The book introduces techniques to improve the effectiveness of serious games in relation to cognition and motivation. These techniques include ways to improve motivation, collaboration, reflection, and the integration of gameplay into various contexts. The contributing authors expand upon this broad range of techniques, show recent empirical research on each of these techniques that discuss their promise and effectiveness, then present general implications or guidelines that the techniques bring forth. They then suggest how serious games can be improved by implementing the respective technique into a particular game.

School districts today face increasing calls for accountability during a time when budgets are stretched and students' needs have become increasingly complex. The teacher's responsibility is to educate younger people, but now more than ever, teachers face demands on a variety of fronts. In addition to teaching academic content, schools are responsible for students' performance on state-wide tests. They are also asked to play an increasingly larger role in children's well-being, including their nutritional needs and social and emotional welfare. Teachers have shown themselves to be more than capable of taking up such challenges, but what price is paid for the increasing demands we are placing on our schools? Understanding Teacher Stress in an Age of Accountability is about the nature of teachers stress and the resources they can employ to cope with it. Accountability is a two-way street and the authors in this volume suggest remedies for reducing teacher stress and in all likelihood increasing student learning-greater administrative support, more and better instructional materials, specialized resources targeted at demanding children, parental support, and professional recognition. Readers will discover that lack of funding, low pay, concerns about academic performance and student misbehavior, and increased public and governmental scrutiny are not exclusive to the United States. In this volume, the third in a series on Research on Stress and Coping in Education, authors from Australia, Turkey, Malaysia, and the Netherlands sound the same alarms, post the same warnings, and draw similarly disturbing conclusions.

A demonstration of instructional design, from the point of view of what the learner is going to do. The chapters examine the instructional design process; perception and visual literacy - learner analysis; layout and design; the World Wide Web; and e-learning.

A volume in Contemporary Language Education Series Editor: Terry A. Osborn, Fordham University The significant change in public schools over the last two decades warrants a response in how we prepare teachers. This volume is an effort to share the contributors' knowledge, experience and ideas with colleagues, particularly with novice language teacher educators. The suggestions in the chapters are primarily provided for the teaching methods course, but many can be adapted to other education courses or for professional development programs. The first section of the introduction provides a review of issues identified in teacher education including debates, accountability, and government influence over education. The second section explores teacher educators in the literature such as issues in their practice, and a focus on foreign language teacher educator practice. The third section provides a brief overview of the chapters in the book

The book provides a systemic view of the state-of-the- art of Digital Game Based Learning (DGBL) across the lifespan, from age-specific game design requirements to technological devices that could overcome child and older adult difficulties in the use of DGBL technologies. Other topics include cross-generational digital game-based learning, workplace gaming, exergaming, serious games to tackle societal challenges,and implications of DGBL across the lifespan for game designers. In addition to the state-of-the-art methodologies provided for age-specific gamedesign, development, implementation and assessment, a significant portion of the book focuses on case studies where DGBL have been designed and implemented in every age groups and in cross-generational situations.

This book describes lessons learned from the implementation of research based learning at Maastricht University. Well-known for its problem based learning (PBL) educational model, Maastricht University implemented research-based learning (RBL) as a new educational concept in addition to PBL, around 2009. The model has taken the shape of an excellence programme offering third-year bachelor students an opportunity to conduct academic research together with academic staff. The introduction of the research-based learning concept into the programmes of all Maastricht University's faculties has resulted in a range of RBL models that vary to fit the various disciplines and programmes offered by the faculties. The book first presents theoretical models and a description of the concepts of research-based learning and undergraduate research (UGR). Next, by means of case studies, it describes the formulas developed to suit the various programmes, the challenges encountered, the initial reservations on the part of the staff, the limitations caused by regulations and demands of the curricula, as well as the successes and results of the excellence programme. The disciplines described in the case studies include psychology and neuroscience, knowledge engineering, social and cultural sciences, law, and business and economics.

