The introduction of learning technologies into education is making the design of courses and instructional materials an increasingly complex task. Instructional design languages are identified as conceptual tools for achieving more standardized and, at the same time, more creative design solutions, as well as enhancing communication and transparency in the design process. In this article we discuss differences in cognitive aspects of three visual instructional design languages (E²ML, PoEML, coUML), based on user evaluation. Cognitive aspects are of relevance for learning a design language, creating models with it, and understanding models created using it. The findings should enable language constructors to improve the usability of visual instructional design languages in the future. The paper concludes with directions with regard to how future research on visual instructional design languages could strengthen their value and enhance their actual use by educators and designers by synthesizing existing efforts into a unified modeling approach for VIDLs.

The decline of the requisite linguistic skills of law students around the world has been documented comprehensively through legal scholarship. While ameliorating initiatives attempt to remedy law school education, the curriculization of English for academic legal purposes (EALP) has been neglected, resulting in the absence of a principled curricular framework for developing EALP syllabi. The proliferation of legal English communication across the circles of world English has accentuated the deterioration of students’ linguistic skills and exacerbated the educational challenges confronting law schools. These premises were influenced and validated by the researcher’s experiences as student and teacher of law and language. Three research questions address the rationale and guide the research: (1) Which curricular principles can be deduced from theoretical linguistics, second language (L2) pedagogy, and legal education to constitute a framework for EALP? (2) Which legal linguistic skills clusters can be identified from a typology of EALP-type textbooks? (3) As research outcome, how can the literature review and textbook analysis be synthesized into a cohesive curricular framework for EALP that can be applied across the circles of world English? The cyclical research strategy that underpinned this qualitative study relied on a social constructionist worldview, case study methodology, and qualitative content analysis method. The literature review probed theoretical linguistics, L2 pedagogy, and legal education as tributary disciplines of EALP. Insights gleaned from the literature review informed the qualitative content analysis of a purposive sample of EALP-type textbooks (N = 44). The textbooks were coded to create a typology and to determine the clusters of linguistic skills introduced during law school and across the circles of world English. The literature review led to the formulation of theoretically informed, curricular principles from the three disciplines that underpin EALP. The qualitative content analysis resulted in the creation of a typology of textbooks that exhibits clusters of linguistic skills that are scaffolded throughout law school. While academic communication skills were accentuated, legal linguistic skills incorporate additional clusters of thinking, research, and pedagogic skills. Together these skills constitute the skill of “thinking like a lawyer.” A synthesis of the theoretical principles and skills clusters provides a holistic curricular framework for EALP that is sensitive to the local diversity within the circles of world English. The curricular framework for EALP draws legal English from the periphery to the center of law school education by accentuating the legal linguistic skills needed both in academia and in legal practice. The main limitations of the study are the challenges posed by the inclusion of original EALP syllabi and the manual coding of the textbook sample. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Humanities Education / Unrestricted

<p> Geospatial thinking and reasoning skills (GSTR) are currently not routinely integrated into public health curriculum for undergraduate students in institutions of higher education.&nbsp;&nbsp;However, integrating GSTR skills into curriculum has been shown to increase spatial thinking skills which leads to better cognitive thinking and problem solving skills.&nbsp; An <i>Examining Vector Borne Disease Transmission</i> (EVBDT) curriculum unit was developed using the geospatial curriculum approach to investigate malaria, dengue fever and zika disease patterns and spread in relation to the environment and to promote GSTR.&nbsp;&nbsp;The purpose of this design based research study was to understand public health content learning and GSTR skill acquisition with undergraduate learners through use of the geospatial curriculum approach. The undergraduate students who participated in this study (n = 95) were enrolled in public health content classes at two separate institutions.&nbsp;&nbsp;Data was collected for this study using a classroom observation instrument, pre-test and post-test measures for the Spatial Habits of the Mind (SHOM) survey, a pre-test, post-test 1 and delayed post-test 2 EVBDT assessment that included public health content and GSTR skill items, as well as a post implementation survey to understand students&rsquo; perceptions of GIS use in the curriculum.&nbsp;&nbsp;Findings demonstrated significant mean differences showing growth in public health content learning and GSTR skills. Three GSTR subscales&mdash;inferences, relationships, and reasoning&mdash;resulted in significant gains.&nbsp;&nbsp;Additionally, results revealed complete adherence to the design principles of the geospatial curriculum approach during implementation. The findings provide support that Web GIS with appropriate curriculum design can engage students and impact both learning outcomes and geospatial thinking and reasoning skills in public health education.</p>

Available in Afrikaans only Die navorsingsverslag dokumenteer die instruksionele ontwerpproses van 'n rekenaar gesteunde tutoriaal (RGT), "Random Variables", een van 'n reeks van nege soortgelyke tutoriale wat as aanvulling tot die geskrewe studiegids vir 'n eerstejaar kursus in Statistiek by die Universiteit van Suid?Afrika (Unisa) gebruik word. Die instruksionele benadering wat in die RGT gebruik is, probeer om kognitiewe ondersteuning te verskaf en om 'n intuitiewe begrip van abstrakte konsepte aan te moedig. Die doel is om die geisoleerdheid waarin afstandsonderrig studente verkeer, te verlig en om groter interaktiwiteit met die studiemateriaal tot stand te bring. Formatiewe evaluering het 'n sentrale plek in die instruksionele ontwerpmodel, wat analise, ontwerp, onwikkeling en implementering insluit, ingeneem. Die formatiewe evaluering is in vier mikro?stadia, naamlik vakkundige resensie, prototipe, loodstoetsing en veldtoetsing gedoen. Die navorsingsresultate het daartoe gelei dat die tutoriale as sulks verbeter is. Dit kan ook verdere navorsing op die gebied van summatiewe evaluering rig en lei. Die navorsingsverslag moet saamgelees word met die loop van die program "Random Variables", wat op disket beskikbaar is. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

Abstract not available.

