Complexity and difficulty are two closely related but distinct concepts. These concepts are important in the development of intelligent learning systems, e.g., for sequencing items, student modeling, or content management. We show how to use complexity and difficulty measures in the development of learning systems and provide guidance on how to…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate and describe why alternating treatments design (ATD) researchers should consider employing a no-treatment series during the alternating treatments phase. To identify limitations associated with excluding this design element, we obtained examples of ATD studies published in five school psychology journals…

The purpose of this paper is to share the iterative process we used to design a task that elicits causal mechanistic reasoning and how the subsequent student responses can be analyzed. Our goal in this task is to strike a balance between eliciting as much student knowledge as possible without providing so much structure that the answer becomes…

Laboratory education makes up an extensive part of natural science education at universities. To support meaningful learning during laboratory work, students should prepare by carefully studying the protocols. The aim of this study was to design and evaluate a preparative learning material that focuses on protocol steps with the design goal to…

Information gathering activities in engineering design projects play an important role in the identification and definition of stakeholder needs and requirements. However, few studies have explored how students gather information from stakeholders and domain experts in capstone design settings. In this study, we analyzed audio recordings from 19…

Architecture is never fixed: buildings and (urban) spaces change as their use(r)s and contexts change over time. Even when architectural projects receive recognition of their dynamic nature, it remains unclear how to deal with this during design processes. The need for sustainable building raises interest in this topic in architecture research.…

The activity presented in this article is part of a four-part module that centers earthquakes as a common phenomenon that students experience and introduces the idea of a resonant frequency. When the seismic waves from an earthquake encounter a building, the subsequent oscillating motion of the ground causes the building to move back and forth.…

Educational settings are emotional places where students experience diverse emotions in relation to academic activities and their outcomes. Emotions, in turn, greatly influence students' learning process and engagement. Research on emotions in Design-Based Learning (DBL) has so far been coarse-grained examining how students evaluate their overall…

Understanding theory is essential to instructional design (ID) research and practice; however, novice designers struggle to make sense of instructional design theory due to its abstract and complex nature, the inconsistent use of theoretical terms and concepts within literature, and the dissociation of theory from practice. While these challenges…

Touted as a solution, dyslexia fonts have been growing in popularity during this era of increased political and state-wide attention to the reading and learning needs of students with dyslexia. This paper reviews the research literature on effectiveness of dyslexia fonts and offers evidence-based instructional recommendations for students with…

This article presents design principles and practical steps for web-based Q methodology surveys. Drawing on the experience of two online Q studies, we discuss theoretical concerns, sort and survey design, software programs, and issues in researcher-participant engagement. We argue that opening Q methodology to online modes of data collection is…

Design spaces can be read in two complementary structural and compositional dimensions: the implicit dimension, and the formal dimension. This study aimed to answer the following questions: What are the phases of the original idea transformation in the design process? Does taking advantage of the implicit dimension of others' interior spaces count…

The literature on teaching centers and faculty development increasingly recognizes teaching centers are well-positioned to support institutional effectiveness activities. There is critical importance in collaborating with educators to establish topics of engagement, positioning, and partnership including the importance of stakeholder buy-in, which…

Research methods with roots in complexity science are increasingly popular in social research. However, they are not widespread and have potential to deliver value more fully and consistently to social research and methodology. One reason for this is that methods are often used alone, or only with traditional social research methods. We attempt to…

Time seems to be moving at lightning speed with busyness unsustainably being "celebrated" and not allowing for sufficiently deep interaction with learning content, others, and the experience of which we are part, including our interactions in videoconferencing sessions. One benefit of videoconferencing is that it can address time and…