The field independent/field dependent tendencies of one-hundred and forty-three (143) Mexican American pupils in two rural, South Texas high schools was assessed. Teachers were given training in the educational implications of cognitive style on the learning process, and training to operate a classroom model designed to accommodate a specific…

Among the factors least likely to be given due consideration, especially in computer assisted instruction, are student variables. Some reasons which might have hindered research activities involving student, and possibly teacher, cognitive mapping behaviors, learning styles, and media preferences as variables in experimentation are summarized: a…

The structure of a computer assisted instruction (CAI) system designed to teach various straight-talk production skills, which are primarily defined in terms of syntactic features, is described. Project Straight Talk (PST) uses the terms "straight" talk and "everyday" talk to refer, respectively, to standard and non-standard dialects. PST teaches…

This report intended for use by instructors describes research in curriculum design for computer-assisted instruction. The issues and difficulties involved in courseware development are discussed, with particular emphasis on the problems of current "generative" techniques. The Curriculum Information Network (CIN), as used in the BASIC…

Using the instructional development tasks involved in the Dental Auxiliary Education Project of the state of Washington to illustrate its points, this paper discusses how different levels of decision-making affect the design of instructional products. Four specific levels are considered in relation to the major design problems encountered in…

It is argued that students find it difficult to reap the full potential of television case study programs, and find it particularly difficult to integrate this material with the material contained in correspondence texts. The difficulties could be explained by examining more closely the various dimensions of a television case study:…

The keynote address, given by Michael Allen, characterized the association as a group of devoted humanitarians who are committed to finding realistic educational and training alternatives. He discussed the potential role of computer-based education specialists in meeting general and specific instructional needs. Included in the proceedings are 59…

The National Institute of Education (NIE) should consider the following observations when implementing curriculum development projects: (1) NIE should support curriculum development in the areas of national need, but more effort should be directed to improving existing instructional materials; (2) NIE-supported materials have not been widely…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between student conceptual level and attitudes toward four methods course components: theory, content, method, and experience working with children. Research findings have indicated that a match between student conceptual level and course instructional mode result in significant…

The strong potential of videodisc technology for improving the education of the hearing impaired is described in this report on the Media Development Project for the Hearing Impaired (MDPHI) at the University of Nebraska. The topics covered include: (1) the history of the use of technology in deaf education; (2) the history of videodiscs and their…

The instructional package described here is intended to help teachers improve their ability to design effective classroom instruction. The inservice topics covered include techniques of writing behavioral objectives and criterion tests, analyzing content in terms of stimulus and response, and validation processing. This descriptive report provides…

Five American Educational Research Association symposium papers (1979) are provided. "The Program Analysis Phase of Instructional Systems Design: Details of Phase II" (E. Curtis) describes the program analysis subsystem within the context of a systematic approach to instructional design, and reviews the process of carrying out such an…

In discussing word recognition, Kenneth Goodman argues that preoccupation with words, leters, and sounds cuts off children from the meaning-seeking function of reading; that oral and written language are parallel modes of obtaining meaning from language; and that reading is a selective rather than a precise process of word perception. A review of…

This final report reviews research performed in two major areas--instructional theory, and development of a generalized maintenance trainer simulator. Five related research projects were carried out in the domain of instructional theory: (1) the effects of visual analogies of abstract concepts, (2) Markov decision models for instructional sequence…

A gap exists between new knowledge in education and change in practice; it calls for trained personnel to link the activities of school staffs and social scientists. Thus the objective of this special project is to improve methods of training change agents to improve classroom and school management practices. The 1966 programs involved 2 groups:…