Cette thèse se situe dans le domaine de l’Instructional Design, un champ de recherche anglo-saxon qui génère des connaissances pour améliorer la conception des environnements destinés aux apprentissages directs et explicites. Les recherches actuelles montrent que les apprentissages à partir d’environnements complexes permettent de confronter les apprenants à des situations authentiques des réalités de la vie et montrent des performances intéressantes, notamment dans les situations de transfert. Les environnements complexes sont caractérisés par la présence de nombreux éléments et de nombreuses interactions qui peuvent être difficilement traités par la mémoire de travail et dégrader fortement les performances d’apprentissage. Dans ce cas, la théorie de la charge cognitive préconise une approche en deux étapes en présentant en premier les éléments extraits du tout puis le tout. A partir d’une contribution empirique fondée sur quatre expérimentations où sont manipulés le niveau de complexité du matériel d’apprentissage, le degré d’isolement des éléments et le séquencement de la présentation, nous montrons que pour du matériel très complexe, les meilleures performances d’apprentissage sont obtenues en présentant de la complexité dans la première étape. Pour expliquer ces résultats, nous nous appuyons sur la théorie des desirable difficulties et sur les théories de l’engagement. / This thesis is in the field of Instructional Design, an Anglo-Saxon field of research that generates knowledge to improve the design of environments for direct and explicit learning. Current research shows that learning from complex environments allow learners to confront authentic situations from the realities of life and show interesting performance, especially in transfer situations. Complex environments are characterized by the presence of many elements and many interactions that can’t be easily dealt with by the working memory and greatly degrade the learning performance. In this case, the cognitive load theory recommends a two-step approach by presenting first extracts elements of the whole and the whole. From an empirical contribution based on four experiments which handled the complexity of the learning material, the degree of isolation and sequencing of the presentation, we show that for highly complex environments, the best learning performance are obtained by introducing the complexity in the first step. To explain these results, we rely on the desirable difficulties theory and theories of engagement.

Computer-based instructional programs are being used more frequently in classrooms. While these programs offer many benefits from traditional teaching methods, humans still need to program them. There is inconsistency in the literature regarding the best way to design such programs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of three training procedures in teaching individuals to type a specified three-letter response in the presence of a corresponding symbol. Results show that the training format that prompted individuals to copy the correct response before the opportunity to respond was more efficient than viewing the correct response after an error, or copying the correct response after an error. A discussion of the results as well as implications for classroom use is also provided.

abstract: The purpose of the project was to explore the extent to which an asynchronous online professional development (PD) model focusing on instructor presence would improve feedback and interactions with students. The study is grounded in Community of Inquiry theory, which situates learning at the intersection of teaching presence, social presence and cognitive presence. The study aimed to improve student success by empowering instructors to integrate engaging strategies and technology tools into fully online courses. The participants were 4 higher education instructors teaching in fully online degree programs delivered to 160-200 undergraduate students. For eight weeks the 4 instructors participated in the PD. The goals of the PD were to learn strategies for improving instructor presence and integrating student engagement opportunities in a collaborative online format. Data was collected from pre- and post-intervention offerings of the instructors’ courses to determine the impact of participation in the PD. Results suggest that the PD model was an effective intervention to increase presence and engagement. Presence and engagement were found to have increased in participants’ courses. Interactive video was found to serve multiple purposes including increasing instructor presence and student engagement, facilitating feedback between instructors and students, and elevating the level of cognitive presence of students. As a result, instructors and students both indicated a perception of improved interactions and feedback. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2020

abstract: The purpose of this study was to increase microlearning training module usage and completions by 10–15% over a 30-day period by including evaluation in the design and development of a new microlearning training module in the golf equipment industry. Evaluation was conducted using a bespoke evaluation tool, which was designed and developed using design thinking methodology. The evaluation tool was applied to two previously designed microlearning modules, Driver Distance B and Driver Distance C, both of which served as comparisons for the new module’s completion data. Evaluation reports were generated that informed the development of the new module, named Golf Software. This action research study was grounded in constructivist learning theory, design thinking, and dashboards research. A nested, case study-mixed methods (CS- MM) design and a sequential qualitative to quantitative design were used. Research was conducted with the Knowledge Management Department at Ping, an original golf equipment manufacturer (OEM) in Phoenix, Arizona. Participants included three eLearning Designers, which included the researcher as a participant observer. Qualitative data included interviews, reflective researcher journal, and artifacts such as the new microlearning training module and evaluation reports. Quantitative data included completion numbers collected from the organization’s learning management system (LMS) and email campaign service. Findings from this study were mixed, with the new module’s completion numbers 20.27% greater than Driver Distance C and 7.46% lower than the Driver Distance B. The objective of this study was not met, but outcomes provided valuable information about incorporating evaluation in the Knowledge Management Department’s instructional design process. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Administration and Supervision 2020

Though the topic of learner agency has received relatively little discussion in the literature of educational technology, it is nevertheless a significant and actually omnipresent concern of both scholars and practitioners. Through the journal-ready articles contained herein, I show how theories of learning and certain practices of instructional designers reflect implicit positions on the agency of learners. I also discuss agency in more concrete terms as the responsibility for learning that is shared with learners in instructional design contexts. In addition, I provide practical suggestions to help designers keep the learner at the forefront of their design thinking. Through this research, I hope to make the broad philosophical concept of agency more accessible and practical, and to outline some initial directions for further inquiry and practical application in the field of educational technology.