Four experiments involving 180 undergraduates evaluated the effectiveness of computer graphics in improving estimates for algebra word problems. Variations in the simulation resulted in successful and unsuccessful programs as measured by the frequency with which students improved their estimates. Quality of feedback to students while learning is…

An online library catalog was used to evaluate an interactive query expansion facility based on relevance feedback for the Okapi, probabilistic, term weighting, retrieval system. A graphical user interface allowed searchers to select candidate terms extracted from relevant retrieved items to reformulate queries. Results suggested that the…

Describes a computer program that allows undergraduate students to undertake nomenclature tutorials in organic chemistry, where user response is evaluated based on a set of rules that determine appropriate feedback. Design of the software is described, including the use of computer graphics, and results of students' evaluations are briefly…

Examines problems surrounding traditional assessment and evaluation in education and suggests ways to broaden the methodology as well as the validity of the assessment process. A study of elementary school students is described that used computer-generated assessment involving graphic feedback with and without text to study motivation and…

Discusses the use of the Training and Assessment System (TAS), a software program designed to analyze teacher behavior and interaction between teachers and students. A TAS program is described which was conducted at the Houston Community College System to help instructors analyze their classroom interaction; tables depicting the report generated…

Explores how users interact and learn during computer-based simulations given graphical and textual forms of feedback. Graduate students were randomly assigned computer simulations with graphical feedback, textual feedback, or graphical plus textual feedback. Findings indicate that graphical feedback provides experiential learning, but that these…

The purpose of this study was to explore how adult users interact and learn during a computer-based simulation given visual and verbal forms of feedback coupled with embedded elaborations of the content. A total of 52 college students interacted with a computer-based simulation of Newton's laws of motion in which they had control over the motion…

This study examined the effects of animation and practice on factual and application learning in computer based instruction (CBI), and the extent to which animation and practice promoted near and far transfer of these learning outcomes. Subjects were 192 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, and the CBI content was an elementary physics lesson in…

Describes study of fourth and fifth grade students which explained the effect of graphics on student motivation in a microcomputer-based spelling drill program. The role of feedback in instruction is discussed, the impact of graphics on computer software is described, and results are analyzed. (4 references) (LRW)

Describes a microcomputer-based procedure that used a digitized graphics tablet to teach letter formation skills to moderately and severely retarded students aged 8-19. Handwriting instruction is discussed; modeling of the letters, corrective feedback, and reinforcement techniques are explained; and results of pretests and posttests are…

Discussion of graphing software for educational purposes focuses on a study in which three versions of an original computer graphing program were used by inner-city high school students to solve scientific data analysis problems. Variations in degrees of flexibility and feedback in the software are explored. (Contains 37 references.) (LRW)

Discussion of computer-based instruction and animation focuses on a study of undergraduates that investigated the effects of two computer-based instructional strategies, visual display and feedback type, on teaching how to troubleshoot electronic circuits. Time spent on various components of the program is also examined. (35 references) (LRW)

The effects of different types of feedback in computer assisted instruction were studied in 30 college students with different cognitive styles. The program, written in Apple Pilot and administered on an Apple IIE microcomputer, consisted of 16 problem solving tasks; for each, a graphic display and a textual question were presented. Two feedback…