Defining the museum as a learning environment, this book analyzes devices that can be used to make the experience more meaningful for visitors in existing and new exhibits. Although the typical museum audience is heterogeneous and voluntary with no particular instructional objectives on which to base museum exploration, instructional technology…

This document reports on the Family Education Project, an educational program operated at the State University of New York's Urban Center in Brooklyn, New York. A total of 43 families made up of 67 adults and 181 children were secured from the Bedford Stuyvesant Youth-In-Action Head Start Program to participate in the project. These families were…

Foreign summer language programs offer many advantages to students, but students may only receive superficial contact with the host culture and language and may be motivated only by their wish to have a memorable experience abroad. Suggestions are presented to ensure academic validity of such programs in the areas of motivation, academic credit,…

Two programs were designed at Millersville University (Pennsylvania) to stimulate interest in science and mathematics: (1) academically talented students from grades 4-11 attend science lectures/demonstrations and participate in a science knowledge competition, and (2) secondary teachers and students in grades 8-11 participate in hands-on…

Six computer programs were used for English as a foreign language classes at Sana's University (Yemen) to stimulate whole-class activities (as opposed to small group or individualized activities commonly associated with use of computers). The software, involving spelling, repetition, spoken discourse, games, and map work, was merged into more…

Suggests that learning comes about by recognizing anomalies, experiencing doubt, and making subsequent changes, and uses a study undertaken in a classroom for learning disabled students to illustrate. (JC)

Describes learning systems developed at TVOntario, a public educational television network in Canada that provides services in both English and French. Results of evaluations of four distance education courses are reported, including formative and summative evaluation procedures, learner demographics, motivation for enrollment, use of the system…

Presents a case study of the library media program at Old High Elementary School, Bentonville, Arkansas, which uses production of audiovisual materials to build extrinsic motivation into reading programs for grades five and six and special education classes. Five measurement techniques used to evaluate the program's effectiveness are also…

The importance of attudinal and motivational dispositions and of external influences on the academic achievement of students completing the final year of secondary schooling in three Australian states is examined. A model of academic achievement is proposed, and step-wise multiple regression is used to analyze the data. (Author/MLW)

Reports on a study of the effectiveness of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in the acquisition of English as a second language by Arabic- and Spanish-speaking students in an intensive program. Examines two student variables--time spent using CALL lessons and attitude toward them--as well as four cognitive/affective characteristics.…

In this overview of his research in personality theory, Cattell describes the play of people, situations, and, ideas enacted over 30 years in his University of Illinois laboratory. Establishing meaningful empirical measurement methods was the foundation for further research into many aspects of personality development. (BS)

This study of two fifth grade classes investigated students' reports of attention, understanding, cognitive processes and affect during a nine-day mathematics unit on measurement. These self-reports appeared more valid indicators of classroom learning than observed time on task. Student affect mediated the relationship between instructional…

Instructional leaders need a wide range of skills and talents to be effective in today's schools and this resource will provide a variety of practical strategies and tools for efficiently handling all the details in order to increase productivity. This text highlights techniques, skills, and strategies related to Organization, Communication, and…

In the 1900s, distance education attempted to mimic the traditional classroom lecture via the transmission of live or "canned" broadcasts, regardless of the technologies used: satellite, television, film, or radio. These kinds of media predisposed distance education (DE) to closely adhere to the lecture (sit and absorb) model, where…

This book is a guide to reclaiming students' passionate engagement in learning. It uses stories from classrooms; the voices of teachers, parents, and students; and practical suggestions to advocate a view of curriculum as a web of relationships. There are 16 chapters in four parts. Part 1, "The Promise of Passionate Learning," includes…