The primary measure used to determine relative effectiveness of in-class activities has been student performance on pre/posttests. However, in today's active-learning classrooms, learning is a social activity, requiring students to interact and learn from their peers. To develop effective active-learning exercises that engage students, it is…

Educational technology continues to expand with multi-user virtual environments (e.g., Second Life™) being the latest technology. Understanding a virtual environment's usability can enhance educational planning and effective use. Usability includes the interaction quality between an individual and the item being assessed. The purpose was to assess…

The author examines preservice teacher attitudes toward educational evaluation in six areas and measures gains in the value assigned to these areas after a required educational measurement and evaluation course. (MJB)

Describing results of a field-based program for an entry level course in teacher education, this article indicates six of seven teacher education classes made gains (measured via pre- and post-testing with the Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory) at the .001 level and one class made gains at the .05 level. (JC)

The purpose of this Title III study was to compare the achievement and attitudes of ninth-grade algebra students who used programed texts with those of students who used conventional texts when the students were given a choice of varying degrees of classroom contact with the teacher. Following pre-unit tests of achievement and of attitudes toward…

A computer-based test administration and monitoring system developed at the University of Delaware is described. Using six terminals connected to a Burroughs B-6700 computer, the system provides numerous capabilities for interactive testing and evaluation of students' course learning, while also providing statistical data to faculty in a variety…

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…

Can an effective approach to art education be developed that will not only reach a majority of our students, but will also be practical in terms of existing human and material resources? A study was undertaken to develop and evaluate a series of self-instructional, programed art sequences for the upper elementary through high school levels. Six…

Eighty-five students in education courses at the University of Indiana participated in a study to determine the potential effects of instructional games in changing players' attitudes. The game selected was intended to make players more positive in their attitude toward the use of instructional games. Each player (1) was asked to predict the…

A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF ADAPTING FOR USE IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS OF AMERICA THE MUSIC TEACHING TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED BY THE GERMAN COMPOSER AND TEACHER, CARL ORFF. THE POPULATION OF AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WAS EMPLOYED IN THE STUDY. FIFTEEN STUDENTS FROM EACH CLASSROOM (TOTALING 180 STUDENTS) WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED FOR…

Investigating the effect of a resident outdoor experience on the attitudes of 300 sixth grade students exposed to two different teaching methods, students from the Brownsville School District in Pennsylvania were randomly assigned to a week-long camp experience. Teachers in the control group (N=3) were given 20 hours of training in outdoor…

In the second year of a study to compare and evaluate programed and conventional instruction in algebra for the ninth and tenth grades, comparisons of the control and experimental groups in each grade were again based on scores from the Lankton First-Year Algebra Test and the California Study Methods Survey (CSMS). Although there was a…

Ninth and tenth grade students from two schools were placed in experimental and conventional instruction classes to compare the two methods in teaching algebra by means of achievement test and time needed to complete the course. Pre- and posttests measured aptitude; teachers and students in the experimental groups recorded personal reactions to…

The Tennessee Self Concept Scale was used to study the effect of outdoor adventure activities on the self concept of university students. Related studies have found significant changes in self concept following survival training and Outward Bound experiences. The study population consisted of 99 students enrolled in 1 of 4 classes at Eastern…