Psychologists and mathematics educators have long viewed flexibility as critical to students' mathematical development. In this paper, we focused on the multidimensional nature of flexibility to better understand how preference, knowledge, and use of effective methods for solving algebra problems are related. In Study 1, we identified…

The paper deals with the issue of e-courses personalization in selected LMS. Even though this topic has been the subject of research for a longer time, more effective concepts of learning through e-courses are still being sought. Part of the contribution is a brief explanation of the terms personalization and adaptivity, which are often mistaken…

Purpose: This paper aims to present a teaching approach to achieve the most personal support for students with different backgrounds and preferences in studying an Informatics course. Design/Methodology/Approach: The presented methodology is based on the main principles of flexible and blended learning. The authors considered three main aspects:…

Adaptive e-Learning systems are able to adjust to a user's learning needs, usually by user modeling or tracking progress. Such learner-adaptive behavior has rapidly become a hot topic for e-Learning, furthered in part by the recent rapid increase in the use of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). A lack of general, individual, and situational data…

The present paper introduces some strategies used in teaching an Informatics course for non-IT first year university students. The strategies were developed during several years, using the main principles of flexible and blended learning. The methodology has been based on the results of experiments with students from social sciences, economics and…

Learning English is an important and challenging task for English as Foreign Language (EFL) students. Educators had indicated that, without proper learning support, most EFL students might feel frustrated while learning English, which could significantly affect their learning performance. In the past research, learning usually utilized grouping,…

We examine the argument that teaching will be more effective if adapted to individuals--what we call the interaction/adaptation hypothesis. What is likely correct about this hypothesis (but needs more research) is that modality of instruction may need to be adapted to certain types of content (e.g., geometry vs. literature) or to domain of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the cognitive styles of trainee teachers with their notions of differentiation and perceptions of its place/location within their teaching and learning during a PGCE programme of ITE. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 80 trainee teachers completed the Cognitive Style Index (CSI) at the…

Research suggests that the World Wide Web (WWW) represents the intersection of at least two domains: content and technology. This investigation was designed to examine the relationship between prior knowledge and WWW browsing outcomes (i.e., navigation behavior and knowledge gain) within the context of a genetics Web site. Students randomly…

Investigates how metaphor influences a reader's ability to recall information about new concepts, assimilate new concepts into existing conceptual structures, and accommodate new concepts by creating new conceptual structures. Offers support for metaphor as an instructional device for formal reasoners. Suggests that metaphor may interfere with…

Argues that, since all students learn differently, and since connections must be built for new learning, teachers should plan the introduction of a unit to incorporate a variety of pre-learning activities that play to the different learning styles in the classroom while building a basis of prior knowledge in the students, thus connecting as many…

This survey of the research into user interface design and its impact on the development of hypermedia users' mental models discusses various design issues including the functionality of the system, system purpose, differences in user background, and system usability. (Author/AEF)

Relationships between three approaches to learning (surface, deep, and achieving), prior knowledge of subject area, and performance on a multiple-choice test following a unit in basic psychology were investigated with 105 college freshmen. Approaches to learning were unrelated to test performance. Prior knowledge did not relate to a deep approach…

This study investigated factors affecting second/foreign language (L2) reading comprehension in a hypermedia environment within the theoretical framework of dual coding and cognitive load theories, and interactive models of L2 reading. The independent variables were reading ability, topic interest, prior topical knowledge, and the number of times…

This study examined comprehension in four groups of undergraduates under text only, multimedia, and two diagram conditions of text supplementation. Results indicated that effects of text supplementation are mediated by prior knowledge and learning style: multimedia appears more beneficial to surface learners with little prior knowledge and makes…