There is a growing national recognition that teachers and teaching are at the heart of successful educational reform. However, few tools exist for measuring classroom instruction. The primary purpose of this article is to describe methods we developed to measure and study teaching, specifically while teachers were using a multimedia intervention…

This study employed hierarchical linear models (HLM) to investigate Peer-Led Guided Inquiry (PLGI), a teaching practice combining cooperative learning and inquiry and tailored for a large class. Ultimately, the study provided an example of the effective introduction of a reform pedagogical approach in a large class setting. In the narrative, the…

With the exception of the procedures developed by Porter and colleagues (Porter, 2002), other methods of defining and measuring alignment are essentially limited to alignment between tests and standards. Porter's procedures have been generalized to investigating the alignment between content standards, tests, textbooks, and even classroom…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different practice conditions upon technical accuracy and musicality of student instrumental performance. High school instrumental students attending summer music camps at the Florida State University were randomly assigned to one of three different practice groups: (a) teacher-designed…

Contrasted are engineering statistics with statistics for students of mathematics and social science. Topics considered are level of abstraction, amount of technical detail, and choice of subject. The nature of exercises suitable for various courses is described. (KR)

The results of a simulation model of a queuing system are reported. Use in an introductory quantitative analysis course to enhance students' computer and quantitative modeling knowledge is described. (CW)

Theories of learning and instruction usually are grounded in psychological and epistemological assumptions. However, these theories ignore the child in relation to his or her cultural and institutional context and ignore the schoolteacher from the social context that regulates the process of transmission and acquisition of knowledge and skills.…

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the contributions of computerized health risk appraisal when used as a supplement to the traditional methods of health instruction. Subjects were a convenience sample of 26 students enrolled in a university level, personal health course. Using a one group pretest posttest design, these subjects were…

Reports on a statistics course designed to emphasize real-world applications. The course is primarily lab-based and provides students with numerous opportunities to demonstrate mastery of their skills. The instruction is tightly focused on achievable goals and utilizes hands-on experience and computer tutorials. (MJP)

This paper examines the grading policies and practices of about 300 teachers from seven high schools in the San Francisco Bay area. Three questions are addressed: (1) Who or what determines grading policies? (2) How do teachers actually calculate grades, that is, what kinds of performances factors are taken into account by teachers? (3) How do…

Describes the background, development, and testing of a computer software program designed to teach principles of statistical sampling in social science courses. Compares results of a field test of the program, Introduction to Sampling Error Experiments (ISEE), with traditional instruction. (CFR)

The relationship between student personality traits and achievement with either mediated self-instruction or didactic large group instruction was investigated. Subjects were 159 female third-year nursing students at Loyola University of Chicago. Subjects received instruction on tracheostomy care and intravenous (I.V.) therapy through either a…

A questionnaire developed in six languages--English, French, German, Polish, Russian, and Spanish--was mailed to more than 1,500 organizations known by the FernUniversitat in West Germany to be connected in some way to distance education, correspondence education, or home study. The study was undertaken as a response to the lack of systematic…

Presents the results of an experiment that evaluated the efficiency of analogy in the conceptual restructuring of a science topic. The experiment involved a fifth-grade class studying water and heat flow. Discovered that analogy can act as an effective trigger for restructuring knowledge. (MJP)

This metaanalysis of 32 comparative studies shows that computer-based education has generally had positive effects on the achievement of elementary school pupils. However, these effects are different for off-line computer managed instruction and interactive computer assisted instruction (CAI); interactive CAI produces greater increases in student…