This qualitative action research study explored the interactions of young-adult learners carrying out self-reflection on their learning processes in an ESP (English for special purposes) course at an airline training-center in Bogotá, Colombia. Needs analysis revealed that learners had poor knowledge of technical English, and lacked strong…

With the rise of the so-called military-entertainment complex, critical scholars note with alarm the integration of the political economies of entertainment companies and the military, in particular its potential influence on millions of young people who consume its concomitant films, toys and especially video games. Seen from a broad perspective,…

The growing interest in video gaming is matched by a corresponding increase in concerns about the harmful effects on children and adolescents. There are numerous studies on aggression and addiction which spark debates on the negative effects of video gaming. At the same time, there are also studies demonstrating prosocial effects. This paper…

Minimal research has investigated training packages used to teach professional staff how to implement functional analysis procedures and to interpret data gathered during functional analysis. The current investigation used video-based training with role-play and feedback to teach six professionals in a clinical setting to implement procedures of a…

Considering the significant role of vocabulary in learning a language, and teachers' great responsibility in providing opportunities to facilitate this learning, many studies have focused on the best means of achieving a good knowledge of vocabulary. This study set out to investigate the effect of four post-teaching activities, namely game,…

Role play activities provide opportunities for learners to adopt unfamiliar roles, engage in interactions with others, and get involved in realistic tasks. They are often recommended to foster the development of soft skills and a wider perspective of the world. Such activities are widely used as an online teaching approach, with examples ranging…

How does improvisational theatre promote aesthetic learning in leaders, emphasizing emotion and somatic, or sensory, knowledge? While improvisational theatre has been used in organizational settings, there is little empirical research describing the aesthetic learning process geared towards preparing educational leaders. Based on a case study of…

Treating employees fairly produces many positive outcomes, but evidence suggests that managers' efforts to be fair are often unsuccessful because they emphasize the wrong aspects of justice. Managers tend to emphasize distributive justice, though employees may be most concerned with procedural and interactional justice. Organizational justice…

Adults with intellectual disabilities face difficulty seeking employment in the community workforce. Using a single-subject design, this study examined the utility of role playing and self-management strategies to enhance work performance by promoting the social skills of a young woman with Down syndrome working in a community child care setting.…

Employers seek employees who possess soft skills. Employees who do not have excellent soft skills may not experience success in obtaining and sustaining employment. McEwen's (2010) framework for skill-building--introduce, explain, practice, and reinforce--was used to describe activities for enhancing soft skills. Soft skills building activities…

Military organizations have a long history of using simulations, role-play, and games for training. This also encompasses good practices concerning how instructors utilize games and gaming behavior. Unfortunately, the work of instructors is rarely described explicitly in research relating to serious gaming. Decision makers also tend to have…

For the state of Washington's one-hundredth birthday, in 1989, Native peoples there decided to revive a distinctive mode of transportation--long-distance journeys by canoe--along with an entire culture associated with it. Born as the "Paddle to Seattle," during the past two decades these canoe journeys have become a summertime staple for…

To strengthen the motivation of learners, the professional training sector is focusing more and more on game-based learning. In this context, the authors have become interested in the design of Learning Role-Play Game (LRPG) scenarios. The aim of this article is to improve the designers' confidence in the validity of the game-based learning…

Effective virtual simulations can embed participants in imaginary worlds. Researchers working in virtual worlds and gaming often refer to "immersion," a state in which a participant or player loses track of time and becomes one with the simulation. Immersive settings have been shown to deepen learning. Ken Hudson's work with students…

Digital educational games (DEGs) possess the potential of providing an appealing and intrinsically motivating learning context. Usually this potential is either taken for granted or examined through questionnaires or interviews in the course of evaluation studies. However, an "adaptive" game would increase the probability of a DEG being…