Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional model that assumes the centrality of problems to learning. Research on PBL has focused on student learning, student roles, tutor roles, problem design, and technology use (Hung, Jonassen, & Liu, 2008), but little attention in the PBL literature has been paid to the nature of the problems that…

Item response theory (IRT) procedures have been used extensively to study normal latent trait distributions and have been shown to perform well; however, less is known concerning the performance of IRT with non-normal latent trait distributions. This study investigated the degree of latent trait estimation error under normal and non-normal…

Information Gathering is a knowledge construction process. Web learners make a plan for their Information Gathering task based on their prior knowledge. The plan is evolved with new information encountered and their mental model is constructed through continuously assimilating and accommodating new information gathered from different Web pages. In…

We investigated whether and how student performance on three types of spatial cognition tasks differs when worked with two-dimensional or stereoscopic representations. We recruited nineteen middle school students visiting a planetarium in a large Midwestern American city and analyzed their performance on a series of spatial cognition tasks in…

Contemporary debates on effective pedagogies for K-12 mathematics have called for shifts in the way teachers and teacher educators conceptualise mathematics as a subject and how it should be taught. This is reflected by changes in the curriculum including the inclusion of a strand called Working Mathematically within K-12 mathematics curriculum…

Our research objective focused on monitoring students' mental effort and cognitive achievement to unveil potential effects of an instructional change in an out-of-school laboratory offering gene technology modules. Altogether, 231 students (12th graders) attended our day-long hands-on module. Within a quasi-experimental design, a treatment group…

We propose that experience of emotion is a mental phenomenon, which requires resources. This hypothesis implies that a concurrent cognitive load diminishes the intensity of feeling since the 2 activities are competing for the same resources. Two sets of experiments tested this hypothesis. The first line of experiments (Experiments 1-4) examined…

The "interactivity principle" in multimedia learning states that giving learners control over pace and order of instructions decreases cognitive load and increases transfer performance. We tested this guideline by comparing a learner-paced instruction with a system-paced instruction. Time-on-task and interactive behavior were logged, and were also…

Teaching wellness principles in secondary physical education classes has become an important aspect of physical education as teachers work to help their students develop lifelong healthy lifestyle habits. Many schools now have a required wellness/fitness component as part of their state core requirements. Having developed their teaching skills by…

The second phase of a new national survey conducted among college instructors and employers shows that 78% of college faculty and 62% of employers believe that public high schools are not doing enough to prepare students for the expectations they will face in college and the working world. Only roughly one in four recent high school grads report…

The contemporary university operates within a global context characterized by ever-increasing uncertainty and complexity. Strategic planning must, therefore, be cognizant of future trends and how those trends will affect the university by creating both threats and opportunities. Our hypothesis is that an approach we refer to as "strategic…

The impact of hypertext presentation formats on learner control and cognitive load was examined in this study using Campbell and Stanley's (1963) Posttest Only Control Group design. One hundred eighty-six undergraduate students were randomly assigned to read a web-based text with no annotations, online glossary annotations, embedded annotations,…

Self-efficacy, a core construct of Bandura's social cognitive theory, has wide appeal and usefulness in the health and social sciences. Self-efficacy is frequently used across disciplines to assess an individual's beliefs about her likelihood to engage in a certain behavior. Because of the behavioral-change approaches common in rehabilitation…

Based on a critical re-analysis of cognitive load theory (CLT), Schnotz and Kurschner identified the need for research on more sensitive ways of assessing learner characteristics, both prior to and during instruction, in order to understand learning processes and outcomes. One emergent theme of the papers in this special issue is that the "same"…

The integration of Microsoft's PowerPoint and other slideware programs into the classroom setting may hinder educational progress rather than help it. An examination of the literature focusing on Cognitive Load Theory recognizes that students' have a limited tolerance for the amount of sights and sounds on display at any given time, especially in…