Natural scientists are relaxed about the multiple forms experiment takes in their various fields. Yet in education we have for many years constrained our notion of experiment. This methodological circumscription has been self-imposed on the grounds that experiment of a particular, well-defined form offers the clearest evidence of a link between…

This chapter explores early impacts from the Florida College system's bold experiment in making placement testing and developmental education optional for most students.

The forward effect of testing occurs when testing on previously studied information facilitates subsequent learning. The present research investigated whether interim testing on initially studied materials enhances the learning of new materials in category learning and examined the metacognitive judgments of such learning. Across the 4…

This paper describes a dataset with data from three individually randomized educational technology experiments on differentiation, formative testing and feedback during one school year for a group of 8th grade students in the Netherlands, using administrative data and the online motivation questionnaire of Boekaerts. The dataset consists of pre-…

In the current work, we examined learners' comprehension when engaged with elaborative processing strategies. In Experiment 1, we randomly assigned students to one of five elaborative processing conditions and addressed differences in learners' lower- and higher-order learning outcomes and ability to employ elaborative strategies. Findings…

Students learn new instructions well by building on relevant prior knowledge, as it affects how instructors and students interact with the learning materials. Moreover, studies have found that good prior knowledge can enable students to attain better learning motivation, comprehension, and performance. This suggests it is important to assist…

Typically, teachers use tests to evaluate students' knowledge acquisition. In a novel experimental study, we examined whether low-stakes testing ("quizzing") can be used to foster students' learning of course content in 8th grade science classes. Students received multiple-choice quizzes (with feedback); in the quizzes, some target…

IN FOUR STUDIES TO DETERMINE THE POSSIBILITY OF INCREASING CREATIVE BEHAVIOR BY MEANS OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES, THE AUTHORS COMPARED TREATMENT AND CONTROL GROUPS WITH RESPECT TO GAINS IN SCORES ON THE MINNESOTA TEST OF CREATIVE THINKING. IN THE FIRST STUDY, STUDENTS IN A CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING CLASS MADE SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER GAINS THAN THE…

STUDIES WERE DESIGNED TO DETERMINE WHETHER CREATIVITY CAN BE MEASURED AND TAUGHT. THE INVESTIGATORS DEFINED CREATIVITY IN EXPERIMENTAL TERMS, BASED ON SCORES OBTAINED BY MEASURING FOUR FACTORS--FLUENCY, FLEXIBILITY, ORIGINALITY, AND ELABORATION. FLUENCY IS THE FACILITY WITH WHICH IDEAS CAN BE GENERATED, FLEXIBILITY IS THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT…

TO DETERMINE WHETHER STUDENTS OF HIGH AND LOW ABILITY DIFFER IN CREATIVITY, STUDENTS IN GENERAL COLLEGE (GC) SPEECH AND LOGIC CLASSES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA WERE COMPARED WITH SPEECH AND LOGIC STUDENTS IN THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS (CLA). GC STUDENTS HAVE A MEAN IQ OF 105-110, AND AN AVERAGE HIGH SCHOOL RANK AT THE 25TH PERCENTILE WHILE…

This speech discusses performance contracting as educational research, notes some evaluation problems, and proposes solutions to these problems. The term performance contracting, according to the report, denotes an administrative rather than an instructional innovation. The author observes that the understanding of instruction and learning derived…

AMONG THE COURSES IN THE UPWARD BOUND PROJECT AT THE GENERAL COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, IS CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING. IT IS FELT THAT CREATIVITY TRAINING GIVES THE UNDERACHIEVER THE MOTIVATION AND SKILL TO SOLVE HIS OWN PROBLEMS BY SHOWING HIM THE PROCEDURES OF PROBLEM DEFINITION AND SOLUTION. SIXTY-THREE STUDENTS, OF AVERAGE ABILITY BUT…

This document contains the abridged proceedings of a workshop on the evaluation of ESEA Title I programs, which are designed to improve education for disadvantaged children. Thirty-nine participants from 24 States attended the workshop. The workshop's 14 papers and four discussion excerpts are organized under four main headings: (1) Title I…

A study was conducted to design a system of testing and interviewing which would bring into some relationship the personal characteristics of teacher education students and the external or setting demands made on public school teachers. The major purpose was to provide an opportunity for each student to examine his behavior in a safe and…

EIGHT ITEMS THE "GUILFORD-ZIMMERMAN TEMPERAMENT SURVEY" (E.G. , "YOU MAKE DECISIONS ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT") WERE DRAMATIZED AND FILMED IN TWO POLARIZED SITUATIONS, ONE DEPICTING A SPECIFIC SET OF BEHAVIOR TO SUPPORT AN AFFIRMATIVE RESPONSE TO THE TEST ITEM AND THE OTHER DEPICTING A NEGATIVE SPECIFIC. TWO ADDITIONAL…