This book presents the history of natural history dioramas in museums, their building and science learning aspects, as well as current developments and their place in the visitor experience. From the early 1900s, with the passage of time and changes in cultural norms in societies, this genre of exhibits evolved in response to the changes in entertainment, expectations and expressed needs of museum visitors. The challenge has always been to provide meaningful, relevant experiences to visitors, and this is still the aim today. Dioramas are also increasingly valued as learning tools. Contributions in this book specifically focus on their educational potential. In practice, dioramas are used by a wide range of educational practitioners to assist learners in developing and understanding specific concepts, such as climate change, evolution or or conservation issues. In this learning process, dioramas not only contribute to scientific understanding and cultural awareness, but also reconnect wide audiences to the natural world and thereby contribute to the well-being of societies. In the simultaneously published book: "Natural History Dioramas - Traditional Exhibits for Current Educational Themes, Socio-cultural Aspects" the editors focus on socio-cultural issues and the potential of using dioramas to engage various audiences with - and in - contemporary debates and big issues, which society and the natural environment are facing.

This practical, "how-to" book on co-operative learning is designed to serve as a resource for faculty members at colleges and universities. It offers an overview of the co-operative learning process, including its rationale, its research base, its value, and its practical implementation. The authors also describe a variety of approaches to co-operative learning drawn from complementary movements such as classroom research, writing across-the-curriculum, computer technology and critical thinking. They begin with a basic structure for implementing a co-operative learning programme, then move progressively through more complex activities. Numerous examples of actual co-operative learning programmes are included which span a wide variety of disciplines. These examples underscore how a successful programme can bolster student achievement, increase self-esteem, and foster the spirit of teamwork. This book should appeal to those new to the cooperative learning process, as well as to established practitioners in the field.

This book examines the theoretical underpinning of the concept of personalised education and explores the question: What is personalised education in the contemporary higher education sector and how is it implemented? A broad, sophisticated definition of personalised learning has the potential to serve as a basis for more effective educational practices. The term 'personalised education' is, and continues to be, one with a variety of definitions. The authors' definition both incorporates earlier concepts of personalised education and critically reassesses them. The book then adds a further dimension: personalised instruction in electronically mediated environments, where the goal is to achieve learning towards mastery individually with the help of differentiated and individualised electronic learning platforms. This book assesses the various arguments concerning personalised education, examining each through the lens of educational theory and pedagogy and subsequently positing a number of qualitative characteristics of personalised education that have the potential to influence policy and practices in the higher education sector.

Readings for Reflective Teaching in Further, Adult and Vocational Education is a unique portable library of exceptional readings drawing together seminal extracts and contemporary literature from international sources from books and journals to support both initial study and extended career-long professionalism for further, adult and vocational education practitioners. Introductions to each reading highlight the key issues explored and explain the status of classic works. This book, along with the core text and associated website, draw upon the work of Andrew Pollard, former Director of the TLRP, and the work of many years of accumulated understanding of generations of further, adult and vocational professionals. Readings for Reflective Teaching in Further, Adult and Vocational Education, the core text, Reflective Teaching in Further, Adult and Vocational Education, and the website, provide a fully integrated set of resources promoting the expertise of further, adult and vocational professionals. The associated website, www.reflectiveteaching.co.uk offers supplementary resources including reflective activities, research briefings and advice on further readings. It also features a glossary of educational terms, links to useful websites and showcases examples of excellent research and practice. This book forms part of the Reflective Teaching series, edited by Andrew Pollard and Amy Pollard, offering support for reflective practice in early, primary, secondary, further, vocational, university and adult sectors of education.

This volume offers insights on language learning outside the classroom, or in the wild, where L2 users themselves are the driving force for language learning. The chapters, by scholars from around the world, critically examine the concept of second language learning in the wild. The authors use innovative data collection methods (such as video and audio recordings collected by the participants during their interactions outside classrooms) and analytic methods from conversation analysis to provide a radically emic perspective on the data. Analytic claims are supported by evidence from how the participants in the interactions interpret one another's language use and interactional conduct. This allows the authors to scrutinize the term wild showing what distinguishes L2 practices in our different datasets and how those practices differ from the L2 learner data documented in other more controlled settings, such as the classroom. We also show how our findings can feed back into the development of materials for classroom language instruction, and ultimately can support the implementation of usage-based L2 pedagogies. In sum, we uncover what it is about the language use in these contexts that facilitates developmental changes over time in L2-speakers' and their co-participants' interactional practices for language learning.

