During young adolescence, many youth develop strong identities in relation to science, technology, engineering and mathematics with computing (STEM + C). One way to design for student engagement in STEM + C is to create project-based units that leverage students' interests. We created one such unit, called the "smart greenhouse project".…

Q methodology provides a unique mixed-methods means of examining subjectivity through the use of an activity called a Q sort in which participants must sort a list of given items within a predetermined sorting form. Although Q methodology has a long history as a research tool, its use as an instructional tool has not been extensively explored.…

Our educational project has three primary goals. First, we want to provide a robust vision of how hardware and software interplay, by integrating the design of an instruction set (through microprogramming) and using that instruction set for assembly programming. Second, we wish to offer a versatile and interactive tool where the previous…

Scholars from three universities in three different parts of the world--North America, Africa, and Eurasia--across different cultures, disciplines, and contexts, collaborated with the objective of advancing transversal skills and intercultural competences through immersing their students in international virtual teamwork. Students and lecturers…

This article is about designing and implementing PowerPoint-based interactive simulations for use in International Relations (IR) introductory undergraduate classes based on core pedagogical literature, models of human skill acquisition, and previous research on simulations in IR teaching. We argue that simulations can be usefully employed at the…

Based on the existing research from Cognitive Psychology, Information Design, Instructional Design, and Multimedia Design, it is possible to develop recommendations for the design of learning experiences that facilitate, support and enrich student academic performance. This article concentrates on the role of the teacher as information designer in…

For effective computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL), socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL) is necessary. To this end, this article extends the idea first posited by Järvelä and Hadwin ("Educ Psychol" 48(1):25-39, 2013) that successful collaboration in CSCL contexts requires targeted support for promoting individual…

The author shares the lesson that he used to introduce the quadratic unit to students in an extended second-year algebra class, demonstrate why it was appropriate for his struggling learners, and discuss possible future modifications to this lesson.

The article examines how a high school teacher designed an honors precalculus blended-learning class in North Carolina. By making videos of precalculus lectures where she had students watch during their days off from the class, the teacher was able to have her students work on problem solving and inquiry-based activities in groups when in-class.…

Whereas some educational designers believe that students should learn new concepts through explorative problem solving within dedicated environments that constrain key parameters of their search and then support their progressive appropriation of empowering disciplinary forms, others are critical of the ultimate efficacy of this discovery-based…

A number of researchers argue that cooperative learning can promote greater productivity and more caring, supportive and committed relationships between students, active learning, critical thinking, the achievement of long-term learning objectives, conceptual understanding, long-term retention of information and high levels of student…

John Lester is currently the chief learning officer at ReactionGrid, a software company developing 3-D simulations and multiuser virtual world platforms. Lester's background includes working with Linden Lab on Second Life's education activities and neuroscience research. His primary focus is on collaborative learning and instructional…

"Theory? What does this have to do with anything we're doing?" Sound familiar? Students may not always verbalize this, but they often think it, especially in courses where the emphasis is on the development of technical skills and the application of those skills to the building of products. Presenting theory in a way that is relevant and…

IS programs are increasingly being called on to offer courses in business intelligence. This article presents the pedagogical design and the delivery method of a practicable technical module for a non-technically oriented Business Intelligence course. It is a tutorial for the instructors who wish to incorporate a practical technical element in…

This article presents the case for a theory-informed approach to designing and evaluating representations for implementation in digital tools to support Learning Design, using the framework of epistemic efficacy as an example. This framework, which is rooted in the literature of cognitive psychology, is operationalised through dimensions of fit…