The effects of instructional fading using completion problems on student performance were investigated in this study. Instructional fading is the gradual withdrawal of the amount of assistance provided to the student and was accomplished in this study using completion problems. They were used to gradually transition the student from completely…

Computer-based tests (CBTs) often use random ordering of items in order to minimize item exposure and reduce the potential for answer copying. Little research has been done, however, to examine item position effects for these tests. In this study, different versions of a Rasch model and different response time models were examined and applied to…

Three-dimensional (3D) or volumetric visualization is a useful resource for learning about the anatomy of the human brain. However, the effectiveness of 3D spatial visualization has not yet been assessed systematically. This report analyzes whether 3D volumetric visualization helps learners to identify and locate subcortical structures more…

Three experiments demonstrated learners' abilities to adaptively and qualitatively accommodate their encoding strategies to the demands of an upcoming test. Stimuli were word pairs. In Experiment 1, test expectancy was induced for either cued recall (of targets given cues) or free recall (of targets only) across 4 study-test cycles of the same…

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the role of attention in the processing of social stimuli in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Research has demonstrated that, for typical adults, faces have a special status in attention and are processed in an automatic and mandatory fashion even when participants attempt to…

The average scores of graduating teacher-candidates on state-required licensing exams are uniformly higher, often significantly, than the passing scores states set for such exams, according to an "Education Week" analysis of preliminary data from a half-dozen states. The pattern appears across subjects, grade levels, and test instruments supplied…

Using the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, this study aimed to evaluate the design of one multimedia courseware used for teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in China and to compare the attitudinal differences in the teachers' and students' evaluation of the courseware. A questionnaire was developed and validated. Results indicated…

This is the first collection of research studies to explore the potential for mixed methods to shed light on foreign or second language learning by young learners in instructed contexts. It brings together recent studies undertaken in Cameroon, China, Croatia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania and…

Motivated by the link between play and learning, proposed in literature to have a neurobiological basis, we study the electroencephalogram and associated psychophysiology of "learning game" players. Forty-five players were tested for topic comprehension by a questionnaire administered before and after solo playing of the game Peacemaker…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the pragmatic difficulties encountered by Iraqi EFL university students in producing the speech act of apology. Although the act of apology is easy to recognize or use by native speakers of English, non-native speakers generally encounter difficulties in discriminating one speech act from another. The…

This study examines the importance of interaction for second language (L2) acquisition by analyzing outcomes from two types of out-of-class activities. The study compared: (a) interactive homework, completed via text chat, and (b) individual homework, completed via independent writing. In a between-subjects design, participants in two…

Reading for learning frequently requires integrating text and picture information into coherent knowledge structures. This article presents an experimental study aimed at analyzing the strategies used by students for integrating text and picture information. Four combinations of texts and pictures (text-picture units) were selected from textbooks…

Teachers in today's classrooms struggle every day to design instructional interventions that would build students' reading skills and strategies in order to ensure their comprehension of complex texts. Text complexity can be determined in both qualitative and quantitative ways. In this article, the authors describe various innovative…

In this study, community college students discussed their experiences with online and face-to-face learning as well as their reasons for selecting online (rather than face-to-face) sections of specific courses. Students reported lower levels of instructor presence in online courses and that they needed to "teach themselves." Accordingly,…

Studies with monolingual English speakers have demonstrated the significance of children's narrative development for the acquisition of literacy skills. This research has shown that children's ability to perform school narrative tasks may significantly predict children's early literacy skills (Gutierrez-Clellen, 2002), including English reading…