Strategic planning is a key competency for business management education. This study designed a dual scaffold-oriented strategy planning board game based on cognitive scaffolding and peer scaffolding and combined it with a real-time checking mechanism using mobile technology. The 68 university students were divided into an experimental group for…

This study evaluates the impact of an independent postmidterm question analysis exercise on the ability of students to answer subsequent exam questions on the same topics. It was conducted in three sections (~400 students/section) of introductory biology. Graded midterms were returned electronically, and each student was assigned a subset of…

Meta assessment goes beyond assessment in that it examines not only the elements of assessment but also the necessary and sufficient conditions as well as the needs of the assessment. Meta assessment in education tends to be the domain of course designers, planners and policy makers but rarely that of students. This article examines the role of…

In 1989 the North Central Higher Learning Commission joined a growing movement to improve learning and classroom assessment. The movement called for a more inclusive type of assessment that involves tasks other that learning for testing. The Association of American Colleges and Universities agreed and proposed new Principles of Excellence…

Social work practice requires that graduates be prepared to deal with complex, multifaceted problems which cannot be defined completely, do not have absolute, correct answers and can be approached from multiple perspectives. This study evaluated the influence of case-based instruction on MSW students' reflective judgment, an aspect of critical…

This study investigates the effects of a competency-oriented course and the effects of feedback training on students' reflection skills. Thirty-one nursing students enrolled in a conventional course with lectures and assignments following a traditional test. Subsequently, they enrolled in a competency-oriented course, which included more…

This study investigates the combined impact of a memory test and subsequent listening practice in enhancing student listening abilities in collegiate business administration courses. The article reviews relevant literature and describes an exploratory study that was undertaken to compare the effectiveness of this technique with traditional…

Determined the outcomes of a semester-long encounter group using multiple measures, a sensitive experimental design, tight experimental controls, and an equivalent control group. Only one subscale of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale and four subscales of the Personal Orientation-Inventory showed a significant difference between experimental and…

The biasing effects of a pretest on subsequent post-test results were investigated in two experimental studies. In general, the results argue for using designs without pretests. (Author/JKS)

Describes a computer-based instructional system called Stat Lady and reports the results of an evaluation study of undergraduates that tested the efficacy of learning probability from this program compared to a traditional lecture and a no-treatment control group. Aptitude treatment interaction is also investigated. (Author/LRW)

A context in which existing items may provide a convenient source of questions for questionnaires was explored through a case study making use of existing comparison groups. Two programs at Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), the Science and Engineering Research Semester (SERS) and the Laboratory Graduate Research Participation (Lab Grad)…

The suggestions offered in this paper are based on the experiences of two scientific researchers of how evaluations undertaken in a competitive arena, in which true experimental designs are not viable, can be designed in such a way that meaningful comparative data can be examined. Case studies of the Science and Engineering Research Semester and…

Suggestions, based on the experience of researchers at Oak Ridge (Tennessee) Associated Universities (ORAU), are offered on how evaluations in which true experimental designs are not possible can be designed for meaningful comparison. The ORAU conducts evaluation and assessment studies of educational programs intended to explore some aspect of the…

Many colleges and universities are using a service-learning paradigm to structure service learning experiences for their students to reinforce and enhance the understanding of course material. Two studies were undertaken at a parochial college to address the benefits to students who perform service as part of their curricular studies. In the first…

The PRINCE materials for undergraduate collegiate students, developed at Syracuse University, were field tested at six higher education institutions for this evaluation study. The materials, consisting of four versions of a simulation, were designed to teach skills for analyzing political situations from a strategic point of view, with the…