This is a design study meant to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating three rather different theoretical perspectives for future efforts in multimedia instructional design. A multimedia instructional grammar program contextualized within the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) was developed and evaluated. The program design was grounded in Mayer's multimedia learning theory (2001), Sweller's cognitive load theory (CLT, 2005), and cognitive training theory using an inductive reasoning paradigm (Klauer and Phye, Rev Educ Res 78(1):85-124, 2008). A successful integration of cognitive training theory into program design is expected to facilitate the transition of student's declarative knowledge of a grammar concept of passive voice to procedural knowledge (Phye, Contemp Educ Psychol 16:87-94, 1991; Phye et al., Empirical methods for evaluating educational interventions, Academic Press/Elsevier, San Diego, 2005). Two studies involving ten and four adult ESL learners were conducted in a Midwest community college. Grammar teaching occurred within the context of history and geography of the USA. Students with low prior knowledge of passive voice grammar concepts, intermediate level of general vocabulary, and adequate basic knowledge of content (basic geography and history) benefited most from the program. Preliminary results are encouraging for the aforementioned integrative efforts.Keywords Multimedia program evaluation Á Cognitive theories Á Multimedia instructional design Á ESL grammar teaching Á Design rationale Historically, the teaching of English grammar can be identified with two approaches. The deductive approach focuses on mastering grammar form (Biber et al
is the W. A. Klinger teaching professor and the assistant chair for Construction Engineering in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at Iowa State University. He also serves as the chair of the Editorial Board of the American Society of Civil Engineers Journal of Construction Engineering and Management-he was formerly editor-in-chief, chair of the ASCE Construction Engineering Education Committee, and a member of the Transportation Research Board Pavement Maintenance Committee. He earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering and his M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (specializing in Construction Engineering and Management) from Purdue University. He has prior experience as an assistant professor at the University of Washington and over six years of industrial experience as a bridge construction project engineer for a construction contractor and as a research engineer for the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory in Port Hueneme, Calif. His teaching interests include construction equipment, cost estimating and construction process design. His research interests include highway and heavy construction methods, road maintenance methods and innovations in construction process administration.
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