The rapid growth of web-based instruction has raised many questions about the quality of online courses. It appears that many online courses are simply modeled after traditional forms of instruction instead of incorporating a design that takes advantage of the unique capabilities of web-based learning environments. The authors present a conceptual framework that can guide the development of onl...

26 Web-based instruction in higher education has grown exponentially, with more than a thousand universities offering courses over the Web in the United States alone.1 Web-based instruction offers obvious advantages for distance and continuing education populations by making access to education at any time or place feasible. This kind of flexibility is similarly advantageous for informal or pro...

Molecular dynamics computer simulations provide experimentally inaccessible insights into behavior of materials. The insights facilitate development of materials with improved properties, but at the same time are quite useful in instruction. We describe recent applications of the molecular dynamics technique in simulations of mechanical behavior of metals and polymeric materials and also of tri...

The application of zone of proximal development (ZPD), as a major tenet of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (SCT, 1978), has recently been invited in the L2 learning/teaching profession. This study mainly examined whether Iranian EFL learners’ interactions in diverse ZPD-activated proximal contexts through the use of storytelling instruction could improve their oral (speaking) proficiency and at...

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of metacognitive strategy instruction intervention on reducing language listening anxiety of Iranian EFL learners in the light of 2 listening metacognitive strategy instruction models of Integrated Experiential Learning Task (IELT) (Goh, 2010) and Metacognitive pedagogical Sequence (MPS) (Vandergrift, 2004). Participants were 63 B1 level learners who...

Employing an explanatory sequential design, the present study investigated the effect of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) blog-mediated writing instruction on the students’ learner autonomy. A number of 46 learners who were the students of two intact classes were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups.  Over a 16-week semester, the control group students (n = 21) were taught ba...

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of metacognitive strategy instruction intervention on reducing language listening anxiety of Iranian EFL learners in the light of 2 listening metacognitive strategy instruction models of Integrated Experiential Learning Task (IELT) (Goh, 2010) and Metacognitive pedagogical Sequence (MPS) (Vandergrift, 2004). Participants were 63 B1 level learners who...