Gateway science courses are an ongoing obstacle to recruitment into STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Students come into courses that have a high cognitive load, which makes success in the course challenging. Instructional design can be used to reduce cognitive load. The findings demonstrate that leveraging pre- and…

We designed and implemented a modified eight-week Direct Instruction (DI) program intended to teach a third grade student with learning disabilities to tell time. The first objective was to determine whether or not the appearance (interesting or boring) of the worksheet affected performance. These data suggested the use of large-scale clocks and…

The aim of the study was to examine the effect of a 4-week classroom physical activity break intervention on middle school students' health-related physical fitness. The study was a randomized controlled trial with students assigned to the experiment and control conditions. A convenience sample comprised 94 adolescents (experiment group n = 52;…

This study analyzed data from four evaluation designs incorporating the retrospective pretest (i.e., thentest), analyzing the effects of self-report pretesting and post-program survey format on a set of self-report measures. Validity of self-report data was assessed by comparing the criterion validity of then ratings to established benchmarks and…

The effects of a mathematical problem-solving intervention on students' problem-solving performance and math achievement were measured in a randomized control trial with 1,059 7th-grade students. The intervention, "Solve It!," is a research-based cognitive strategy instructional intervention that was shown to improve the problem-solving…

Interim assessments are increasingly common in U.S. schools. We use high-quality data from a large-scale school-level cluster randomized experiment to examine the impact of two well-known commercial interim assessment programs on mathematics and reading achievement in Indiana. Results indicate that the treatment effects are positive but not…

As part of an NSF funded project we developed new course materials for a general introductory statistics course designed to engage students in statistical discovery. The materials were designed to actively involve students in the design and implementation of data collection and the analysis and interpretation of the resulting data. Our overall…

The iPod digital music player has been available since late 2001, and even in higher education, its presence has been seen, although mostly in the hands of students and rarely for outcomes-based educational purposes. In 2004, Duke University provided free iPods to all 1,650 first year students, which subsequently enabled faculty to create learning…

An evaluation of a school-based drug education program was employed to examine the effect of administration of a preteaching questionnaire on responses. Found pretesting increased the amounts of alcohol reported consumed and reports of drunkenness and marijuana use. (Author)

An approach to teaching the mental status examination to sophomore medical students at the Wayne State University School of Medicine incorporates live simulations, a detailed handout, a pretest and post-test, and a short lecture and discussion. The data suggest significant post-test gains, but there were negative findings regarding the handout.…

The effects of continuing education programs on the knowledge of perinatal nurses were analyzed, using a pretest/post-test design. The hypothesis was confirmed that exposure to multiple continuing education programs is more effective than attendance at single, isolated programs. (MH)

Curriculum integration and working in teams are two key characteristics of middle schooling in Australia today. As part of a new primary/middle teacher education program an interdisciplinary team of academics has developed a course that aims to teach pre service teachers how to plan for and teach an integrated curriculum unit in an authentic…