Instructional games are created when training is deliberately added to a gaming environment or when gaming aspects are deliberately incorporated into training. One type of game that is currently attracting the attention of the education and training field is the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG). Because evidence about learning outcomes…

This paper reports on empirical research into formative assessment conducted in a blended learning environment within a professional doctorate in education (EdD.) programme in an English university, focusing primarily on peer discussion forum activity. This was conceptualised within sociocultural learning theories, where learning entails processes…

Education has been in a perpetual state of reform seeking "far reaching changes in weary practices, outmoded assumptions, and long-assumed constraints." This approach must be examined to keep the same old problems from resurfacing and making reform efforts ineffective. Common suggestions for educational reform involve stricter standards,…

This paper examines past theories and conceptions of epistemology and the work of some key theorists currently working in the field, in the hope of motivating the development of an expanded conception and redescription of epistemology. The paper uses as a metaphor for the study six blind men who describe an elephant as like a rope, a tree, a fan,…

Although Robert M. Gagne's work is often thought of as learning theory, his contributions can most appropriately be considered as an "instructional theory." This denotes an integrated set of principles based upon learning theory, other relevant theories, and sound replicable research, that permits one to predict the effects of specific…

There is widespread acceptance that teaching from a constructivist paradigm requires a learning environment, a set of teaching-learning strategies, and a method of assessment that differs significantly from those usually found in classrooms that operate from a behaviorist theory or from an objectivist epistemology. There is, however, less…

In the domain of research on physics education, results on students' conceptions show difficulties in physics learning. This paper aims to propose theoretical elements to interpret such learning difficulties related to physics teaching in the case of heat and temperature. Sections in this paper include: (1) Introduction; (2) Epistemological…

Social semiotics suggests that social and cultural formations, including the language and practice of science and the ways in which new generations and communities advance them, develop as an integral part of the evolution of social ecosystems. Some recent models of complex dynamic systems in physics, chemistry, and biology focus more on the…

The fundamental thrust of counseling for individual learning styles is eclectic; it provides a strong rationale for selecting counseling approaches which will enhance counselee learning and growth. Therefore, the learning style model needs to be introduced to graduate students and practicing counselors after they are thoroughly knowledgeable…

Teachers of technology education need to relate their teaching strategies to learning theory, student needs, and Bloom's taxonomy. In learning, students take in information and apply it to the real world through accommodation. Teaching strategies must allow for this process of accommodation. Student needs involve sustenance (physiological needs),…

Design strategies directly related to the development of instructional materials for rule learning were investigated. Findings indicated: 1) the degree of divergence between instances showed that contrasting, not matching, features resulted in better performance; and 2) two contextually similar rules learned simultaneously, not successfully,…

Warns of the pitfalls in rigid performance-based teacher education programs by discussing: (1) the goals teacher education should include; (2) the dangers inherent in "teaching to the test" evaluation procedures, and learning models based on behaviorist theories, and (3) the "true" role of accountability in our educational system. (ED)

Nine teaching methods are described (conditioning, habit formation, lecture, audio-visual aids, seminar, case study, simulation games, conscientization, and affective learning) and each discussed with reference to the types of material, learners, and teachers to which it is best suited. (JT)

Contains a discussion of: comparison of the concept of political literacy developed by Crick and Lister, role of a psychology of political education, outline and comparison of cognitive developmental approaches, and implications for political education and research suggestions. (ND)

Describes an investigation undertaken to evaluate whether or not the Purdue experimental program, through its concrete curricular materials and inquiry-oriented procedures, had been successful in promoting formal reasoning abilities in its students. Results indicated that concrete curricular materials and problems can promote the development of…