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Game-based virtual learning environments have the potential to provide opportunities for engagement in authentic contexts while completing authentic tasks such as problem solving. However, research in problem-based learning indicates that scaffolding should be provided for learners to benefit from such learning environments. This paper describes the design of an anagogical encoding tool, a computer-based scaffold, in a game-based virtual learning environment. Research on analogical encoding suggests that teaching students to compare cases side-by-side to draw out the underlying principles improves knowledge acquisition and transfer. Analogical encoding aids students in attending to the deep underlying structures (ie, principles) of cases, thereby reducing the potential distraction of surface features. This paper intends to translate laboratory research findings on analogical encoding to a scaffolding tool in a game-based virtual learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors found that Education majors become more progressive in their attitudes toward educational practices after experiencing professional courses and clinical and field experiences, particularly when those experiences are organized and directed by Education faculty members who hold progressive views. The results contradict often-found conclusions from less rigorously designed studies and suggest that the contradictory findings of different research paradigms may be reflecting the different factors that make up the various attitude constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]