This article presents conceptual and empirical analyses of several of the "best practices" of learning and instruction, and demonstrates how violent video games use them effectively to motivate learners to persevere in acquiring and mastering a number of skills, to navigate through complex problems and changing environments, and to experiment with…

This paper describes the first part of a new three-part study of STEM and engineering design research termed Design-Without-Make to be conducted by NC [North Carolina] State University in 2009-10 in an NC high school. The hybrid quantitative, qualitative case study is being developed with the purpose of capturing what new technological learning…

This work compares the results of three assessment systems used in two Spanish universities (the "Universidad Politecnica de Madrid" and the "Universidad Catolica de Avila"): the traditional system based on final examinations, continuous assessment with periodic tests and a proposed system (specially designed for heterogeneous…

Teaching is a complex endeavour that requires teachers to meld knowledge about the nature of learners, pedagogical strategies and discipline content. In recent years an increasing variety of educational technologies are finding their way into the school classroom, including the widespread acceptance of interactive whiteboards (IWBs). The emerging…

This handbook is designed as a quick reference for first-year teachers who find themselves in an assessment driven environment with little experience to help make sense of the language, underlying philosophy, or organizational structure of the assessment system. The handbook begins with advice on developing and evaluating effective learning…

The product of a professional workshop, 10 papers discuss brain damage. An introduction to clinical neuropsychology is presented by H. Carl Haywood. A section on neurological foundations includes papers on the organization of the central nervous system by Jack T. Tapp and Lance L. Simpson, on epilepsy by Angela T. Folsom, and on organic language…

Two studies of the effects of "Sesame Street" are presented. In the first case, the study tested two hypotheses: (1) "Sesame Street" can prepare poverty children for first grade; and (2) "Sesame Street" can narrow the achievement gap between the poor and the middle-class child. Twenty-four pairs of poverty children…

Presents a brief discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of using a personalized interview format to administer quizzes in an introductory physics course for nonmajors. (PEB)

Analyzes briefly the results of a questionnaire distributed to secondary English teachers in Ghana, Nigeria, and Ethiopia, concerning the use of objective tests, their effects on teaching, and teacher attitudes toward them. School leaving certificate examinations in these countries are closely linked to employment opportunities. (MSE)

Science is often referred to, particularly in curriculum documents, as one way of knowing, one way of describing, classifying, and understanding our universe. For students to become scientifically literate, they need "to engage in the discourses … about science" (Eastwell, 2002), so developing an understanding of the nature of science…

The authors suggest that how a child learns is as important as what he learns. The school psychologist can help determine the most suitable methods of teaching for those students who are having difficulty learning, and pupil instruction can then be individualized. (HMV)

The hypothesis that lessons which demand student involvement through leading a short discussion of required reading would result in greater attitude change in a liberal direction than would lessons taught by the lecture/discussion method was tested. Using members of four sections of a university course in communication, three sections received…

Three new teaching techniques, using established principles of learning, were combined to teach an introductory digital computer course to college students. The techniques were: 1) programed instruction; 2) Fields-type teaching tests, "a discrimination method to teach concepts by modifying the examination procedure to emphasize similarities…

The concept of Delphi technique was presented in a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) module designed for educational administration classes or inservice training of administrators. Instructional Dialogue Facility (IDF) Author Language on a 2000F Hewlett-Packard time-sharing system was used to write the sequence. Instructional objectives,…