This book reports on research and practice on computational thinking and the effect it is having on education worldwide, both inside and outside of formal schooling. With coding becoming a required skill in an increasing number of national curricula (e.g., the United Kingdom, Israel, Estonia, Finland), the ability to think computationally is quickly becoming a primary 21st century "basic" domain of knowledge. The authors of this book investigate how this skill can be taught and its resultant effects on learning throughout a student's education, from elementary school to adult learning.

Over the last two decades, the use of instructional coaching has surged in PreK-12 education settings as one way to support the implementation of instructional best practices in a wide range of disciplines. Perhaps this is partly due to professional development (PD) research indicating that more sustained durations of meaningful collaboration focused on context-relevant topics is necessary. The authors have experienced this surge firsthand as practitioners, state leaders, preservice teacher-educators, education researchers, and PD providers. It is clear that coaching - when done well - supports educators in their use of best practices. However, not all educators have access to high-quality instructional coaching due to multiple factors, which typically include isolation (geographic and otherwise), limited financial support, and limited PD time. In addition, the Covid 19 global pandemic brought long periods of quarantine and social isolation where educators were scrambling to teach in an unfamiliar medium and virtual coaching was the only way they could receive PD. For these reasons, many districts are exploring virtual solutions to providing PD and coaching support. This book will clearly connect research and best practices for coaching virtually through VECTOR (c), and offer specific guidance (e.g., coaching questions, coach-coachee activities) and relatable anecdotes to support working with educators in each phase. Practitioner examples will engage readers as they contextualize examples, develop a deeper understanding, and generate a vision for virtual coaching and how to do it effectively. The proposed text stands apart from other texts about coaching and coaching models in that it specifically addresses how to effectively implement virtual coaching in the field of education. It will show that virtual coaching offers a way for administrators to implement personalized and job-embedded professional development for teachers, and do so affordably in a manageable way. It also shows how technology can provide more equitable access to job-embedded and personalized professional learning (through virtual coaching) across all educational institutions. The primary audiences for this book include those responsible for supporting implementation of a variety of strategies and practices in the field of education. These audiences include professional development providers, building and district-level education leaders, on-site instructional coaches, virtual coaches, educational service center leaders and providers, and even educational researchers responsible for implementing interventions across a broad geographical region. Secondary audiences may include corporate trainers, and those who coach virtually in other fields of leadership and wellness. This book aims to translate research to practice in an approachable, easy-to-read format that virtual coaches can easily understand and apply to their own work with virtual coaching participants.

While there are some books and articles about the importance of understanding in-school learning style and the benefits in achievement and attitude toward learning that accrue from matching learning style to learning environment, this is the first book on homework style. Homework style is the personal preference for doing the tasks assigned by teachers and learning new material outside of the formal school setting.

Learning style and homework style have been found to be related yet empirically distinguishable, indicating the unique situation the home variable plays in forming individual learning styles. This guide will help parents, teachers, and counselors understand homework style and gain an awareness of the relationship between homework style, homework achievement, and school achievement.

The book is made up of 21 chapters from 25 presentations at the 23rd MAVI conference in Essen, which featured Alan Schoenfeld as keynote speaker. Of major interest to MAVI participants is the relationship between teachers' professed beliefs and classroom practice. The first section is dedicated to classroom practices and beliefs regarding those practices, taking a look at prospective or practicing teachers' views of different practices such as decision-making, the roles of explanations, problem-solving, patterning, and the use of play. The focus of the second section in this book deals with teacher change, which is notoriously difficult, even when the teachers themselves are interested in changing their practice. The third section of this book centers on the undercurrents of teaching and learning mathematics, what rises in various situations, causing tensions and inconsistencies. The last section of this book takes a look at emerging themes in affect-related research. In this section, papers discuss attitudes towards assessment.

This book brings together history educators from Australia and around the world to tell their own personal stories and how they approach teaching history in the context of contemporary tensions in the classroom. It encourages historians to think actively about how history in the classroom can play a role in helping students to make sense of their world and to act honourably within it. The contributors come from diverse backgrounds and include experienced history educators and early career academics. They showcase both a mix of approaches and democratize and decolonize the academy. The book blends theory and practice. It reflects on what is happening in the classroom and supports the discipline to understanding itself better, to improve upon its practices and to engage in academic discussion about the responsibility of teaching in the contemporary world.

