3-D virtual worlds are increasing in popularity as a medium for higher education. In this research, we assess the efficacy of two instruction strategies in a virtual world environment, Second Life, and their effects on interactivity, social presence, and perceived learning. The two instruction strategies are direct and interactive instruction strategies. Our findings suggest that the interactiv...

OBJECTIVE Two field studies assessed the effects of critical thinking instruction on training and transfer of a complex decision-making skill. BACKGROUND Critical thinking instruction is based on studies of how experienced decision makers approach complex problems. METHOD Participants conducted scenario-based exercises in both simplified (Study I) and high-fidelity (Study 2) training enviro...

In this review of the literature we examine empirical studies designed to teach the structure strategy to increase reading comprehension of expository texts. First, we review the research that has served as a foundation for many of the studies examining the effects of text structure instruction. Text structures generally can be grouped into six categories: comparison, problem-and-solution, caus...

This study aimed to investigate the impact of web-based cooperative teaching through strategy-based instruction on EFL learners’ speaking and listening skills. Moreover, the use of cooperative teaching was hypothesized to have impact on the EFL learners’ self-efficacy. To this purpose, the study followed a mixed-methods design by implementing both qualitative and quantitative data gathering pro...

We investigated whether students increased their self-assessment accuracy and essay scores over the course of an intervention with a writing strategy intelligent tutoring system, W-Pal. Results indicate that students were able to learn from W-Pal, and that the combination of strategy instruction, game-based practice, and holistic essay-based practice led to equivalent gains in selfassessment ac...

Because a significant proportion of real-life L2 communication is problematic, L2 learners might benefit from instruction on how to cope with performance problems. Such instruction could include the specific teaching of’ communication strategies, which involve various verbal and nonverbal means of dealing with difficulties and breakdowns that occur in everyday communication. Opinions on the tea...