Many come to education because they have been successful trainers in their field of work. Individuals who assume this role in business and industry are often motivated to share their expertise and experience, and access to these leaders who are instructors is one advantage that community college students enjoy. It is important for instructors to Read More
Computers, networks, and mobile devices are deeply embedded in classrooms. Even if we avoid their use in formal lessons, students are going to arrive with the devices in their bags and pockets, and they will use them for research, calculation, writing, and other information tasks. It seems reasonable to expect all instructors to teach, model, Read More
Much of the research on cognition and learning focuses attention on understanding k-12 populations (those who are aged approximately five years through 18 years). The authors of How People Learn 2 do recognize the increasing expectation that older individuals learn as part of their work. Further, they recognize the increasing interest among older populations in Read More
In authentic learner tasks, the cognitive load of the activities will likely be greater than the cognitive load in highly controlled instructional settings. By preserving the context in which the problems exist in the real world, educators increase the opportunities for intrinsic and germane cognitive load, but also the potential for extraneous cognitive load. There Read More
In general, humans like to categorize using dichotomies; an object is placed in one group or another. As an undergraduate student preparing to be a science teacher, I classified plants using dichotomous keys for a particular botany class, hours examining specimens (usually alone and with coffee) to decide if each demonstrated a trait described in Read More
Teachers’ capacity to use technology in classrooms is also improved by the easy availability of technology-based activities and lessons that are aligned with their curriculum needs. Dexter, Morgan, Jones, and Meyer (2016) observed that accessible resources (those that could be incorporated into classrooms with minimal adaptation) were associated with greater use of technologies. This led Read More
Educators have a responsibility to make their files accessible to users. If students–all students–cannot see or hear the materials teachers create, then the are “inaccessible.” One of the steps educators should take to make their files and pages accessible to those who have vision disabilities is to make sure files have sufficient color contrast. The best Read More
173: Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction As an educator, I see so many theories or frameworks or models of advocated by school leaders, scholars, vendors, philanthropists, and others. I share the frustration of those educators who wish their endless series of “innovative” (an adjective used by the advocates) practice would end, and we would decide Read More
I observed an interesting conversation recently. A teacher had observed a student cheating during an assessment. She brought it to the attention of a school administrator as she had contacted the student’s parents (which she is expected to do in this situation). The conversation quickly turned to the consequences. The teacher intended to not allow Read More
122: Deeper Learning Principles More than 15 years ago, Collen Carmean and Jeremy Haefner (2002), scholars from the western United States, suggested that curriculum and instruction in the 21st century will be characterized by five properties that they refer to as deeper learning principles that appear to be associated with students who more clearly understand Read More