Teacher evaluation has evolved since the early settlement days (Jewell, 2016) into the current system that is designed to hold teachers accountable for student learning as well as to support professional growth of the teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2013; Darling-Hammond, Wise, & Pease, 1983; Marzano & Toth, 2013). Texas's teacher evaluation…

The purpose of this article is to examine the affordances of virtual reality systems in K-12 education. In this article, the writers will: (1) focus on the latest and future technological advances in virtual reality systems; (2) connect virtual reality advances to innovative and scaleable encounters in the K-12 space; (3) provide readers with a…

The paper deals with one of modern effective pedagogical technologies in relation to management of the educational process with students of higher educational institutions. The authors discuss the concept of virtual excursion, formulate its advantages over traditional technologies, clarify the principles of modern pedagogical activity through a…

An important feature of the currently used artificial intelligence systems is their anthropomorphism. The tool of inductive empirical systems is a neural network that simulates the human brain and operates in the "black box" mode. Deductive analytical systems for representation of knowledge use transparent formalized models and…

The purpose of this mixed methods multiple case study was to gain insight into the self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers participating in a curriculum enhanced via mixed reality simulation experiences. There were two cases within the present study, one was bound by pre-service teacher candidate participants enrolled as students within one…

This paper outlines a proposal to use smartphones and counterfactual reasoning to overcome rote and passive learning. Some historians and history teachers have highlighted the usefulness of counterfactual reasoning for a deeper understanding of the past. In a classroom history simulation, it is proposed here that counterfactuals can be developed…

Complex mathematical approaches exist in biological, social, and educational sciences, creating models to understand and explain cognition processes in human brain. Yet, the logged raw data is just an initial learners' behavior footprint in Virtual Learning Environments. Exploratory Data analysis would help to deepen the understanding of cognition…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mixed reality simulations on preservice teachers' sense of self-efficacy. A quasi-experimental, one group with three levels, pretest-posttest 3 × 2 mixed design was used. Results showed a significant main effect for the between-subjects factor of total exposure (30, 60, or 90 minutes), as…

In this study, we gauge the perceptions of novice computer programmers about Second Life (SL) as a digital learning environment for concept understanding in computer programming. SL is chosen as the learning environment because it offers, within a constructivist frame, the use of learner-centered pedagogies for designing curriculum. We adopt a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role textbooks can play on writing complexity and lexical density as a proxy for critical thinking and ultimately learning, in relation to argumentative and summative writing when integrated with a virtual reality experience. In this study, differences in writing complexity and lexical density…

Virtual schooling is expanding as an alternative to traditional public schooling in the early twenty-first century. This paper analyzes virtual schooling with regards to the democratic associational aims of public schooling as conceived by John Dewey. We examine the general landscape of virtual schooling by looking at recent history, governance,…

A series of organic chemistry synthesis problem sets were provided to students. Potential solution pathways and strategies were recorded on video by the instructor and provided to students electronically via YouTube. Performance on the end-of-semester synthesis exam showed significant gains, with the average increasing by 13% after the…

Educational researchers have long advocated for the integration of computer simulations (sims) in science courses, citing the positive effects these tools have on students' science conceptual comprehension (Develaki 2017; Hannafin, West, and Shepard 2009; Lamb et al. 2011). In fact, Liao (2007) investigated the learning differences between…

Working memory capacity (WMC) is critical in maintaining goal-directed behavior and in inhibiting task irrelevant or conflicting thoughts. Using eye tracking data, the current study developed measures to investigate users' experiences of presence. We investigated the cognitive processing mechanisms of feelings of presence by examining how users of…

Spatial understanding of molecules in molecular biology provides a better understanding of molecules in isolation and relation to their next elements. Augmented reality (AR) has recently been developed as a computer interface that enables the users to see the real world with virtual objects superimposed on it. We report a method that shows the use…