Comprehension of science topics occurs when learners meaningfully generate relationships and conceptions about what they read. In this generation process, learners' cognitive and metacognitive regulation is one of the most critical factors influencing learning. However, learners are not always successful in regulating their own learning,…

Describes the result of implementing the Problem List Generator, a computer-based tool designed to help clinical pathology veterinary students learn diagnostic problem solving. Findings suggest that student problem solving ability improved, because students identified all relevant data before providing a solution. (MES)

Provides an overview of this special issue that focuses on the overlap between instructional technology and teacher education. Explains that political and economic realities have blurred distinctions between the two fields, and discusses the increasingly prominent role within instructional technology to train teachers to integrate technology into…

Discusses writing instruction and the use of educational computer programs; provides a theoretical framework that includes cognitive tool partnerships, learning theory, writing research, and the Vygotskian theory of mediated learning; and describes a prompting tool that used the macro language of IBM's WordPerfect with college and middle school…

Discusses instructional design, focusing on the use of instructional tactics and their effects on cognitive processes. Describes a study of undergraduates using computer programs that investigated whether the effectiveness of an instructional adjunct, in this case maps, may sometimes be undermined when used concurrently with another instructional…

Describes how a multimedia design team at Wayne State University (Michigan), working on an engineering-education project funded by the National Science Foundation, incorporated Kellers's ARCS (attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction) model into the design and development of a computer-based instructional module for a college engineering…

Discussion of task motivation focuses on study that investigated the choice behavior of college students within a computer problem solving task as they controlled and selected problem difficulty levels which maximized either intrinsic interest or extrinsic reward. Sex differences are examined, and treatment for experimental and control groups is…

Examines the effects of type of instructional control (learner control versus program control) and program mode (full versus lean) on the achievement, option use, time in the program, and attitudes of higher-ability and lower-ability university students using a computer-delivered instructional program. Discusses implications for instructional…

Describes the development of the Cooperative Remotely Accessible Learning (CORAL) system on the Internet at National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan) that promotes cooperative constructive distance learning and provides the first comprehensive and networked courseware written in Chinese. Results of formative evaluation are described and future…

The purpose of this study was to: identify critical characteristics of a situated learning environment from the extensive literature base on the subject; operationalize the critical characteristics of a situated learning environment by designing a multimedia program that incorporated the identified characteristics; and investigate university…

Investigates collaborative knowledge building in a graduate level course designed to incorporate specific constructivist learning principles. Results indicated the instructional strategies promoted collaborative knowledge building and the acquisition of key concepts through self-directed learning strategies. Results also indicated types of…

Describes an integrated authoring environment, AIDA ("Ambiente Integrado de Desenvolvimento de Aplicacoes educacionais"), that was developed at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) for educational software. Highlights include the design module, a prototyping tool that allows for multimedia, simulations, and modularity; execution module;…

Explores how users interact and learn during computer-based simulations given graphical and textual forms of feedback. Graduate students were randomly assigned computer simulations with graphical feedback, textual feedback, or graphical plus textual feedback. Findings indicate that graphical feedback provides experiential learning, but that these…

Examines the effects of program mode (i.e., a lean program version containing a basic amount of learner practice versus a full mode containing expanded practice) and learner preference (matched or unmatched) for amount of practice on the achievement, time-in-program, and attitudes of university undergraduate students. Students preferred the lean…

This response to a previously published article on the replaceability of media and instructional methods focuses on a study that uses a chemistry multimedia software package to examine cognitive processes in which learners interact with instructional designs and use media and methods to construct understanding. (nine references) (LRW)