Describes a case study of Finnish elementary school students that investigated their sociocognitive processes in a multimedia-based science learning task. Discusses students' strategic activity and social interaction while using a multimedia CD-ROM science encyclopedia and suggests that more attention should be paid to instructional design and…

Examines the use of the Internet, particularly an online discussion forum, to help elementary mathematics teachers develop their teaching in ways consistent with reform. Though some results were disappointing, findings indicated that this method of discussion helped teachers reflect on their own teaching and see how other teachers do some of the…

Debriefing is an important phase in using simulation games. Participants are invited to make a connection between experiences gained from playing the game and experiences in real-life situations. Thus, debriefing is the phase meant to encourage learning from the simulation game. Although design and practice of debriefing sessions should be aligned…

As part of her Graduate Diploma in Secondary Education course, Therese McLaren was asked to imagine how issues the Social Contexts of Secondary Education class was reading about and discussing impact upon the work of teachers. To that end, students were asked to think deeply about one of the topics addressed in the semester, and to frame a…

Currently, the teaching of retake GCSE mathematics in further education is predominantly teacher-centred and transmission-oriented. This paper argues that this approach is ineffective for students' learning and for their attitudes towards learning and that a student-centred, collaborative approach to learning, where discussion and reflection are…

Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology is a new advanced level biology course, piloted from September 2002 in England with around 1200 students. This paper discusses the reasons for developing a new advanced biology course at this time, the philosophy of the project and how the materials are being written and the specification devised. The aim of the…

In this article, the author describes the evolution of Electronic Collaborative Educational Learning Laboratory (ECELL) and shares some of the insights that she has gained over the past five years. ECELL was created as "Collaborative Learning Laboratory" for both pre-service and in-service teachers aimed at transforming the design and…

To increase student engagement and enhance critical thinking and deep understanding, I supplemented weekly seminar meetings with focused Web-based discussions of issues in a "Race and Education" senior sociology seminar. These Web-based discussions were structured by specific questions and discussion roles. Before seminar, Staters posted on the…

Design prescriptions to create web-based courses and sites that are dynamic, easy-to-use, interactive and data-driven, emerge from a "how to do it" approach. Unfortunately, the theory behind these methods, prescriptions, procedures or tools, is rarely provided and the important terms, such as "easy-to-use", to which these…

A major thrust of the current administration is the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001." This legislation is directed toward improving the overall educational picture of the United States by focusing on teacher improvement, curriculum enhancement, technology exploitation, and accountability measures. The first piece of a successful…

The constructionist concept of social negotiation of meaning recognizes peer interaction and feedback as an important factor for expanding meaning. This concept has particular relevance in the context of developing habits of reflective thinking in teacher preparation programs. This article describes an approach to increasing opportunities for peer…

Computer assisted learning (CAL) can involve a computerised intelligent learning environment, defined as an environment capable of automatically, dynamically and continuously adapting to the learning context. One aspect of this adaptive capability involves automatic adjustment of instructional procedures in response to each learner's performance,…

In this article Donald Philip describes Knowledge Building, a pedagogy based on the way research organizations function. The global economy, Philip argues, is driving a shift from older, industrial models to the model of the business as a learning organization. The cognitive patterns of today's Net Generation students, formed by lifetime exposure…

Despite the imperatives of policy and rhetoric about their integration in formal education, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are often used as an "add-on" in many classrooms and in many lesson plans. Nevertheless, many teachers find that interesting and well-planned tasks, projects, and resources provide a key to…

So far educational adaptive technologies have proven their effectiveness only in small-scale lab courses, thus they still wait for being released to the large community of educators. Among the reasons, there is the difficult task of designing and authoring an interactive adaptive course, especially for non-technical group of educators. In this…