Trying to understand the complexity of computer-mediated problem-based learning environments is not easy. Sociocultural theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding such environments because it emphasizes the socially situated nature of learning and the critical role of tools in mediating learning. To examine how different aspects of…

From the pragmatists to the neo-Piagetians, development has been understood to involve cycles of perception and action--the internalization of interactions with the world and the construction of skills for acting in the world. From a neurobiological standpoint, new evidence suggests that neural activities related to action and perception converge…

The authors explored implications of individuals' self-deception (a trait) for their self-reported intrinsic and extrinsic motivational dispositions and their actual learning performance. In doing so, a higher order structural model was developed and tested in which intrinsic and extrinsic motivational dispositions were underlying factors that…

Revisions of common associative learning models incorporate a within-compound association mechanism in order to explain retrospective cue competition effects (e.g., [Dickinson, A., & Burke, J. (1996). Within-compound associations mediate the retrospective revaluation of causality judgements. "Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49B", pp.…

A theory of prospective time perception is introduced and incorporated as a module in an integrated theory of cognition, thereby extending existing theories and allowing predictions about attention and learning. First, a time perception module is established by fitting existing datasets (interval estimation and bisection and impact of secondary…

Because learned associations are quickly renewed following extinction, the extinction process must include processes other than unlearning. However, reinforcement learning models, such as the temporal difference reinforcement learning (TDRL) model, treat extinction as an unlearning of associated value and are thus unable to capture renewal. TDRL…

Behaviour modelling has been associated with higher learning outcomes compared to other training approaches. These cumulative research findings create imperative to examine underlying causal mechanisms or contingency factors that may promote behaviour modelling's advantages even further. We propose group-based learning as one contingency factor…

This study aims to be a contribution to a theoretical model that explains the effectiveness of the learning and decision-making processes by means of a feedback and mental models perspective. With appropriate mental models, managers should be able to improve their capacity to deal with dynamically complex contexts, in order to achieve long-term…

Discusses instructional strategies that can be used in any skill domain and uses Gagne's conditions of learning as a model to suggest internal and external conditions of expertise. Differences between experts and novices are examined, including the amount of information they can bring to a new situation, the organization of that information, and…

The authors analyze and compare three models of innovative knowledge communities: Nonaka and Takeuchi's model of knowledge-creation, Engestrom's model of expansive learning, and Bereiter's model of knowledge building. Despite basic differences, these models have pertinent features in common: Most fundamentally, they emphasize dynamic processes for…

This longitudinal study investigated the progression in junior high school (JHS) students' conceptions of the structure of matter while studying a new instructional approach dealing with "Materials." In particular, we studied the progression of students' learning along two dimensions: (a) the conceptual model; and (b) the context of application.…

The topic of informal learning and work has quickly become a staple in contemporary work and adult learning research internationally. The narrow conceptualization of work is briefly challenged before the article turns to a review of the historical origins as well as contemporary theories and methods involved in researching informal learning and…

This article aims to develop a paradigm of lifelong learning situations. The starting point is the EU-Commission policy document where three kinds of learning situations are identified: formal, non-formal and informal. The article tries to deepen this categorisation by searching for the underlying ontological and epistemological dimensions. The…

A call to engagement at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) led to significant curricular and assessment changes in the university's Department of Political Science. The university unveiled the Year of the Department (YOTD) as "an ongoing strategic initiative for orchestrating change and aligning people, systems and culture at the basic unit…