Since the 1960s, researchers have been trying to optimize the sequencing of instructional activities using the tools of reinforcement learning (RL) and sequential decision making under uncertainty. Many researchers have realized that reinforcement learning provides a natural framework for optimal instructional sequencing given a particular model…

The instructional effect of worked examples has been investigated in many research studies. However, most of them evaluated the overall performance of the participants in solving post-intervention problems, rather than individual step performance in multi-step problems. The two experiments reported in this article investigated the relations…

Although basing instruction on a learning trajectory (LT) is often recommended, there is little direct evidence to support the premise of a "LT approach"--that to be maximally meaningful, engaging, and effective, instruction is best presented one LT level beyond a child's present level of thinking. The present report serves to address…

Writing in science can be challenging for all learners, and it is especially so for students with cognitive or language-based learning difficulties. We examined the effects of a cognitive apprenticeship on student disciplinary writing skills as well as near and far transfer of learning outcomes. This instructional approach included a gradual…

Recent intervention research has demonstrated success in raising the achievement level of students who are struggling with mathematics. This practice guide, developed by the What Works Clearinghouse™ (WWC) in conjunction with an expert panel, distills this contemporary mathematics intervention research into six easily comprehensible and practical…

To examine differences between sequences of secondary science courses on achievement on science high stakes exams, a purposive quantitative research design was utilized in this study. A short survey was sent out to public high schools in the state of Missouri that asked to identify their main science course sequence. In addition, participants were…

We designed a sequence of courses for the DataCamp online learning platform that approximates the content of a typical introductory statistics course. We discuss the design and implementation of these courses and illustrate how they can be successfully integrated into a brick-and-mortar class. We reflect on the process of creating content for…

People prefer words with consonant articulation locations moving inward, from the front to the back of the mouth (e.g., "menika"), over words with consonant articulation locations moving outward, from the back to the front of the mouth (e.g., "kemina"). Here, we modulated this "in-out effect" by increasing the fluency…

With the onset of online education via technology-enhanced learning platforms, large amount of educational data is being generated in the form of logs, clickstreams, performance, etc. These Virtual Learning Environments provide an opportunity to the researchers for the application of educational data mining and learning analytics, for mining the…

This article showcases an instructor-librarian collaborative model for teaching critical information literacy (CIL) skills in a higher education course by incorporating interactive workshops into a sequence of required course assignments. Using an asset-focused design, this assignment sequence allows students to first demonstrate their existing…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether a new oculomotor serial reaction time (RT) task revealed statistical sequence learning in young children. Method: We used eye tracking to measure typically developing children's oculomotor RTs in response to cartoon-like creatures that appeared successively in quadrants of a monitor…

Behavioral studies have reported interactions between number processing and spatial attention, suggesting that number processing involves shifting attention along a mental continuum on which numbers are represented in ascending order. However, direct evidence for attention shifts remains scarce, the respective contribution of the horizontal and…

Learner-centered coaching and feedback are relevant to various educational contexts. Spaced retrieval enhances long-term knowledge retention. We examined the efficacy of Blank Slate, a novel spaced retrieval software application, to promote learning and prevent forgetting, while gathering and analyzing data in the background about learners'…

We examined student performance in a computer-supported learning environment after students undertook, among others, a graphing task within an inquiry context. Students were assigned in two conditions: (a) Students were given one variable, and they had to select the second one to construct their graph; (b) students were given four variables, and…

This study investigated the role of sequential processing in spoken language outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), ages 5;3-11;4, by comparing them to children with typical hearing (TH), ages 6;3-9;7, on sequential learning and memory tasks involving easily nameable and difficult-to-name visual stimuli. Children who are DHH…