Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Evidence Relevant to Classroom Instruction with Manipulatives

The papers in this special issue focus on instructional strategies with manipulatives. Often described as “hands-on learning”, these strategies emphasize the use of physical and, more recently, virtual objects to represent target information and concepts. These strategies are frequently suggested as effective techniques for teaching across many domains of learning. This special issue presents contemporary theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence, regarding instructional manipulatives with a focus on application in classroom contexts. In this introduction, we present the primary topics of interest to the special issue and provide broad overviews of the contributors’ papers.     

The complexity of data-based decision making: An introduction to the special issue

This special issue explores the complexity and interconnectedness of the many components of data-based decision making. The selection of papers represents many countries (i.e., Belgium, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States), theories, methods, and foci. All the papers seek to explicate how data are used at the different level of the system, ranging from students, teachers, schools, and districts. Together these papers offer a view of the current data-based decision making landscape, including in- and pre-service professional development, district and school organizational capacity, the data use process (from goal setting to collaborative instructional decision making), and effects on student achievement. The intent of the special issue is to stimulate future work in terms of impact on research, theory, policy, and practice.     

Computers,Education, and Educational Psychologists

This article introduces the Special Issue on Computers and Education. The papers in this special issue focus on the potential contribution of technology to education. The involvement of educational psychologists is critical for understanding how the new technology develops and shapes cognitive functioning and intelligence, and for determining how to adapt instruction to individual differences and how to create instructional settings to realize technology's potential.     

Explorations of relationships among learners, tasks, and learning

Based on a critical re-analysis of cognitive load theory (CLT), Schnotz and Kürschner identified the need for research on more sensitive ways of assessing learner characteristics, both prior to and during instruction, in order to understand learning processes and outcomes. One emergent theme of the papers in this special issue is that the “same” learning environment is differentially demanding and produces different results depending on characteristics of the learners, most importantly their knowledge in the task domain. These findings indicate that to optimize learning outcomes, theories of instructional design and learning need to be more adaptive and reflect the nuances of interactions among learners, tasks, and instructional supports.     

Teacher knowledge,curriculum materials,and quality of instruction: Unpacking a complex relationship

The set of papers presented in this issue comprise a multiple-case study which attends to instructional resources—teacher knowledge and curriculum materials—to understand how they individually and jointly contribute to instructional quality. We approach this inquiry by comparing lessons taught by teachers with differing mathematical knowledge for teaching who were using either the same or different editions of a US Standards-based curriculum. This introductory paper situates the work reported in the next four case-study papers by outlining the analytic framework guiding the exploration and detailing the methods for addressing the research questions.     

论远程教育信息传播过程及其优化设计

远程教育是教育的一种模式 ,是教育科学的一个新领域。因为它属于教育的范畴 ,所以其教学过程也是整个教育活动的基本组成部分。而远程教育的教学过程、信息传播过程与一般教育的教学过程、信息传播过程相比 ,又有其独特性。本文着重阐述了远程教育教学过程以及信息传播的构成要素 ,并提出优化设计远程教育传播过程的观点 ,更好地开发、发展远程教育。     

The Design of Instructional Text: Introduction to the Special issue

The purpose of this special issue is to examine current theory, research, and practice concerning the design of instructional text. In this introductory article, paper- and computer-based forms of instructional text are compared and their advantages identified. Text comprehension and text design research are viewed as strongly connected, with the former guiding the latter. Because "desk-top publishing" capabilities are rapidly expanding, many instructors are designing computer-based texts. A model of the operations that an instructor engages in when authoring a text is presented and used to introduce the articles of this special issue. Finally, some future research directions are discussed.     

智力障碍儿童全纳教育的多元教学模式

将智力障碍儿童安置在普通学校中 ,使他们接受合适的教育 ,是一个目前正在探索和迫切需要解决的问题。杭州市萧山区分别从智力障碍儿童在普通学校学习的学制问题与教学组织形式问题、智力障碍儿童教育实施中如何进行有效的资源优化整合问题、智力障碍儿童教学的校本教材确定与教学以及智力障碍儿童教育中教学方法改进四个方面突破 ,形成了多元化的随班就读教育模式 ,不仅为该区特殊教育事业的发展开拓了道路 ,而且也为我国其他地区特殊教育事业的发展提供了借鉴。     

Enhancing Instructional Efficiency of Interactive E-learning Environments: A Cognitive Load Perspective

This concluding paper summarizes the main points and recommendations of the previous papers in this Special issue within a conceptual framework of cognitive load theory. Design of efficient interactive learning environments should take into account main features and limitations of our cognitive architecture. The paper provides a brief overview of this architecture and sources of cognitive load, considers their instructional implications for interactive e-learning environments, and analyzes methods for managing cognitive load and enhancing instructional efficiency of such environments.     

Computer-based tools for instructional design: An introduction to the special issue

Modern instructional theories are characterized by their focus on rich, multidisciplinary and often collaborative learning tasks that are somehow representative for authentic, real life tasks. This new view on learning heavily increases the complexity of the design process and the resulting instructional systems. It is argued that computer-based instructional design (ID) tools may help to deal with this growing complexity. A framework to distinguish different kinds of ID tools is presented. This framework is then used to introduce the contributions to this special issue.     

