Purpose: Teaching advanced technical concepts in a computer science program to students of different technical backgrounds presents many challenges. The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed experimental pedagogy in teaching advanced computer science topics, such as computer networking, telecommunications and data structures using…

The national goal of increasing postsecondary credentials, to improve both equity and economic competitiveness, requires a fresh look at how to recognize learning in noncredit workforce education and training. The credit hour has long been the standard academic currency in postsecondary education. Despite its weakness as a measure of learning, in…

This study describes the effect of embedding content in the Communication in Inquiry Science Project professional development model for science and language arts teachers. The model uses four components of successful professional development (content focus, active learning, extended duration, participation by teams of teachers from the same school…

This research describes a study that examined the influences of cognitive style (as assessed by the CSA- Riding 1991) and Learners' Prior Knowledge on student recall performance of the contents of online course presented via two navigational formats (linear sequential navigation version versus nonlinear free navigation version). The study was…

Purpose: The demand for Accounting Information Systems (AIS) knowledge has increased exponentially over the past two decades, but studying AIS has not proved easy for many accounting students. The aim of the study is to understand the challenges accounting students face in studying AIS through investigation of the factors which may be contributing…

This formative evaluation within a graduate initial teacher education program sought to identify student teachers' perceptions of lecturer practice and its influence on their developing practice. Data collected from course and teaching evaluations and focus group interviews suggested that microstructural course elements--lectures, tutorials, and…

A challenge for todays instructional leaders is identifying the most effective method of educating English Language Learners (ELLs) who participate in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. The primary purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of three programs used for ESL students in twelve elementary schools in a Urban…

This study compared two groups of intermediate/advanced L2 French learners on a reading comprehension test when presented with or without background knowledge of the text. This study also compared intermediate and intermediate/advanced L2 French learners' reading comprehension when presented with increasing syntactic complexity. The results of…

In this study, we are interested to see the impact of self-discipline on students' knowledge and learning. Self-discipline can influence both learning rate as well as knowledge accumulation over time. We used a Knowledge Tracing (KT) model to make inferences about students' knowledge and learning. Based on a widely used questionnaire, we measured…

Valuing Learning is the process of promoting participation in and outcomes of (formal or non-formal) learning and as such the organising principle for lifelong learning strategies. It aims at the recognition and validation of prior learning (VPL) and further development. Four main models of Valuing Learning can be distinguished: (1) the…

The purpose of this 2-part study was to explore the mathematical and purchasing competencies present in students' engagement in shopping practices in a low-income African American neighborhood. Study 1 consisted of in situ analyses of children's shopping activities at a local store, revealing the variety of arithmetic tasks that emerged in…

Shared vision is a component of leadership that fosters innovation through buy-in at all levels of the organization. At times, people see a need for innovation but do not have the power to make changes on their own. Many librarians in academic institutions that were early adopters of distance learning envisioned a need for new services that were…

What makes games effective for learning? The authors argue that games provide vicarious experiences for players, which then amplify the effects of future, formal learning. However, not every game succeeds in doing so! Understanding why some games succeed and others fail at this task means investigating both a given game's design and the…

This article reports on four United States studies of how rewards systems, extrinsic and intrinsic, could play an important role in providing incentives for university faculty to teach (or remain teaching) electronic and distance education courses. The first three studies conducted prior to 2003 reported faculty were inherently motivated to teach…

The purposes of this study were to examine the effects of two types of interactive computer simulations and of prior knowledge levels on concept comprehension, cognitive load, and learning efficiency. Seventy-two 5th grade students were sampled from two elementary schools. They were divided into two groups (high and low) based on prior knowledge…