A device placed in the start of a learning event designed to provide an overview or big picture of the lesson content. May take the form of a graphic or table.

Any instructional program in which two or more individuals work together (synchronously or asynchronously) on an instructional activity or assignment using digital technology to communicate.

A statistic indicating how many standard deviations difference there is between the mean score of the experimental group and the mean score of the control group. A useful metric to determine the practical significance of research results. Effect sizes greater than .5 indicate an outcome of practical significance worthy of implementation.

A combination of content and instructional methods delivered by media elements, such as words and graphics on a computer or mobile device intended to build job-transferable knowledge and skills linked to individual learning goals or organizational performance. May be designed for self-study or instructor-led training.

The idea that individuals process information in different ways based on some specific mental differences. For example, some learners may have an auditory style and learn better from narration, while others have a visual style and learn better from graphics. There is little evidence to support most learning styles.

A computation of average effect sizes among many experiments. Data based on a meta-analysis give us greater confidence in the results because they reflect many research studies.

Awareness and control of one’s learning or thinking processing, including setting goals, monitoring progress, and adjusting strategies as needed. Also called metacognitive skill and self-regulatory skill.

A type of collaborative whole-task instruction in which groups define and research learning issues based on their discussion of a case problem. Has been broadly adopted in medical education.

Computer applications that allow individuals to correspond or collaborate with others. Some examples include wikis, blogs, discussion boards, Facebook, and online conferencing.