Two order theoretic techniques were presented and compared. Ordering theory of Krus and Bart (1974) and an extended Takeya's item relational structure analysis (IRS) by Tatsuoka and Tatsuoka (1981) were used to extract the hierarchical item structure from three datasets. Directed graphs were constructed and both methods were assessed as to how…

This review of the research on aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) discusses four methods or assumptions that might explain why ATI research has not generated the anticipated empirical support: (1) the lack of a theoretical base; (2) disagreement over what a given aptitude means and how it should be measured; (3) difficulties in defining…

Addresses the implicit assumption that instructional media represent meaningful experimental variables independent of instructional content or strategy. Results of computer-based instruction (CBI) studies (both well-designed and flawed) and meta-analyses are reviewed to support the authors' position that this assumption is invalid, and new…

The second of four symposium papers brings together the results of four separate statistical analyses of findings on computer-based instruction (CBI) in 199 comparative studies, of which 32 were conducted in elementary schools, 42 in high schools, 101 in universities and colleges, and 24 in adult education settings. Each was a controlled,…

Based on a review of the literature on industrial education as well as on comments elicited from industrial educators, it does not appear that the topics for research in industrial education have changed much throughout the years. What has changed, however, is the context in which industrial educators operate. In light of these changes, it would…