If the challenges of teaching and learning do not amount to simple empirical questions about effective pedagogical strategies but are instead complex "wicked problems" that may be impossible to solve, where does that leave the practice of backward design? Drawing on the intellectual history of instructional design, I argue that the use…

This article explores the epistemological trade-offs that practical and technology design fields make by exploring past philosophical discussions of design, practitioner research, and pragmatism. It argues that as technologists apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to more domains, the technology brings this same set of…

Since 1983, the Instructional Theory Framework (ITF) (and its subsequent improvements) has guided instructional designers and researchers in designing and developing useful learner experiences (LX). For the past 40 years, the ITF was laser-focused on the selection of instructional methods, downplaying delivery methods (media) and management…

This article explores the teaching of atmosphere for undergraduate geography students. Though many scholars have observed an "atmospheric turn" in the discipline, teaching atmosphere in human geography has received less attention. To this end, the article examines the design and delivery of a "floating workshop" that engaged…

There are many prescriptive learning design models, which attempt to guide teachers to design for learning by taking advantage of digital technologies. This paper argues that more emphasis could be put on design for learning as an informed practice. Four principles are suggested: Designs for learning should be (1) informed by available, relevant…

This paper analyses a set of widely held beliefs concerning our understanding and teaching of critical thinking, a notion which is increasingly adopted by universities as their main educational goal. Existing scholarship on critical thinking throws up a vast heterogeneous collection of definitions of critical thinking. I propose a…

This paper discusses the ethical challenges presented by artificial intelligence (AI) within the instructional process for students with disabilities. The authors briefly overview technological changes in education and applications of AI in education in addition to policy. Discussion is directed toward the development of an ethical pedagogy using…

Universal Design (UD), a theory that encompasses a proactive approach to accessibility and inclusion, has spread from its roots in architecture and product design to a host of applications including educational contexts. Over more than two decades, applications of UD in postsecondary settings have undergone exponential growth. In this theoretical…

In this article, Claudia Ruitenberg argues that the debate for or against instrumentalism in education is less fruitful than (a) a debate about the ends worth striving for, regardless of whether education is the best means to that end; and (b) a debate about the educational practices that are currently valued in and of themselves, regardless of…

In this article, the authors explore their motivations for conceiving of and assembling the current issue on comparative religious studies as a viable pedagogical orientation for our troubled times. Situated in both the history of comparison as a method and scholarship on effective pedagogy, it argues that disciplined, scholarly, sound comparative…

In this paper, we address the issue of the design and deployment of VR-oriented pedagogical scenarios by teachers as designers. To provide practical and theoretical solutions, we analyse the various existing models and tools for assisting teachers in the design and deployment of virtual reality learning environments (VRLEs). We identify a need for…

This brief article explores the integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools into blended learning environments for designing and teaching pronunciation tasks. Adapting Calamlam's (2016) conceptual framework, a flowchart is proposed to guide the use of three GenAI tool types to enhance pronunciation instruction: Listen-Mimic…

This article examines connections among disability, colonization, university policies, and writing center work in North America. By positing that university policies have long mimicked medical and scientific processes for creating--and then discriminating against--perceived categories of disability, this article makes interventions into…

Teachers are concerned with both student engagement and achievement of learning outcomes. Both are necessary, yet often considered in disconnected ways. We argue that such disconnection is a consequence of competing educational purposes, combined with an organizational framework for schooling that attempts to paste over the differences by…

Semiotics is the study of symbols and the creation of their meaning through social interactions. In this paper, we explore more deeply the socially situated nature of semiotics by extending current semiotics theories and frameworks from the perspective of emergent modeling. The first expansion is to replace the interpretant (meaning associated…