This book sheds new light on classroom indiscipline by listening to the voices of both the teachers and the young learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). By focusing on data from multiple sources, chapters in this volume offer a thorough description of undisciplined learner acts, a framework for categorizing indiscipline types, an exploration of perceived causality beyond the observable behavior, and of management strategies and their evaluation by teachers and children. The author offers practical guidance on creating a disciplined EFL learning classroom atmosphere through multilateral educational aims and processes. This book is a point of reference for academics, researchers, university students, educators and teacher trainers who wish to enhance the design and implementation of reliable multi-lens qualitative case studies on the subject. With its elucidating and transformative power, it inspires further innovative research and practical initiatives for the understanding and successful management of child indiscipline in diverse EFL learning contexts.

A multidisciplinary investigation of service-learning. The papers are divided into sections on: dimensions of service-learning research; theoretical perspectives on service-learning; service-learning and the disciplines; the impacts on service-learning participants; and future directions.

This book focuses on international research in statistics education, providing a solid understanding of the challenges in learning statistics. It presents the teaching and learning of statistics in various contexts, including designed settings for young children, students in formal schooling, tertiary level students, and teacher professional development. The book describes research on what to teach and platforms for delivering content (curriculum), strategies on how to teach for deep understanding, and includes several chapters on developing conceptual understanding (pedagogy and technology), teacher knowledge and beliefs, and the challenges teachers and students face when they solve statistical problems (reasoning and thinking). This new research in the field offers critical insights for college instructors, classroom teachers, curriculum designers, researchers in mathematics and statistics education as well as policy makers and newcomers to the field of statistics education. Statistics has become one of the key areas of study in the modern world of information and big data. The dramatic increase in demand for learning statistics in all disciplines is accompanied by tremendous growth in research in statistics education. Increasingly, countries are teaching more quantitative reasoning and statistics at lower and lower grade levels within mathematics, science and across many content areas. Research has revealed the many challenges in helping learners develop statistical literacy, reasoning, and thinking, and new curricula and technology tools show promise in facilitating the achievement of these desired outcomes.

This work explores and explicates learner motivation in online learning environments. More specifically, it uses a case-study approach to examine undergraduate students' motivation within two formal and separate online learning contexts. In doing so, it recognizes the mutually constitutive relationship of the learner and the learning environment in relation to motivation. This is distinctive from other approaches that tend to focus on designing and creating motivating environments or, alternatively, concentrate on motivation as a stable learner characteristic. In particular, this book identifies a range of factors that can support or undermine learner motivation and discusses each in detail. By unraveling the complexity of learner motivation in such environments, it provides useful guidelines for teachers, instructional designers and academic advisors tasked with building and teaching within online educational contexts.

This book describes recent approaches in advancing STEM education with the use of robotics, innovative methods in integrating robotics in school subjects, engaging and stimulating students with robotics in classroom-based and out-of-school activities, and new ways of using robotics as an educational tool to provide diverse learning experiences. It addresses issues and challenges in generating enthusiasm among students and revamping curricula to provide application focused and hands-on approaches in learning . The book also provides effective strategies and emerging trends in using robotics, designing learning activities and how robotics impacts the students' interests and achievements in STEM related subjects. The frontiers of education are progressing very rapidly. This volume brought together a collection of projects and ideas which help us keep track of where the frontiers are moving. This book ticks lots of contemporary boxes: STEM, robotics, coding, and computational thinking among them. Most educators interested in the STEM phenomena will find many ideas in this book which challenge, provide evidence and suggest solutions related to both pedagogy and content. Regular reference to 21st Century skills, achieved through active collaborative learning in authentic contexts, ensures the enduring usefulness of this volume.John Williams Professor of Education and Director of the STEM Education Research Group Curtin University, Perth, Australia

This book presents the authentic voices of science teachers engaged in practitioner inquiry as one component of a comprehensive professional development program. Practitioner inquiry as a genre of educational research, allows teachers to intentionally study their practices thus generating practical solutions to problems in their teaching and students' learning. The teachers' voices allowed us to enter their science classrooms to observe their posture and practices as reflective practitioners. They encountered issues such as culturally responsive teaching and low literacy proficiency and metacognitive skills among their struggling science learners. Their firsthand accounts provide new insights about practitioner inquiry as a tool to support teachers continuous learning, regardless of the disciplinary content areas. The book therefore provides a blueprint that can inform inservice teacher educators and support school and district administrators as they seek to nurture teachers' professional growth.