Previous research has found that embedding a problem into a familiar context does not necessarily confer an advantage over a novel context in the acquisition of new knowledge about a complex, dynamic system. In fact, it has been shown that a semantically familiar context can be detrimental to knowledge acquisition. This has been described as the…

The present study investigated the utility of an instructional strategy known as the "query method" for enhancing learning outcomes in computer-based training. The query method involves an embedded guided, sentence generation task requiring elaboration of key concepts in the training material that encourages learners to "stop and…

Tertiary education has seen a shift toward pedagogies that make use of social interaction. As part of the shift, teachers have considered re-framing their role in the teaching process, and giving more attention to ways in which knowledge construction amongst students can be supported. While many online technologies are well positioned to support…

The expertise reversal effect occurs when learner's expertise moderates design principles derived from cognitive load theory. Although this effect is supported by numerous empirical studies, indicating an overall large effect size, the effect was never tested by inducing expertise experimentally and using instructional explanations in a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of representation sequences and spatial ability on students' scientific understandings about the mechanism of breathing in human beings. 130 seventh graders were assigned to two groups with different sequential combinations of static and dynamic representations: SD group (i.e., viewing…

The aim of this research was to develop and evaluate tools and supports for self-regulated learning with hypertext information structures, such as Web pages. Two kinds of supports for self-regulated learning were developed and tested experimentally: Prompting and Prompting with Training. In Experiment 1, Prompting was tested with a pre-post-test…

Much knowledge in chemistry exists at a molecular level, inaccessible to direct perception. Chemistry instruction should therefore include multiple visual representations, such as molecular models and symbols. This study describes the implementation and assessment of a learning unit designed for 12th grade chemistry honors students. The organic…

The mis-categorizing of cognitive states involved in learning within virtual environments has complicated instructional technology research. Further, most educational computer game research does not account for how learning activity is influenced by factors of game content and differences in viewing perspectives. This study is a qualitative…

Peer collaboration is a pedagogical method currently used to facilitate learning in classrooms. Similarly, computer-learning environments (CLEs) are often used to promote student learning in science classrooms, in particular. However, students often have difficulty utilizing these environments effectively. Does peer collaboration help students…

This study investigated the effects of engaging students to collectively learn and work with knowledge in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment called Knowledge Forum on their views about knowledge building theory and practice. Participants were 24 teacher-education students who took a required course titled "Integrating Theory…

An embodied approach to reading comprehension suggests that emerging readers must learn to map words and phrases onto their remembered experiences, but this is made difficult by the necessity of focusing attention on decoding. Having children manipulate toys to correspond to what they are reading overcomes this problem, but introduces its own…

This study examined the effects of metacognitive scaffolds on learning outcomes of collaborating students in an innovative learning arrangement. The triads were supported by computerized scaffolds, which were dynamically integrated into the learning process and took a structuring or problematizing form. In an experimental design the two…

Our study integrates automated natural language-oriented assessment and analysis methodologies into feasible reading comprehension tasks. With the newly developed T-MITOCAR toolset, prose text can be automatically converted into an association net which has similarities to a concept map. The "text to graph" feature of the software is based on…

This research investigates the role of representational guidance by comparing the effects of two different representational tools. We used a design with two different groups defined by the type of argumentative diagram students co-constructed while working in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. The Graphical Debate-tool…

Research in the area of educational technology has claimed that Web technology has driven online pedagogy such that teachers need to know how to use Web technology to assist their teaching. This study provides a framework for understanding teachers' Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge-Web (TPCK-W), while integrating Web technology into…