Learning experience designers consistently balance the trade-off between open and close-ended activities. The growth and scalability of Computer Based Learning Platforms (CBLPs) have only magnified the importance of these design trade-offs. CBLPs often utilize close-ended activities (i.e. Multiple-Choice Questions [MCQs]) due to feasibility…

Laboratory studies have routinely demonstrated that testing often leads to greater learning and retention than repeated studying. In the classroom, this effect has been replicated with memory and application tasks. However, studies of classrooms involving mathematical problem solving are sparse and have had mixed results. This paper presents the…

Testing has become a part of the educational routine, and accountability has become linked with testing programs. In the wake of state-designed standards, and state-mandated high stakes tests that are used to assess individual student performance, as well as overall performance by a teacher, school, or district, educational professionals are…

Research on teaching has begun to concentrate on "product" or student outcomes. Three instructional techniques are important in the analysis of student outcomes: (1) academic learning time, (2) direct instruction, and (3) mastery learning. The author explores the merits of each, reviewing both critics' and advocates' positions. (MD)