Background: Guidance has showed positive effects on promoting inquiry-based learning in science education. While an increasing number of studies focus on the design of guidance in simulation-based inquiry learning due to recent technology developments, how different designs of a same type of guidance affect learning remains a question. Objectives:…

Learning through play is currently an effective and attractive educational strategy. However, are all educational video games (EVG) successful and do they always keep the player motivated? Here, the authors emphasize that the success of an EVG will be more achievable if the game quality is measured, and suggest the use of playability property as a…

This discussion of formative evaluation as part of the instructional design process focuses on developmental testing and expert review. A review of the literature helps define each approach, research on formative evaluation is reviewed, and 37 references are provided. (LRW)

The purpose of this conceptual analysis is to investigate how contemporary video and computer games might inform instructional design by looking at how narrative devices and techniques support problem solving within complex, multimodal environments. Specifically, this analysis presents a brief overview of game genres and the role of narrative in…

Discussion of instructional design and instructional development focuses on four studies conducted in Newfoundland that examined instructional development knowledge, competency, and use among teacher-librarians, secondary school teachers, and elementary school teachers. Results are reported that indicate teacher planning is done using personal…

Cognitive science is briefly reviewed, and its implications for instructional design are discussed. The application of cognitive science to instruction requires knowledge of cognitive science, the subject content taught, and the system in which the instruction is imbedded. The central concept of cognitive science is mental representation--the…

Some personal reflections on instructional design and its relation to constructivism are explored. Instructional design in its present form is out of sync with the times in that its orientation, methods, and research base are behavioristic, or positivistic. However, a constructivist theory of instructional design is possible, particularly if…