In the initial sociocultural theory (SCT) timeline, Lantolf and Beckett (2009) surveyed a broad spectrum of research informed by sociocultural psychology as it was extended into the field of second language acquisition and language teaching. Since that time, the amount of research that has been published within the SCT framework has grown…

Design is core element of general technology education internationally. While there is a degree of contention with regards to its treatment, there is general consensus that the inclusion of design in some form is important, if not characteristic, of the subject area. Acknowledging that design is important, there are many questions which need to be…

We live in an age of continual technological development. Rapidly developing technologies have found use in nearly all aspects of life. As such, it is understandable that technology has also infiltrated the field of education. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has provided us with the technical underpinnings for distance and lifelong…

Educators have long recognized the value and import of class journaling. Traditional approaches to journaling, however, only engage students in one mode of communicative expression while allowing them to procrastinate in writing their entries. Typical journals are also read exclusively by the instructor, which overlooks the opportunity for…

We assume many things when considering our practice, but our assumptions limit what we do. In this theoretical/philosophical paper I consider some assumptions that relate to our work. My purpose is to stimulate a debate, a search for alternatives, and to help us improve mathematics education by influencing our future curriculum documents and…

Higher education institutions are more diverse than ever before, as are the students they serve. Because of this great diversity, there is no silver bullet--one approach--that will work for teaching all students in all circumstances. This book offers a succinct description of several pedagogical paths available to faculty that can actively engage…

The Center for Applied Special Technology, Inc. (CAST), an educational research organization, introduced Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in its earliest form nearly 25 years ago. According to Orkwis and McLane (1998), UDL is a tangible means by which educators implement the special education requirements and sustain the gains that were…

The major objective of this paper is to demonstrate the effectiveness of dynamic assessment (DA) in revealing outcomes of cognitive education programmes. Three programmes based on "mediated learning experience" theory are reviewed: "Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment", "Bright Start", and "Peer Mediation with…

Despite a wealth of tacit knowledge in academia regarding effective teaching strategies and a rich theoretical and empirical knowledge base on student learning, social work instructors wishing to identify appropriate ways to measure teaching and learning have little evidence to guide them. This article presents a framework for assessment of…

This article proposes an instructional design model for blended learning writing courses for English language learners (ELLs). It will do so by combining the main points of the cognitive load, activity, sociocultural, and transactional distance theories to present four tenets essential for optimal learning for ELLs: structure, environment,…

Teacher-based assessment (TBA) is increasingly being promoted in educational policies internationally, with English language teachers being called on to plan and/or implement appropriate assessment procedures to monitor and evaluate student progress in their own classrooms. However, there has been a lack of theorization of TBA in the English…

The educational system perpetuates social injustice through structural inequities of assessment and evaluation. High-stakes standardized testing has a destructive effect on teaching and learning that affects all students, teachers, and schools; it is particularly damaging for disadvantaged students--minorities, students with disabilities, students…

Training professionals to design and produce interactive systems requires the use of well thought-out training scenarios. Indeed, it is essential to consider pedagogical forms whose objective is providing learners with field experience. It is also necessary to motivate learners to learn about subjects that sometimes seem distant from their…

Tertiary educators increasingly recognize the benefits for student learning of collaboration and group work; however, it is commonly perceived that examinations should be completed without the opportunity for interaction with other learners or use of relevant resources. An alternative approach is suggested in this article, based on the…

Design-Based Research (DBR) has been a tool of the learning sciences since the early 1990s, used as a way to improve and study learning environments. Using an iterative process of design with the goal of reining theories of learning, researchers and educators now use DBR seek to identify "how" to make a learning environment work. They then draw…