The development of software for spacecraft represents a particular challenge and is, in many ways, a worst case scenario from a design perspective. Spacecraft software must be "bulletproof" and operate for extended periods of time without user intervention. If the software fails, it cannot be manually serviced. Software failure may…

In recent years, the social sciences have seen a resurgence in the study of divergent thinking (DT) measures. However, many of these recent advances have focused on abstract, decontextualized DT tasks (e.g., list as many things as you can think of that have wheels). This study provides a new perspective by exploring the reliability and validity…

College faculty have myriad choices of resources for their students when designing courses. The rising prices of textbooks and the availability of cell phones with internet access open the question of using cell phones in the classroom. In this study, I compared student learning in an ecology course between a semester in which a textbook was used…

Is there a need for dance to enter higher education in Greece? Can contemporary dance be viewed as a discipline on its own right? These questions inspired the research conducted in three case study institutions (out of six that exist) in Greece, examining the reality within them as experienced by dance students, lecturers, course leaders and the…

In recent decades, there has been a plethora of studies on language learning strategies (LLS hereafter). However, the research to date has mostly examined students' views on LLS, and there are few studies reflecting teachers' views. In contrast, this study surveyed 257 EFL students and 12 teachers to explore their views on the frequency and…

The focus of this study was connections among 3 aspects of mathematical cognition at 2nd grade: calculations, word problems, and prealgebraic knowledge. We extended the literature, which is dominated by correlational work, by examining whether intervention conducted on calculations or word problems contributes to improved performance in the other…

This study compared the teaching interaction procedure to social stories implemented in a group setting to teach social skills to three children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The researchers taught each participant one social skill with the teaching interaction procedure, one social skill with the social story procedure, and one social…

This paper describes the design and impact of an inquiry-oriented online curriculum that takes advantage of dynamic molecular visualizations to improve students' understanding of chemical reactions. The visualization-enhanced unit uses research-based guidelines following the knowledge integration framework to help students develop coherent…

In recent years, school science has been the target of increasing critique for two reasons. On the one hand, it is said to enforce "epic" images of science that celebrate the heroes and heroic deeds that established the scientific canon and its methods and thereby falsifies the history and nature of science. On the other hand, the…

A randomized trial involving 19 elementary schools (K-5) was conducted to replicate and extend two previous experimental studies of the effects of a voluntary summer reading program that provided (a) books matched to students' reading levels and interests and (b) teacher scaffolding in the form of end-of-year comprehension lessons. Matched…

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for students with disabilities can be categorized into the following categories: visual, auditory, mobile, and cognitive skills-based CAI. Cognitive-skills based CAI differs from other types of CAI largely in terms of an emphasis on instructional design features. We conducted both systematic review of…

The current study sought input from a national sample of social work (SW) and criminal justice (CJ) educators ("N" = 276) to explore characteristics of those who use service learning in the two disciplines, differences in the conceptions of and beliefs about service learning, and distinctions in how it is used and implemented. This study…

One of the primary goals of Freirean theory is the achievement of a higher level of political and social consciousness amongst participants in educational programming. Freire himself only loosely defined this sense of consciousness, and interpretations of how this abstract concept might look vary widely. In some organisations, the politically…

As online learning continues to gain widespread attention and thrive as a legitimate alternative to classroom instruction, educational institutions and online instructors face the challenge of building and sustaining student trust in online learning environments. The present study represents an attempt to address the challenge by identifying the…

Missing data are a common occurrence in survey-based research studies in education, and the way missing values are handled can significantly affect the results of analyses based on such data. Despite known problems with performance of some missing data handling methods, such as mean imputation, many researchers in education continue to use those…