In order to provide an on-demand, open electrical engineering laboratory, we developed an innovative software-based Virtual Open Laboratory Teaching Assistant (VOLTA). This web-based virtual assistant provides laboratory instructions, equipment usage videos, circuit simulation assistance, and hardware implementation diagnostics. VOLTA allows…

This article presents a method to evaluate pretest effects on posttest scores in the absence of an un-pretested control group using published results of pretesting effects due to Willson and Putnam. Confidence intervals around the expected theoretical gain due to pretesting are computed, and observed gains or differential gains are compared with…

Described is a study designed to test on a scientific basis the effectiveness of Dr. Francis Christensen's program for teaching composition. (RY)

THREE GROUPS OF DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN WERE ESTABLISHED IN ORDER TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT ON ACHIEVEMENT OF PROVIDING SOME CHILDREN WITH A PRESCHOOL PROGRAM AND SOME CHILDREN WITH NO SUCH PROGRAM. AN EXPERIMENTAL GROUP OF HEAD START CHILDREN WERE MATCHED ACCORDING TO SEX, RACE, GENERAL LEVEL OF INTELLIGENCE, AND PARENT'S OCCUPATIONAL LEVEL WITH A…

The pretest-posttest design referred to as Design 2 by Campbell and Stanley (1963) is commonly used in educational research and evaluation. The tenability of the assumption of a zero population difference commonly used with this design is questioned. A nonzero population estimate based on the mean difference observed in test-retest reliability…

The biasing effects of a pretest on subsequent post-test results were investigated in two experimental studies. In general, the results argue for using designs without pretests. (Author/JKS)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of visual perceptual training on word recognition and reading achievement of disadvantaged first grade pupils. The experimental groups received the Frostig Program for the Development of Visual Perception in addition to the regular readiness program for a period of 12 weeks. The control…

A research project was conducted to study the effects of an 8-week prekindergarten enrichment program and of two 15-month preschool enrichment programs. Pretest and posttest scores of experimental and control kindergarten children (a sample of 100 out of 1,000 subjects) showed that both groups made significant gains in all ability categories o f…

A 2-MONTH BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM TESTED WHETHER A TOKEN REINFORCEMENT MIGHT BE AN EFFECTIVE INCENTIVE TO STIMULATE A DESIRED EDUCATIONAL BEHAVIOR. THE SUBJECTS (SS) WERE TWO MATCHED GROUPS OF FIVE 16- TO 21-YEAR-OLD GIRLS WHO WERE SCHOOL DROPOUTS EMPLOYED IN A NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH CORPS (NYC) PROGRAM. A CLASSROOM GROUP WAS GIVEN A BASIC EDUCATION…

The evaluation design, which prescribes when and from whom to gather data, is described as significant because it can lend credibility to evaluation results. The objectives of this booklet are to aid the evaluator in: choosing a design; putting it into operation; and analyzing and reporting the data. Examples include both formative and summative…

A study was conducted to determine if the observed changes in Head Start children were related to the practice effects inherent in a test-retest situation. The "control" group consisted of 64 children who had been eligible for a Head Start program. They roughly matched a group of Head Start (HS) children in IQ scores, age, and…

Hypothesizing that students who were given the opportunity to choose their learning activities in a residential outdoor education school (Stone Valley, Pennsylvania) would more readily attain the behavioral objectives of those activities, 68 fifth grade students participating in a four-day residential outdoor education program were divided into a…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the ef"ects of direct-detailed and directed discovery laboratory methods on selected behavior characteristics of college students during a 3-week period. The 120 students wer" enrolled in three sections of an electricity course under three teachers. During the first 3 weeks of the experiment, 20 students…

The experimental pilot project was conducted to determine whether students who take the laboratory phase of an engineering technology applied electricity course in a mobile laboratory at branch schools demonstrate proficiency comparable to students who take the applied electricity course in permanent facilities at the parent institution. The…

A parent training model utilizing rural Utah (Box Elder County) parents whose children had been identified by their teachers as among the lowest three in their classes in reading or mathematics performance examined the academic performance of 150 students in grades 2-6 derived from 9 elementary schools (5 schools in the treatment group and 4 in…