Cognitive load theory provides instructional recommendations based on our knowledge of human cognition. Evolutionary psychology is used to assume that knowledge should be divided into biologically primary information that we have specifically evolved to acquire and biologically secondary information that we have not specifically evolved to…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of occupational socialization on the development of United States secondary physical education teachers' beliefs and actions regarding curriculum design. Participants were 10 teachers. Data were collected with six qualitative techniques and analyzed using analytic induction and constant…

Transfer of training has not been perceived as successful for training programs in bringing about targeted knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA). The review of current literature revealed a lack of consensus of the nature of transfer and ambiguity of the role an individual's attitude plays in the learning and transfer process. To provide insight…

Previous research evaluating grammar school effectiveness has generally relied on snapshot or longitudinal regression models to deal with pre-existing differences between grammar school pupils and those in non-selective schools. These passive designs are based on correlations, and cannot demonstrate clear positive causal relationships between…

With the growing complexity of societal and scientific problems, research centers have emerged to facilitate the conduct of research beyond disciplinary and institutional boundaries. While they have become firmly established in the global university landscape, research centers raise some critical questions for research evaluation. Existing…

Many research problems in social science involve multilevel phenomena. However, discussions about multilevel research designs are limited in the mixed methods (MM) literature. Building on early writings in the field, this methodological discussion advances a refined definition of a multilevel MM research design. The refinement emerges from a…

Contrary to its typical presentation in scientific publications as a certain and linear process, in reality, the experimental method, not least the design aspect of it, requires a great deal of trial-and-error and ad hoc decision-making on the part of the researchers. This uncertain and contingent aspect of research, although little known outside…

It is becoming increasingly important for students to go beyond engaging in design by reflecting upon the nature of engineering (NOE) and wrestling with questions such as, "What do engineers do?" and "What is engineering?" This article describes an activity in which middle school students are asked to create a product to help a…

Teaching students the design process and providing opportunities for design is at the core of engineering/technology education. The design process is a key feature of technological literacy, and design is the most represented element within "Standards for Technological Literacy" (ITEA/ITEEA 2000, 2002/2007; Lewis, 2005; Wicklein, 2006).…

Factorial surveys use a population of vignettes to elicit respondents' attitudes or beliefs about different hypothetical scenarios. However, the vignette population is frequently too large to be assessed by each respondent. Experimental designs such as randomized block confounded factorial (RBCF) designs, D-optimal designs, or random sampling…

This paper explores the revision of an existing Honors Program (HP) that includes the possible creation of a first-year, second semester course. Inherent in this course is the premise of Design Thinking (DT) that provided the students the opportunity to not only design the course, but to also implement Design Thinking in order to create an…

In response to the growing call to bring the powerful ideas of computer science to all learners, education decision makers, including teachers and administrators, are tasked with making consequential decisions on what curricula to use. Often, these decision makers have not been trained in computer science and are unfamiliar with the concepts…

This article shares the key feature of a successful general education curriculum reform effort: the creation and approval of Guiding Principles that governed both the process of reform and the design of the curriculum. The author pays special attention to the role of Guiding Principles in shaping the design and content of curricula. The Guiding…

How can educators create learning activities and tasks, or modify existing tasks, to support general ambitions for high quality online learning? This document provides some advice to respond to this in the form of seven specific ways to improve online learning in a subject. The focus is on providing ways in which educators can, relatively easily…

Student engagement continues to be an important goal for teachers, but it shouldn't end there. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to teaching anymore. School districts that have begun to shift their focus from engaging students to empowering them, and from differentiation to personalized learning, have seen a rise in test scores, motivation,…