A study examined the use of cloze procedure as a measure of learning from content instruction. Subjects were 35 physician assistant (PA) students in a cancer prevention course and 31 education students (ED) enrolled in reading instruction courses. Cloze passages were constructed from published selections on the reading process and occupationally…

A pretest-posttest control group design was used in a classroom experiment designed to determine whether the problem-solving performance of second grade students would be affected by systematic instruction in estimation. Participants were 36 students in two groups who were given daily lessons in measurement. The experimental group received a daily…

The World Institute of Computer Assisted Teaching (WICAT) system was installed in November 1985 at the Salina and Fordson Schools in Dearborn, Michigan, and selected students in grades two, three, and four received their regular reading and/or mathematics instruction in the WICAT computer laboratory. Achievement gains of these students were…

The four main approaches to measuring treatment effects in schools; raw gain, residual gain, covariance, and true scores; were compared. A simulation study showed true score analysis produced a large number of Type-I errors. When corrected for this error, this method showed the least power of the four. This outcome was clearly the result of the…

The role that measurement error plays in the regression effect is discussed with particular reference to the RMC models for evaluating the effects of Elementary Secondary Education Act Title I programs. The norm referenced evaluation model assumes a theory of growth where the relative ranking of students remains the same from pretest to posttest…

Discussion of control over sequence of instruction in computer-assisted instruction (CAI) focuses on a follow-up study that examined the effects of the breadth and depth of menus and the meaningfulness of menu category names on the learning and attitudes of college students. Posttests are described, and results are analyzed. (16 references) (LRW)

This study explored the effects of three teaching approaches on the task performance, motivation, and private speech (self-talk) of low-income Latino preschoolers. The three approaches varied in terms of teacher-imposed structure and child autonomy (teacher-directed, scaffolding, child-centered). Sixty-one preschoolers were seen individually as…

Noting that early childhood education is one tool for violence prevention, this study examined the effectiveness of a preschool violence prevention program in influencing the knowledge and attitudes of Head Start teachers in a rural, heavily Hispanic, southern Texas community. Head Start teachers were nonrandomly assigned to a control group, a…

This study examined the instructional effectiveness with which different job aid types facilitated learner achievement of different types of learning objectives and identified the degree to which low and high prior knowledge individuals profit from different job aid types. The instructional content used in the study was an instructional module on…

Compares the cognitive development of four subcultural groups of boys (Black and White, and lower- and middle-class) in order to test Arthur Jensen's theory. Nine-hundred subjects were studied for four years, and memory, intelligence, learning and transfer measures were employed. (Author/RH)

Presents the key findings of an evaluation of an Integrated Learning System in nine United Kingdom primary and secondary schools. The evaluation design was based on the comparison of outcome performance in mathematics and reading and on student behavior, including attendance, in experimental and control groups. (Author/LRW)

Describes a pilot study of computerized adaptive testing in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program's tenth-grade mathematics problem-solving and applications subtests. Comparisons are made to pencil-and-paper tests, and student reactions as determined by a posttest survey are discussed. (LRW)

Describes study of undergraduates that compared the effects of different small group sizes on learner achievement using computer controlled interactive videodisc. The results of pretests and posttests are reported, learning achievement and instructional time are used to calculate an instructional efficiency index, and further research is…

Describes a study conducted at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry that compared the effectiveness and efficiency of adaptive instruction with nonadaptive instruction using interactive videodisc patient simulations. The Dental Diagnosis and Treatment (DDx&Tx) System is explained, and problem-solving skills and study time are discussed.…

Associations between performance-oriented and structure-oriented tasks in elementary school mathematics instruction and achievement were studied for 33 third grade classrooms. A mathematics pretest and posttest were administered, and classroom observations were conducted. Results suggest that performance-oriented tasks promote automatization of…