No abstract

before earning his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Michigan. He has been on the faculty of the Michigan Tech Computer Science Department since 2000. His experiences as a computer scientist, linguist, and software developer drive his research exploring how humans can better understand, build, and use software. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Google, Microsoft Research, and the U.S. Department of Defense. Dr. Wallace's Agile Communicators project, supported by an NSF IUSE award, seeks to build an enhanced curriculum for computing programs that emphasizes inquiry, critique and reflection, grounded in authentic software development settings. Tools in this project include process oriented guided inquiry learning, automated feedback to students through an intelligent tutoring system, case studies in software communication, and guided reflective exercises on team communication. As part of this research, the Agile Communicators team has investigated communication practices in a variety of student and professional software development environments. Wallace has been intimately involved with undergraduate Computer Science curriculum development since his arrival in 2000. He cofounded Michigan Tech's Software Engineering degree program in 2003. Wallace currently serves as Director of Undergraduate Programs for the Computer Science Department. In conjunction with his research projects, he has founded local outreach efforts in computer education for middle and high school students and digital literacy for senior citizens.

No abstract

Introduction:The inclusion of interesting but irrelevant details in instructional materials may interfere with recall and application of the core content. Although this seductive detail effect is well researched, recent research highlights factors that may influence the effect size. Objectives:The current study discusses confounds and methodological issues in the study of seductive details and outlines strategies for overcoming them. These practices were then applied in a study that examined the role of learning objectives on the seductive detail effect.Methods: Seductive details were selected on the basis of interest and importance level and matched for word count and reading level. The 3 × 2 between-subjects design presented 132 undergraduate students with a lesson on plate tectonics; participants completed tests on both recall and transfer.Results: Results did not reveal a consistent detrimental effect of high-interest details on core content recall and transfer. On the recall test, contrary to expectation, the seductive detail effect obtained only when objectives were provided. A similar pattern emerged on the transfer task. Conclusion:These findings highlight the difficulty of consistently eliciting the seductive detail effect. We discuss outstanding issues that must be addressed in order to develop practical guidelines on the inclusion of seductive details in educational materials. K E Y W O R D Sinstructional design, learning objectives, methods, multimedia learning, seductive detail effect INTRODUCTIONEducators have long struggled with how to engage learners who may not find lesson content inherently interesting. In an attempt to capture and hold learners' attention, some educators enhance possibly not-so-interesting educational materials with spiced-up details, jokes, cartoons, fun facts, videos, animations, and songs-even if the infor-This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

No abstract