Numerous attempts have been made to use Second Life (SL) as a platform for language teaching. As a result, the possibility of SL as a means to promote conversational interactions has been reported. However, research has thus far largely focused on simply using SL without further augmentations for communication between learners or between teachers…

Teenagers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and age-matched controls participated in a dynamic facial affect recognition task within a virtual reality (VR) environment. Participants identified the emotion of a facial expression displayed at varied levels of intensity by a computer generated avatar. The system assessed performance (i.e.,…

Problem: Practitioners working with multiple-choice tests have long utilized Item Response Theory (IRT) models to evaluate the performance of test items for quality assurance. The use of similar applications for performance tests, however, is often encumbered due to the challenges encountered in working with complicated data sets in which local…

Psycholinguistic research spanning a number of decades has produced diverging results with regard to the nature of constraint integration in online sentence processing. For example, evidence that language users anticipatorily fixate likely upcoming referents in advance of evidence in the speech signal supports rapid context integration. By…

CBT (computer-based training) can benefit from the modern multimedia tools combined with network capabilities to overcame traditional education. The objective of this paper is focused on CBT development to improve strategic decision-making with regard to air command and control system for NATO staff in virtual environment. A conceptual design for…

Pre-practicum student reflections were studied using an Objective Standard Clinical Examination adapted for social work. One hundred and nine students conducted simulated interviews and immediately wrote answers to reflective questions. Reflections were studied using descriptive qualitative methodology. Three patterns emerged: students rely…

The article describes the use of Mathematica, a computer algebra system (CAS), in a high school chemistry course. Mathematica was used to generate a graph, where a slider controls the value of parameter(s) in the equation; thus, students can visualize the effect of the parameter(s) on the behavior of the system. Also, Mathematica can show the…

An upper-division undergraduate chemistry experiment is described which utilizes DigiSim software to simulate cyclic voltammetry (CV). Four mechanisms were studied: a reversible electron transfer with no subsequent or proceeding chemical reactions, a reversible electron transfer followed by a reversible chemical reaction, a reversible chemical…

This article describes a four-week congressional committee simulation implemented in upper level courses on Congress and the Legislative process at two liberal arts colleges. We find that the students participating in the simulation possessed high levels of political knowledge and confidence in their political skills prior to the simulation. An…

Online instruction is quickly gaining in importance in U.S. higher education, but little rigorous evidence exists as to its effect on student learning. We measure the effect on learning outcomes of a prototypical interactive learning online statistics course by randomly assigning students on six public university campuses to take the course in a…

Research has shown that students have difficulties with understanding the process of determining whether an object is speeding up or slowing down, especially when it is applied to the analysis of motion in the negative direction. As inductively organized learning through its scaffolding sequencing supports the process of knowledge acquisition…

As students often find the first accounting class to be abstract and difficult to understand, the authors designed an in-class simulation as an intervention to move students toward deep learning and away from surface learning. The simulation consists of buying and selling merchandise and accounting for transactions. The simulation is an effective…

Student growth measures are increasingly common in K-12 school and teacher accountability policy in the United States. At this time, it is still rare for educator preparation programs (EPPs) to be evaluated by similar measures for either low stakes program improvement or higher stakes accreditation processes. Growth in student achievement reflects…

Nursing profession accrediting agencies and associations, including the National League for Nursing, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, and the Institute of Medicine, have called for the implementation and evaluation of educational innovations. Many nursing schools have attempted to be…

Developing technology to help people teach and learn is an important topic in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). In this thesis we present three studies on this topic. In the first study, we demonstrate new games for learning mathematics and discuss the evidence for key design decisions from user studies. In the second study, we develop a real-time…