Blending cognitive rule-based, process-based, and context-based theories in the development of online grammar instruction

This study proposes to blend contemporary educational research in order to design an online instructional environment. The goal was to create an environment that would better educate learners about grammar use in higher education, given the complexity of the rule learning that was being asked of them. By blending approaches from tested educational research on cognitive information processing theories, schema theories, and situated cognitive theories in order to determine how language rules are best learned, eight design principles were derived for the instructional environment. A prototype of the environment was then developed. Two series of formative evaluations, one with a group of subject-matter experts (teachers, linguists, and instructional designers) and one with a group of students, were run against the instruction. Overall, it was found that a database-driven website employing user-defined variables to customize the instruction for each individual user was a useful way to achieve the goals of the study.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Department dc:contributor.department

Teaching and Learning

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Zaldivar, Marc Robert

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Lockee, Barbara B.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Wildman, Terry M.
• Potter, Kenneth R.
• Moore, David M.

• instructional design
• cognitive theory
• cognitive grammar
• online language learning
• computer-assisted language learning

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-11112008-104421

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/29533