning. Appropriately, a great deal of recent research work is occurring in this area. As more information and details about learning styles becomes available, learning styles can be better accommodated and integrated into all aspects of educational technology. The aim…

The current paper describes the design and development of a qualitative analysis course and an interactive web-based teaching and assessment tool called VSE (virtual structural environment). The widespread reliance on structural analysis programs requires engineers to be able to verify computer output by carrying out qualitative analyses.…

An integrated learning object, a web-based inquiry environment "Young Scientist" for basic school level is introduced by applying the semiosphere conception for explaining learning processes. The study focused on the development of students' (n=30) awareness of the affordances of learning objects (LO) during the 3 inquiry tasks, and their ability…

Choi and Clark (2006) argue that learning is attributed to the instructional method rather than the specific medium used to deliver instruction (i.e., the pedagogical agent). Additionally, they consider pedagogical agents as unnecessarily expensive tools, whose instructional affordances can be replicated by less expensive options. In this response…

The purpose of this study was to find out whether: (1) truancy, drop-out and failure rates was as a result of the teacher teaching strategy in Secondary Schools in Osun State, (2) If skill in instructional design has any relationship with failure rate; and (3) whether teachers that studied Educational Technology would perform significantly better…

As the use of digital technologies in teaching and learning becomes more institutionalized in pre-service teacher preparation, it becomes increasingly necessary to incorporate content specific technology experiences to enable career and technical teachers to seamlessly integrate the diversity of digital tools available to today's learners. Using…

Instructional designers need to understand the internal processes of learning, identify learners' cognitive difficulties with those processes, and create strategies to help learners overcome those difficulties. Generative learning theory, one conception of human learning about cognitive functioning and process, emphasizes that meaningful learning…