Describes a case study which used the Agency for Instructional Television instructional development model to develop a television series on economics. Findings show how the model guided the series, its advantages, and its strengths and limitations, and identifies discrepancies between ideal use of instructional development and actual application.…

Discusses previous pictorial research and its limited potential, and describes function-based research approach, which attempts to make findings relevant by identifying potential picture functions in terms of contributions to instructional processes and procedures broadly applicable to various objectives and strategies. Relevance of this approach…

Argues that three tenets of the traditional wisdom about teacher questioning are based on inadequate research: (1) it is useful to classify questions as fact (lower level) or reason (higher level); (2) higher level questions are better; and (3) questions are good in general because they stimulate thought. (MBR)

Describes a study that factor analyzed questionnaire data and compared factor scores of good and poor college-level readers to determine the text-learning strategies of each group. Results, which indicate poor readers rely heavily on study strategies without an understanding of the text to be studied, have implications for remedial reading…

Describes a study that explored and inductively classified analogies in 26 science textbooks, ranging from elementary to postsecondary level, to provide a systematic description of the phenomenon and generate prescriptive principles for their use in instruction. Classification categories include analogical relationship, presentation format,…

Examines research conducted at the British Open University using the research paradigm of phenomenography to discover what students understand about particular concepts in social science. The use of student interviews for formative and summative evaluation is described, and changes in course materials based on the results are discussed.…

Description of 17 experiments on effects of headings in written text focuses on heading position and form and nature of task (free recall, searching unfamiliar text, and retrieval from familiar text). Results indicate heading position had no effect but both heading forms aided recall, search, and text information retrieval. (MBR)

Presents a study investigating effects of reading ability and study activity (rote or conceptual testing, structured or unstructured review) on learning outcomes of students assigned a reading on behavior modification procedures. Results indicate no significant effect for type of study activity and high reading ability students performed better.…

Presents five simulation models reflecting sequential levels of children's simple arithmetic story problem solving skills. Outputs of the models are compared with data obtained by presenting 60 five- to eight-year-olds with change problems to examine models' deterministic nature. Results indicate the models give an adequate description of behavior…

Describes three experiments measuring changes in children's social speech which used the presence or absence of partitions allowing partial visual contact to alter verbal communication contingencies between players. Altered levels of speech and specificity confirm importance of physical environmental factors in regulation of children's play. (MBR)

Provides a descriptive account of how and what seven university lecturers thought about the progress of their courses and identifies the major issues receiving their attention. Highlights include student communication; course planning; class process; student-teacher relationship; teaching methods and morale; and student behavior, intellectual…

Presents thinking-aloud protocols from secondary pupils solving arithmetic story and geometrical problems and analyzes their protocols by using interpretation models founded on a general problem-solving model. A word problem solving simulation is also used to further explicate processes pupils use to solve mathematical tasks. (Author/MBR)

This study used multiple regression analysis to estimate the effects of variance in teacher ratings explained by teacher-produced variability (teaching practices and/or skills) and by student-produced variability (education level, motivation, and goals) on selected student variables. Previous research suggested that these student variables…

This study investigated the effects of two sequences of instruction--theory-to-application and application-to-theory--on medical students' cognitive preferences in preclinical science teaching. Results indicate that presenting an example of the clinical application of biochemical theory before presenting the theory itself increased students'…