This study assessed the effectiveness of an innovative science course for improving prospective elementary teachers' perceptions of laboratory learning environments and attitudes towards science. The sample consisted of 27 classes with 525 female students in a large urban university. Changing students' ideas about science laboratory teaching and…

This monograph provides teachers and teacher trainees with practical assistance in evaluating and documenting school-level innovations. Authentic and concrete illustrations culled from reports of evaluations of innovative projects funded by the Australian Schools Commission are featured. Examples are used to illustrate seven major aspects which…

Classroom environment measures were used to evaluate alternative high schools which catered to adult learners. These schools have an environment more suited to adult students than do traditional high schools. (RB)

Describes a curriculum evaluation model that includes a focus of evaluation and the method of evaluation. Identifies three distinct modes of evaluation: unstructured subjective observation, semi-structured consensus of opinion, and structured objective observation. Outlines the role played by curriculum evaluation in science education today. (GS)

Dull classroom environments, poor students' attitudes and inhibited conceptual development led to the creation of an innovative mathematics program, the Class Banking System (CBS), which enables teachers to use constructivist ideas and approaches. To assess the effectiveness of the CBS, actual and preferred versions of the Individualized Classroom…

Describes nine questionnaires for assessing student perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment, and reviews their application in past research. Focuses on outcome; innovation; student/teacher perceptual differences; achievement; teacher use of perceptions; quantitative and qualitative methods; links between environments; cross-national…

Evaluative information was collected about a history of mathematics project consisting of a play about Thales and an article about the history of conics. Methods included obtaining unstructured opinions of five experts, questionnaire responses from 39 teachers, and results of a test of affective and cognitive outcomes of 117 students. (CTM)

This paper reviews transition education initiatives that were undertaken in three Australian states (Western Australia, South Australia, and Victoria) for the purpose of assessing the extent to which local projects reflected national policy objectives. Case studies for each of the three states are presented and the impacts of the transition…

The College and University Classroom Environment Inventory, a college seminar dynamics measurement instrument based on earlier research on assessment of elementary and secondary classroom environmental characteristics, is described. Its testing and initial applications in research on student outcomes and teacher and student preferences of…

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…

Examines the development and validation of a new instrument that assesses student perceptions of gender equity, investigation, innovation, and resource adequacy in computer-assisted learning. A survey of 671 high school students in Singapore revealed that each scale displayed satisfactory validity and reliability. (65 references) (Author/AEF)

The study of learning environments provides a useful research framework for investigating the effects of educational innovations such as those which are associated with the use of the Internet in classroom settings. This study reports an investigation into the use of Internet technologies in high-school classrooms in Australia and Canada.…

Dull classroom environments, poor students' attitudes and inhibited conceptual development led to the creation of an innovative mathematics program, the Class Banking System (CBS), which enables teachers to use constructivist ideas and approaches. To assess the effectiveness of the CBS, the Individualised Classroom Environment Questionnaire…

This article describes a one-year study of 120 fifth grade students whose teachers participated in a program entitled Project SMILE (Science and Mathematics Integrated with Literary Experiences). The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which the classroom implementation of Project SMILE positively influenced the classroom…