Mobile learning has seen a large uptake in use in low- and middle-income countries. This is driven by rhetorics of easy scaling, reaching the hard-to-reach and the potential for generating analytics from the applications used by learners. Healthcare training has seen a proliferation of apps aimed at improving accountability through tracking and…

Learning complex skills is driven by reinforcement, which facilitates both online within-session gains and retention of the acquired skills. Yet, in ecologically relevant situations, skills are often acquired when mapping between actions and rewarding outcomes is unknown to the learning agent, resulting in reinforcement schedules of a stochastic…

The issue of sustaining and scaling up professional development for mathematics teachers raises several fundamental issues for researchers. This commentary addresses various definitions for sustainability and scaling up and how these definitions may affect the design of programs as well as the design of research. We consider four of the papers in…

The recruitment of sufficient numbers of suitably qualified teachers into headship is an international issue and to address this in Scotland alternative headship preparation programmes were trialled to provide greater flexibility in order to better match the individual development needs and circumstances of the aspirant head teachers. Drawing from…

A wide range of experimental studies have provided evidence that a night of sleep may enhance motor performance following physical practice (PP), but little is known, however, about its effect after motor imagery (MI). Using an explicitly learned pointing task paradigm, thirty participants were assigned to one of three groups that differed in the…

This article argues that participative approaches, such as those found in enterprise or entrepreneurship education, allow several factors to influence learning activity. The "Mini-enterprise" (Young Enterprise) approach is one where students set up and run their own business during a school year. This article is based on the analysis of…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to give a critical assessment of a study designed to investigate the potential of a new method for teaching HRD students about performance appraisal. It is argued that this approach is in the vanguard of developments in IT and learning. Design/methodology/approach: The paper takes the form of an explorative study…

A generational shift is occurring in training environments worldwide, a shift that promises to bring with it a dramatic and long-lasting impact. Just as years ago, those of the Baby Boomer generation passed the torch to Generation X, today the process is starting anew with Generation X and those who have come to be known as the Millennials.…

Research has shown that functional analysis results are beneficial for treatment selection because they identify reinforcers for severe behavior that can then be used to reinforce replacement behaviors either differentially or noncontingently. Theoretically then, if a reinforcer is identified in a functional analysis erroneously, a well researched…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the fact that conferences for professionals rely on massive one-way communication and hence produce little learning for delegates--and to introduce an alternative, the "learning conference", that involves delegates in fun and productive learning processes.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the level of consideration given to unlearning during human resource development interventions and to identify the methods being used to reinforce training and development. Design/methodology/approach: A self-administered questionnaire was given to a convenience sample of employers in regional…

This paper is based on the experience of working alongside new practitioners with the role of learning mentor as they engage in a national training programme. It considers the issues raised by evaluation at a range of times within and beyond the training. The main factors that emerge from the data focus on the role of inspiration, creativity,…

Serious games use entertainment principles, creativity, and technology to meet government or corporate training objectives, but these principles alone will not guarantee that the intended learning will occur. To be effective, serious games must incorporate sound cognitive, learning, and pedagogical principles into their design and structure. In…

A study was conducted to determine if Navy authors of instructional material could create effective memory aids for use in rote learning of material. A guidebook published by the Training Analysis and Evaluation Group was used in creating the memory aids. Navy school personnel used the guidebook to develop two training booklets incorporating…

A general analysis of the learning process precedes the discussion of a teaching model designed to provide effective control of the process of attaining knowledge. Features of the model discussed include preliminary knowledge, motivation, presentation and activities, feedback, and planning the assimilation process of a complete subject. A 21-item…