This paper discusses two "GeoGebra" applets, "Radical" and "Parabola," that are designed to strengthen the conceptual understanding of specific topics in algebra. The design and pedagogical basis of the applets are presented. The integration of the applets in teaching Grade 9 mathematics in a partner high school in…

This study examined the effects of a dynamic geometry software (DGS) program, GeoGebra, on student engagement and student achievement on students in four geometry classes at a secondary school in Belize. Two teachers and 139 students in ninth grade were part of this study for three weeks during a geometry unit. There was a control group that was…

We discuss the design, creation and implementation of an instructional game for use in a high school poetry class following a commitment to an educational game design principle of "alignment". We studied groups of instructional designers and an interactive fiction computer game they built. The game was implemented in a 9th grade English classroom…

Recent assessments indicate that American students do not score well on tests of scientific problem solving, relative to students in other nations. IMMEX is a web-based virtual environment that provides students with opportunities to solve science problems by viewing information resources through a suite of menu options, developing a hypothesis…

Spatial abilities are fundamental to human functioning in the physical world. Spatial reasoning allows people to use concepts of shape, features, and relationships in both concrete and abstract ways, to make and use things in the world, to navigate, and to communicate. Surgeons, pilots, architects, engineers, mechanics, builders, farmers, trades…

We describe the design of a knowledge-building environment and examine the role of knowledge-building portfolios in characterizing and scaffolding collaborative inquiry. Our goal is to examine collaborative knowledge building in the context of exploring the alignment of learning, collaboration, and assessment in computer forums. The key design…

In this paper, we suggest that case-based resources, which are used for assisting cognition during problem solving, can be structured around the work of narratives in social cultural psychology. Theories and other research methods have proposed structures within narratives and stories which may be useful to the design of case-based resources.…