Research on cognitive load theory: Application to e-learning

The purpose of this article is to review and critique each of the research studies published in this special issue. We will critique each article, derive one or more instructional design heuristics based on the findings for each study, and provide recommendations for extending particular lines of research. Three suggestions are provided concerning cognitive load theory and instructional design adaptations for e-learning.     

Defining and Measuring Engagement and Learning in Science: Conceptual,Theoretical, Methodological,and Analytical Issues

Engagement is one of the most widely misused and overgeneralized constructs found in the educational, learning, instructional, and psychological sciences. The articles in this special issue represent a wide range of traditions and highlight several key conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and analytical issues related to defining and measuring engagement. All the approaches exemplified by the contributors show different ways of conceptualizing and measuring engagement and demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of each method to significantly augment our current understanding of engagement. Despite the numerous issues raised by the authors of this special issue and in my commentary, I argue that focusing on process data will lead to advances in models, theory, methods, analytical techniques, and ultimately instructional recommendations for learning contexts that effectively engage students.     

The Changing Landscape of Special Education Administration

Effective leadership and administrative support for special education are critical issues in today's schools. The field of special education administration is gaining attention in the literature as professionals seek ways to foster accountability and drive change in ways that support the success of students with disabilities and their teachers. The purpose of this special issue of Exceptionality is to address current issues in special education administration and to explore promising directions. This introductory article provides a conceptual overview of the collaborative nature of special education administration, including issues of instructional, ethical, and teacher leadership. This article is intended to serve as a foundation for the succeeding articles within this special issue addressing key concerns within the field.     

Diffusion and implementation: Sources of resistance to educational change

This is the second in a series of articles dealing with the DIFUSION AND IMPLEMENTATION of instructional inovations. The initial introductory article to this series appeared in the April issue. Subsequent articles will deal with various special aspects of planned change in education.     

Supporting optimal child development through Early Head Start and Head Start programs: Reflections on secondary data analyses of FACES and EHSREP

We are delighted to reflect on the 10 papers highlighted in this important special issue of Early Childhood Research Quarterly devoted to recent secondary data analyses of the FACES and EHSREP datasets. First, we provide some background on Head Start research and give an overview of the large-scale Head Start and Early Head Start datasets that are available for researchers to analyze. Then, we comment on the papers in this special issue from a methodological and statistical standpoint. Finally, we reflect on themes that stood out across the various papers. Throughout, we make recommendations for future large-scale data collection efforts and future research on Head Start and Early Head Start programs.     

Commentary: Towards an Integrated View of Learning from Text and Visual Displays

Visuo-spatial text adjuncts such as static or animated pictures, geographic maps, thematic maps, graphs, and knowledge maps that have been analyzed in the articles contained in this special issue provide complex pictorial information that complements the verbal information of texts. These spatial text adjuncts are considered as depictive representations that can support communication, thinking, and learning. An essential precondition of this supportive function is that the visuo-spatial displays interact appropriately with human visual perception and the individual's cognitive system, which is characterized by prior knowledge, cognitive abilities, and learning skills. Accordingly, effective learning with visuo-spatial text adjuncts can be fostered by instructional design and by adequate processing strategies, both dependent on sufficient understanding of how the human cognitive system interacts with these displays. Perspectives for further research in this area are provided.     

Introduction to the Special Issue: exclusion,expulsion and suspension of students with disabilities: advancing knowledge,preventing educational exclusion

The papers in this special issue are at the vanguard of advancing knowledge about school suspensions and exclusions and in establishing a critical evidence base which educational policy and school-based initiatives can access in efforts to re-enact meaningful inclusion for some of our most vulnerable students. Hosting and showcasing emerging knowledge in this space is an important role for JORSEN as a journal which promotes educational inclusion. This short editorial offers an overview of the papers included in this special issue and suggests common issues in the important emerging field of research into the educational exclusion and suspension of students with disabilities.     

Teacher-student verbal communication patterns in regular and special classrooms

Patterns of verbal communications between a teacher and student can influence the classroom environment, quality of the instructional program, and student management in the classroom. This study examined teacher-student communication patterns in both regular and special education classes for behaviorally and emotionally handicapped students. It was expected that special class communication patterns would differ substantially from those used in regular classes. Those communications would result in more effective student management and more time on-task for learning. Webster's (1984, 1986) Process Interaction Model was used to analyze the communication patterns. Expected differences between how regular and special class teachers interact with students were not found. Implications of findings are discussed in relationship to teacher training, teacher effectiveness, and classroom management.     

Dyslexia and education in the 21st century

This paper both reviews the other papers in this special issue and puts them in the context of the current agenda of research in dyslexia education. The pluralistic nature of the field is explored with reference to this special issue. The paper suggests a way forward for the field in terms of a developing research agenda for dyslexia education as we progress further into the 21st century.