The effectiveness of problem-solving instruction in promoting high school students' acquisition, retention, and structuring of economics knowledge was studied through six economics classes. The problem-solving instruction model was developed based on problem-based learning in medical education, following similar work by H. S. Barrows and R. M.…

The 36 tests cited in this bibliography are used to assess knowledge of the physical environment and various environmental issues. There are achievement tests for students in elementary and secondary grades. Some of the tests are course or curriculum related. Also included are measures for all ages which relate to individuals' interests and…

Science assessment has been included with mathematics and language assessment on the international level since the 1970s. This paper discusses techniques of assessment that have been utilized to measure science process skills. The first section discusses the Assessment Performance Unit, a British project with the aim of developing innovative…

A comparison was made of student understandings of marine science and marine resource concepts in two geographically distant but similar sociocultural regions of the United States. The study is based on the nature of ecological events, students' understanding in the context of meaningful learning, and the cultural context in which learning takes…

This study examined selected characteristics and behaviors among fifth grade pupils who ranged in age from 11 to 12 years. The sample (N=975) constituted the entire fifth grade population of a moderate-sized city 45 miles from Atlanta, Georgia. The sample consisted of 160 black students and 815 white students, with 511 boys and 464 girls. A…

Maps or graphical browsers of structural knowledge allow the user of a hypertext system to navigate from node to node through the structure as they portray the links between concepts spatially. This study examined the results of using two different graphical browsers that provide different amounts of information about the structure of the…

This study was conducted in order to determine the kinds of knowledge third grade teachers need to teach an effective unit and to determine the relationship between content knowledge and classroom performance. The research focused on the subject matter areas in which three student teachers believed they were most and least confident. Data for this…

The work of the National Research Center on Student Learning (CSL) is described. The CSL, one of 23 national centers funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, is an integral part of the Learning Research and Development Center of the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania). The CSL conducts interdisciplinary research that…

The purposes of this study are to compare school and non-school acquisition of knowledge as perceived by Australian and American elementary school children, and to determine if children acquire more knowledge about their own country than foreign children do. A total of 156 American 5th and 6th graders and 100 Australian 6th and 7th year students…

A professional development model is proposed that is based on learning outcomes derived from Bloom's Taxonomy of Intellectual Inquiry. Professional development is depicted as a sequence of learning components: (1) broadened knowledge and comprehension; (2) improved application of that knowledge; and (3) an analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of…

The state and status of educational knowledge can be vastly improved in two ways: by looking beyond classroom settings for potential applications, and by broadening the vision of the usefulness of educational knowledge to include other professional fields requiring the skills and knowledge fundamental in education. A changed conception of what…

Characteristics of graduate teaching were identified, based on interviews with 18 graduate faculty members at the University of North Dakota (UND). Respondents identified the following essential characteristics of graduate education: the faculty member's knowledge of the subject, objectives of graduate-level programs, the teacher's role, graduate…

This digest summarizes the results of the latest annual survey of state teacher testing programs. State directors of teacher testing programs were contacted in the summer of 1989 and asked to update the data compiled by the American Institutes for Research in 1988. Data indicate that: (1) states commonly use admission tests for applicants to…

Public school districts vary widely in the extent to which they are aware of, receive, and use research and development (R&D) resources produced by four major programs within the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). A 95 percent response rate to a survey sent to a probability sample of 1,093…

The job relevance of the National Board for Certified Counselors Examination (NBCCE) was studied through a survey of professional counselors. The results of this study are presented. The NBCCE testing program, the composition and organization of the NBCCE, and the frequency with which the NBCCE is administered are described. The NBCCE is part of a…