Teaching practices that are aligned with how students learn improve educational outcomes for all students. Empirical evidence gained over recent decades has provided important new insights about the learning process common to students across learning contexts. These processes explain why some teaching practices are more effective than others. In…

In recent years, a large number of learning management sites (LMs) have emerged in the higher education sector, but these systems are generally not well-maintained. Most of the time the burden falls upon the lecturers to populate and maintain the content on these sites. The problem is, most of these online environments are built around complex…

Although exploratory (inquiry-based, discovery, problem-based) learning environments have been effective for certain categories of learners and instructional situations, they could also be very cognitively demanding, especially for novice learners. Such forms of instruction may generate a heavy working memory load caused by intensive unguided…

Although ubiquitous learning enhances students' access to learning materials, it is crucial to find out which media delivery modes produce the best results for English listening comprehension. The present study examined the effect of media delivery mode (sound and text vs. sound) on English listening comprehension and cognitive load. Participants…

The case-based instructional method uses fictionalized or actual narratives as instructional tools to support learning, decision-making, and improved transfer to practical settings. Educational theorists and researchers specializing in case-based instruction have suggested that cases can be made more realistic, engaging, and challenging, thus…

Although ubiquitous learning enhances students' access to learning materials, it is crucial to find out which media presentation modes produce the best results for English listening comprehension. The present study examined the effect of media presentation mode (sound and text versus sound) on English listening comprehension and cognitive load.…

Designing effective instruction is the goal of any instructional designer. This article discusses how lesson design can be enhanced by incorporating certain fundamentals of cognitive psychology. The stages of human information processing and a typical four-step lesson are integrated in a model that can inform instructional design. (Contains 1…

Describes the distributed practice technique to review course material. Results of a study to compare distributed practice to massed practice indicated that students using the distributed practice technique scored significantly higher when tested two months after practice was completed. (MDH)