The recent surge of interests in cognitive assessment has led to developments of novel statistical models for diagnostic classification. Central to many such models is the well-known "Q"-matrix, which specifies the item-attribute relationships. This article proposes a data-driven approach to identification of the "Q"-matrix and…

Teaching by inquiry is touted for its potential to encourage students to reason scientifically. Yet, even when inquiry teaching is practiced, complexity of students' reasoning may be limited or unbalanced. We describe an analytic tool for recognizing when students are engaged in complex reasoning during inquiry teaching. Using classrooms that…

To teach the rigorous skills and knowledge students need to succeed in future college-entry courses and workforce training programs, education stakeholders have increasingly called for more rigorous curricula, instruction, and assessments. Identifying the critical attributes of rigor and measuring its appearance in curricular materials is…

Both the Rule Space Method (RSM) and the Neural Network Model (NNM) are techniques of statistical pattern recognition and classification approaches developed for applications from different fields. RSM was developed in the domain of educational statistics. It started from the use of an incidence matrix Q that characterizes the underlying cognitive…

Describes instructional design theory at the micro level and offers practical examples that may be applied to bibliographic instruction. The Performance-Content Matrix, a classification scheme for categorizing learning objectives according to their specified level of performance and type of content, is explained; and Merrill's Component Display…

Describes Merrill's content performance matrix in terms of content (facts, concepts, processes, procedures, and principles); levels of performance (recall and applying content in job-like context); and instructional methods that support each task on the matrix (information displays and practice exercises). (MBR)

Examines relationships between the two major components of computer simulations, the computer and participants; highlights major differences between computer-assisted, computer-based, and computer-controlled simulations; and describes three computer-assisted simulations to illustrate the interdependence of the major components. (MBR)

Mary Douglas's typology, using grid and group dimensions, provides a means to classify and compare social environments in terms of their differing cultural constraints on individual autonomy. This article uses the Douglas typology to examine the grid and group characteristics of four diverse schools to determine the framework's applicability to…

Discusses the concept of taxonomy in learning. Highlights include cognitive domain, affective domain, and psycho-motor domain; behaviorism and constructivism; scaffolding; other classification formats, including rubrics and matrices; learning taxonomy applied to information literacy and to library media specialist as teacher; and the taxonomy for…