This paper reports on an ongoing project to develop an "eLingua" Latin language-learning application that combines natural-language text-input with computer game-based approaches to discovery learning. The program aims to create a content-based immersive environment within which to test the hypothesis that second-language learning is more…

Offers a comparison of the pedagogical philosophies of five pioneers in educational computing: Patrick Suppes, Arthur Luehrmann, Alfred Bork, Symour Papert, and Thomas Dwyer. (AEA)

Presents 2 complementary techniques for promoting success in computer-based exploration environments for arithmetic instruction. Semantic constraints are explained, heuristic guidance is discussed, use of the techniques for subtraction instruction is described, and field testing with students in grades 1-3 is briefly discussed. (25 references)…

Although students who used the Physical Science Study Committee experiments improved in their understanding of the conservation of momentum, greater gains were made by those who used a computer simulation of one dimensional elastic collisions in a vacuum. (AL)

This study examined the way children learn about and use the novel features of videodiscs. Nine 9- and 10-year-old students in a progressive private school in New York City participated in the study. None had prior experience with videodisc technology. The two videodiscs which served as test materials--"The First National Kidisc" and "Fun and…

A study is reported in which 7 children (2 girls and 5 boys, 11 to 12 years of age) with a year of LOGO Programming experience were asked to think aloud about how a LOGO procedure would work, and then to predict by hand-simulation of the programs, what the graphics turtle "pen" would draw when the program was executed. While all children…

Low cost microcomputers with high resolution graphics provide students and educators with fast and accurate visual representations of mathematics relations and extend the benefits of discovery learning into the high school and college mathematics classroom. A recent challenge has been to use the computer in motivating students and teaching…

Describes a study that examined fifth-grade Finnish pupils' problem-solving processes in a LEGO/Logo technology-based learning environment. Results indicate that learning model and gender account for group differences in problem solving processes, and are interpreted as supporting the validity of discovery learning. (Author/LRW)

Describes QMaPS (Qualitative Matching and Prediction system for Simulations), a qualitative reasoning system designed to function as a module in exploratory simulation learning environments. Highlights include a hierarchical organization of variables; multilevel relation typology; modeling of physical and conceptual domain structures; an…

In the ZAP project, a set of interactive computer programs called "ZAPs" was developed. The programs were designed in such a way that first-year students experience psychological phenomena in a vivid and self-explanatory way. Students can either take the role of participant in a psychological experiment, they can experience phenomena themselves,…

Teachers can integrate computer use with regular classroom activities to motivate children and to help build self-esteem. Through creative teaching, the computerized classroom becomes a place where children develop problem-solving skills and learn to work together. (DF)

Presents a hypothetical instructional dialogue which illustrates the vocabulary, syntax, and style of Terrapin Music Logo, and shows how that dialect might be used to explore the concept of repetition in musical form. The educational philosophy of Logo is examined, and computer-aided discovery learning in music theory is illustrated. (eight…

This article describes a study into the role of heuristic support in facilitating discovery learning through simulation-based learning. The study compares the use of two such learning environments in the physics domain of collisions. In one learning environment (implicit heuristics) heuristics are only used to provide the learner with guidance…

The purpose of this research was to explore how adult users interact and learn during an interactive computer-based simulation supplemented with brief multimedia explanations 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 of a simple…

This paper argues that Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) offer the potential for advancing existing techniques for computer assisted instruction and deepening the understanding of issues in the learning and teaching of writing. The paper: (1) outlines the goals and significance of research in ITS, emphasizing their value in formulating knowledge…