Describes some of the conceptual, measurement, and methodological problems associated with evaluating science curricula in terms of their impact on students' content-free cognitive outcomes. A study of the effects of including ASEP (Australian Science Education Project) materials into a seventh-grade program revealed several significant…

Discussion of effect sizes in computer-assisted learning research focuses on a study conducted in Singapore high school geography classes that used micro-PROLOG to determine the efficacy of computer-assisted learning. Topics include impact on achievement, student attitudes, and classroom environment. (53 references) (LRW)

Reports on findings from an interpretive team study of the teaching/learning environments in the science program at an innovative Australian high school, in which 778 students perform laboratory and classroom activities within a self-paced, independent framework. Suggests that the knowledge that teachers require to undertake effective science…

A sample of 671 secondary school students in 24 classes in Singapore was involved in investigating the relative efficacy of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and traditional expository teaching, as well as the differential effectiveness of the two teaching methods for boys and girls. Achievement and attitude outcome criteria were used.…

Reports the importance of effective classroom management in creating a classroom environment in which teachers could concentrate on instruction. Examplary teachers used a variety of activities and strategies to monitor understanding and enhance learning. Exemplary teachers were characterized by their ability to maintain an environment which…

Reviews research studies that investigated the relationship between attitude and achievement. Concludes that in general and for science the relationship is weak, indicating that science teachers should focus directly on improving achievement and not on improving attitudes towards science as a means of improving achievement. (DC)

Describes the evaluation of one of a series of plays devoted to the history of mathematics. The play evaluated was a one-act play with four scenes which covered aspects of the life of the mathematician Thales and introduces students to some history of mathematics and the topic of similar triangles. (Author/DS)

Reports an investigation into the relationship between student attitudes and teacher characteristics. Instructional and student variables are reported as insignificant predictors of changes in attitudes. Significant relationships exist between attitude outcome change and one of the teacher, instruction-student or instruction-teacher variables.…

Large scale assessments of educational progress can be useful tools to judge the effectiveness of educational programs and assessments. This document contains papers presented at the research seminar on this topic held at the Western Australian Institute of Technology in November, 1984. It is the fifth in a series of publications of papers…

Provides an overview of the evaluation studies conducted on the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP). Six evaluation foci are used: (1) Curriculum development process; (2) Philosophy; (3) Materials; (4) Learning Environment; (5) Student Outcomes and; (6) Dissemination. (HM)

A multivariate study of factors linked to science achievement and attitude scores of 9-, 13-, and 17-year-old students (1,960, 2,025, and 1,955 subjects, respectively) tested Walberg's model of educational productivity. Analysis of data from the 1981-82 NAEP Assessment in Science supports bivariate study results concerning the model's validity.…

Considers curriculum evaluation studies in which perceived classroom environment characteristics were included among criteria of curricular effectiveness. Also reports several investigations in differences between students and teachers in their perceptions of actual and preferred classroom environments and draws together a diverse set of studies…

Economical, short forms of three measures were developed to facilitate science teachers' use of classroom climate assessments. The Classroom Environment Scale (CES) is a 24-item measure requiring a true or false response for each item. The My Class Inventory (MCI) is a 25-item measure requiring a yes or no response for each item. The…

This study examined secondary school teachers' perceptions of their school-level environment and its influence on implementation of outcomes-based education (OBE). Participating schools were in South Africa's Limpopo Province (one of its poorest rural provinces) and were implementing Curriculum 2005, a new outcomes-based approach to teaching and…

The present research makes an original contribution to the previously distinct fields of classroom environment and person-environment fit because it uses the Classroom Environment Scale, which assesses actual and preferred classroom environment, in a person-environment fit study. (Author/PN)