The role of critical and creative thinking has been debated within the field of instructional design. Through an instructional design and development project we have identified how critical and creative thinking are essential to the instructional design process. This paper highlights a recent project focused on a virtual Native American village…

Multiuser immersive learning scenarios hold strong potential for lifelong learning as they can support the acquisition of higher order skills in an effective, efficient, and attractive way. Existing virtual worlds, game development platforms, and game engines only partly cater for the proliferation of such learning scenarios as they are often…

Reports descriptive analyses of production data gathered from experienced instructional developers who used a commercial authoring package and supplemental coding over a one-year period to produce three separate instructional lessons on thinking skills as part of a larger commercial educational product. (Author/LRW)

Addresses educational theories in the design of interactive learning environments, and examines implications for effective instructional multimedia design. Argues for the use of dynamic modeling tools and suggests that systems thinking is a cognitive skill that technological developments, particularly in multimedia, have made more addressable.…

Presents guidelines for developing computer-assisted instructional materials that are based on theoretical instructional theories, including behaviorism; neobehaviorism (imitation and modeling); information processing; cognitive psychology; and learning styles. Guidelines highlight feedback and reinforcement, practice opportunities, sequencing,…

In June 1990, the research group at George Mason University (Virginia) Center for Interactive Educational Technology began designing a multimedia prototype to foster higher-order thinking skills in social studies. As an initial step, the Civil War Interactive Project using the Ken Burns documentary, "The Civil War," was used in a design…

This report summarizes activities related to the development, field testing, evaluation, and marketing of the "Scientists at Work" program which combines computer assisted instruction with database tools to aid cognitively impaired middle and early high school children in learning and applying thinking skills to science. The brief report…

Strategies and programs for improving mathematics instruction should be derived from sound educational theory. The sociocultural learning theories of Vygotsky may offer guidance in developing technology-based mathematics curriculum materials consonant with the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) goals and objectives. Vygotsky's…