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Effective and efficient measurement of the development of skill and knowledge, especially in domains of human activity that involve complex and challenging problems, is important with regard to workplace and academic performance. However, there has been little progress in the area of practical measurement and assessment, due in part to the lack of automated tools that are appropriate for assessing the acquisition and development of complex cognitive skills. In the last 2 years, an international team of researchers has developed and validated an integrated set of assessment tools called highly integrated model assessment technology and tools (HIMATT) which addresses this deficiency. HIMATT is web-based and has been shown to scale up for practical use in educational and workplace settings, unlike many of the research tools developed solely to study basic issues in human learning and performance. In this paper, we describe the functions of HIMATT and demonstrate several applications for its use. Additionally, we present two studies on the quality and usability of HIMATT. We conclude with research suggestions for the use of HIMATT and for its further development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although learning styles are considered as an important factor in education, students often have to learn in courses that do not support their learning styles. A challenge for technology facilitated learning is therefore to assist and help students to cope with courses that do not match their learning styles by training and developing their less preferred skills. In this paper, the interactions between students’ learning styles, their behaviour, and their performance in an online course that is mismatched regarding their learning styles were analysed. The results show which learners need more help in mastering mismatched courses, help in getting a better understanding about how students with good performance record and poor performance record learn with respect to their learning styles, and provide information about how to identify learners who might have difficulties in learning based on their behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborating closely with a tenth-grade science teacher, we designed a Web-Based Learning Environment (Web-LE) to improve the students’ motivation to learn science. Factors believed to enhance intrinsic motivation (challenge, control, curiosity, and fantasy) were integrated into the instructional design of the Web-based learning tool. The Web-LE was implemented in the teacher’s tenth-grade classroom as a three-day student-centered learning activity. Data collection methods included individual student interviews, teacher interviews, motivation questionnaires, and observations. This study revealed multiple forms of evidence that the Web-LE and the associated learning activity improved students’ motivation. This study illustrates the benefits of educational researchers working closely with teachers using design-based research methods to successfully solve instructional problems and identify reusable design principles. Design principles for the integration of intrinsic motivation factors into the development of similar Web-LEs are presented as well as directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analysis employs a theoretical framework in quantitatively synthesizing empirical studies that investigate the effects of distance education (DE) versus classroom instruction on undergraduate student achievement. Analyses of 218 findings from 103 studies were conducted according to how media were used to support DE pedagogy. The results indicate that the effect sizes far synchronous instructor-directed DE were consistent and not significantly different from zero; in asynchronous DE, media only supporting independent learning was generally less effective than media supporting collaborative discussion among students, although both subsets were significantly heterogeneous. Follow-up analysis of asynchronous DE findings was framed in terms of three patterns of interaction- student-content, student-instructor and student-student. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]