The study compared two approaches to content area instruction with intermediate grade learning disabled students (N=24). One treatment presented information using an advance organizer in the form of a visual spatial display, the other via text. Results indicated significant positive effects for the group taught with visual displays. (Author/JW)

Bring text and its meaning alive for students! This collection offers the perspectives of classroom teachers, researchers, and children's book authors, including award-winners Kate DiCamillo and Katherine Paterson. Together, they share their thoughts on the power of character study and how to use it to guide elementary-and middle-grade students…

Teachers participating in an educational interactive video program were surveyed each year for four semesters. The survey instrument contained 31 five-point Likert-type questions, with questions concerning specific comparisons between interactive video and traditional teaching methods, and open-ended questions. A total of 74 teachers responded…

Improving the quality of education is a constant concern of national policy-makers. Evaluation of the education offered pupils is one of the means by which this aim may be achieved. Such evaluation may assume several forms depending on the components subject to investigation, whether they be the processes activated by teachers, the tasks assumed…

Describes a slide presentation program for French students at the elementary and intermediate levels, and offers technical and pedagogical advice on using the slide show to assist in the teaching of linguistic and cultural information. (AM)

Flowcharts have proved to be a useful technique for structuring dialogues in the ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom. They can chart a transactional relationship between two people, staring at the first linguistic encounter, providing alternatives to what happens next while proceeding to the end of the encounter. (CFM)

Asserts that high school student research assignments in history and social studies often yield disappointing results with limited summaries of facts and a loose array of opinions. Argues that graphic organizers can help students with historical inquiry and result in improved thinking skills, more sophisticated conclusions, and better decision…

Investigates the impact created by the use of videoconferencing technology in a large MIS class where, traditionally, lecture had been used. Even though 85% of the students who participated in the classes were non-MIS majors, students in the videoconferencing section perceived it to be more useful, challenging, attractive, and clear compared to…

Study (35 international students) of the effects of graphics within a computer-assisted instructional program about the rules of American football. Subjects receiving lessons with supplemental graphics received higher post-test scores, completed the test in less time, and reported higher motivation with computer-assisted instruction than those…

Poster presentations are one way scientists present their latest research findings at professional meetings. This format also works well in the classroom and gives students the opportunity to communicate the results of their experiments (perhaps the most critical portion of their studies). In a performance-based task such as a poster session,…

System theory, which attests that any change in one component of a system will change other components, is fundamental to the communication discipline. Students are often provided with verbal metaphors (e.g., the machine metaphor) when learning about this theory but many times are not shown its complexity in an engaging manner. Additionally,…

Advanced approaches to the construction of software systems can present difficulties to learners. This is true for multi-agent systems (MAS) which exhibit concurrency, non-determinacy of structure and composition and sometimes emergent behavior characteristics. Additional barriers exist for learners because mainstream MAS technology is young and…

Recently, the authors engaged in a collaborative inquiry with a sixth grade science class to explore mind mapping, a graphic organizer that can be used to generate ideas, take notes, develop concepts and ideas, and improve memory (Buzan 1979). With a very limited body of research available on how to best use mind maps in the classroom, the authors…

Celtic throwing games were initially designed to test an individual's level of strength, which sounds like an activity for those students who possess incredible strength. However, Celtic throwing games can be modified to meet the diverse educational needs of one's entire class. This article provides guidelines for developing and implementing a…

The Association of Small Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) is a dynamic organization for people interested in small college technology issues. Its members include information technology professionals, instructional technologists, and faculty members from all over the world who use computers and technology to support teaching and learning. The…