Instructors are increasingly using interactive student response systems (SRS) to foster active learning and deepen student understanding in statistics education. Yet most studies focus on either the benefits of SRS or on how "students" can receive and use feedback, rather than on how "instructors" can use formative assessment…

This article argues that a principal's actions can create site-based conditions that can grow a staff's capacity to improve instruction, depending on how a principal conceives of, organizes, and structures learning opportunities for teachers. The article analyzes the leadership of one principal as an example of how leaders can develop…

The lesson study model of professional development that originated in Japan is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. At its core, lesson study is a means of bringing teachers together to carry out the process of planning a lesson, implementing and observing it, and then examining it during a debriefing session. The debriefing…

This article describes how two instructors used assessment data to improve an undergraduate course, Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom. This entailed revising the core assignment for the course--the creation of a thematic unit of instruction--and developing a scoring guide to assess teacher candidates' performance. Data collected…

Describes a new method designed to identify defects in existing instructional programs so that ineffective parts may be repaired, and poor programs may be replaced with better ones. Four references are listed. (MER)

This review of the state of educational evaluation, which is directed to both those who produce and those who consume evaluation data, suggests that certain prevalent evaluation practices are seriously out of step with, and inappropriate for, current mainstream instructional activity. Evaluation is recommended as not merely an appendage to…

This manual is designed to provide the developer with information which, when considered during the developmental phase of a project, will help ensure that the product will be in an appropriate form for effective dissemination or market distribution. The initial phase involves defining the purpose of the project, conducting market research,…

Over the past several years, education reformers have increasingly invested in the development of communities within schools as a central strategy to improve teaching and student learning. These communities come in various guises, including small schools, small learning communities, and teacher teams. Two assumptions about how these communities…

Recent advancements in computer and Internet technologies enable universities to implement cost-effective Web-Based Instruction (WBI) and to provide open learning environments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While more and more WBI courses are continually being developed, little attention is being paid to effective, systemic, and systematic WBI…

This article addresses the problem of ascertaining the most suitable learning environment for learning diagnostic skills in health education--specifically diagnostic reasoning and the selection of therapy--through the design, development, and evaluation of a videodisc program. It describes the design, development, and formative evaluation of a…

The purpose of this study was to assist an instructor in facilitating an online course while the class was being offered, and to provide timely interventions for improving the course during the semester. A formative approach was used to help deal with unforeseen issues in implementing the first online course this instructor had offered. Through…

This study evolved as an instructor took over a course that recently had been converted to a web-based course. While navigating the web-based course the instructor and students recognised several issues and concerns (instructional alignment, lack of interactivity, poorly designed test questions and confusing instructions for assignments). Study…