The most commonly used method to test an indirect effect is to divide the estimate of the indirect effect by its standard error and compare the resulting z statistic with a critical value from the standard normal distribution. Confidence limits for the indirect effect are also typically based on critical values from the standard normal…

In spite of the name, simple linear regression presents a number of conceptual difficulties, particularly for introductory students. This article describes a simulation tool that provides a hands-on method for illuminating the relationship between parameters and sample statistics.

Current models of psychological development rely heavily on connectionist models that use supervised learning. These models adapt network weights when the network output does not match the target outputs computed by some agent. The authors present a model of motor learning in which the child uses exploration to discover appropriate ways of…

Kuhn underlined the relevance of Galileo's gestalt switch in the interpretation of a swinging body from constrained fall to time metre. But the new interpretation did not eliminate the older one. The constrained fall, both in the motion of pendulums and along inclined planes, led Galileo to the law of free fall. Experimenting with physical…

This paper describes some simple simulation models of vocabulary attrition. The attrition process is modelled using a random autonomous Boolean network model, and some parallels with real attrition data are drawn. The paper argues that applying a complex systems approach to attrition can provide some important insights, which suggest that real…

The multiple segment factorial vignette design (MSFV) combines elements of experimental designs and probability sampling with the inductive, exploratory approach of qualitative research. MSFVs allow researchers to investigate topics that may be hard to study because of ethical or logistical concerns. Participants are presented with short stories…

This paper presents a new hierarchical classes model, called Tucker2-HICLAS, for binary three-way three-mode data. As any three-way hierarchical classes model, the Tucker2-HICLAS model includes a representation of the association relation among the three modes and a hierarchical classification of the elements of each mode. A distinctive feature of…

This article presents SERIF, a new model of eye movement control in reading that integrates an established stochastic model of saccade latencies (LATER; R. H. S. Carpenter, 1981) with a fundamental anatomical constraint on reading: the vertically split fovea and the initial projection of information in either visual field to the contralateral…

This paper describes a dynamic computer-based business learning environment and the results from applying it in a real-world business organization. We argue for using learning tools, which not only provide realistic and complex models of reality, but are also are authentic, facilitate continuous problem solving and meaningful learning, and embed…

Have humans been cloned? Is it possible? Immediate interest is sparked when students are asked these questions. In response to their curiosity, the clone factory activity was developed to help them understand the process of cloning. In this activity, students reenact the cloning process, in a very simplified simulation. After completing the…

A spreadsheet simulation of a modern particle detector has been developed and can be readily used as an instructional tool in the physics classroom. The spreadsheet creates a three-dimensional model that can be rotated and helical trajectories can be highlighted. An associated student worksheet is also presented.

Evidence-centered assessment design (ECD) provides language, concepts, and knowledge representations for designing and delivering educational assessments, all organized around the evidentiary argument an assessment is meant to embody. This article describes ECD in terms of layers for analyzing domains, laying out arguments, creating schemas for…

Background: Researchers often test people before and after some treatment and compare these scores with a control group. Sometimes it is not possible to allocate people into conditions randomly, which means the initial scores for the two groups may differ. There are two main approaches: t test on the gain scores and ANCOVA partialling out the…

A Department of Defense (DoD) M&S education task force is in the process of studying the Modeling and Simulation (M&S) education of the acquisition workforce. Historically, DoD acquisition workforce education is not referred to as education, but rather what the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) refers to as "practitioner training, career…

An extensive research literature in education and psychology demonstrates positive effects of perspective-taking on various forms of learning. Until recently, perspective-taking has been limited to the mental simulation of how someone with different beliefs, knowledge, physical location, etc., perceives an object or event. Over the last decade…