This review of ideas from cognitive and educational psychology that are related to the problem of how to teach non-programmers to use computers explores two techniques. The first one discussed is the effects of concrete models on people's understanding and learning of new technical information such as computer programming. Research results provide…

The school personnel program described here is designed to provide users with a basic, yet comprehensive understanding of computers--their concepts, functions, and their applicability to today's education. It is intended for teachers, school administrators, curriculum specialists, and undergraduate education majors who wish to acquire computer…

Consideration is given to a computer technology approach for studying and developing the best utilization pattern for any complex of academic facilities. The approach basically involves simulating a variety of possible class schedules and then decisively implementing the one schedule that best approximates the existing standard for utilization and…

A computer-assisted course on programing, consisting of a set of 50 lessons, was developed for and is now being used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) personnel. The course is intended for students at about the junior college level with no experience in mathematics beyond high school algebra and with no previous introduction…

Students learned to plan and write complex computer programs by writing a program for playing NIM, a game in which two players alternatively remove one, two, or three sticks from an original pile of 21, with the player taking the last one being the winner. The primary teaching purpose was to develop the idea that a final goal--i.e., winning--could…

This is the first of three parts of a report that evaluates the present state of development of microcomputer and video-disc technologies as they relate to education. (MN)

Discusses a study which focused on students' actual programming behavior. Descriptive data revealed that the high school students spent little time in planning their programs or writing their code. Their debugging behavior was characterized as a trial and error strategy. (ML)

Discusses the nature and current state of knowledge-based systems and expert systems. Describes an expert system from the viewpoints of a computer programmer and an applications expert. Addresses concerns related to materials selection and forecasts future developments in the teaching of materials engineering. (ML)

Discusses the nature and development of computer software. Programing, programing languages, types of software (including dynamic spreadsheets), and software of the future are among the topics considered. (JN)

Discusses whether and how computer programing courses can teach problem solving. Provides results of an integrated set of studies of middle school programing students whose problem solving skills increased in a programing class. Argues that "exemplary" instruction is more efficient than "typical" instruction. Examines the influence of students'…

Convinced that computer technology could be used to extend (rather than challenge) traditional academic disciplines, a liberal arts college devoted substantial resources to instituting a campus-wide computer literacy program. Major emphasis was given to encouraging participation of non-science faculty and adapting computers to the curriculum. (JN)

Describes an easily constructed, small laboratory computer that can be programed in BASIC. The computer is easy to use with analog to digital and digital to analog converters so that it can serve as a control or data logging computer. (Author/JN)

Presented is an annotated bibliography of the best of recent children's books (both fiction and nonfiction) about computers. Books for elementary, junior high, and senior high school levels are included. (JN)

The centers referred to are in Scotland. (MM)