This longitudinal study explored change in teachers' knowledge of subjects they teach from preservice training through 17 years of professional experience. It followed secondary school science teachers in Australia, through sequences of individual interviews in which change in content knowledge (mainly energy-related) was probed primarily via…

In this study, the authors conducted a mixed analysis of student perceptions of their best high school teachers. The sample of 257 preservice teachers from a College of Education in California described their best high school teacher. From their descriptions, qualitative analysis through the method of constant comparison yielded eight themes:…

Recent developments in cognitive psychology suggest models for knowledge and learning that often fall outside the realm of standard test theory. This paper concerns probability-based inference in terms of such models. The essential idea is to define a space of "student models"--simplified characterizations of students' knowledge, skill,…

Applied research is supposed to take the perspective with the highest degree of corroboration as a basis for action. The realm of organizational perspectives is characterized, however, with a multitude of competing research programs, seldom tested against each other. Epistemological and methodological issues overwhelm inquiry in applied research.…

Educational psychology has indicated that prior knowledge is a potentially important educational variable. Recent and earlier research in educational psychology has shown that 30 to 60% of the variance in study results could be explained by this variable. Insight into these factors should influence the return on education. A common theoretical…

From the view of schema-transfer theory, the use of schemata with their several functions gives an explanation for the facilitative effect of prior knowledge on learning processes. This report gives a theoretical exploration of the concept of schemata, underlying schema theories, and functions of schemata to indicate the importance of schema…

The design of vocabulary tests, particularly for English as a Second Language, is discussed. The discussion is intended to help language teachers with little or no knowledge of testing gain a better understanding of vocabulary testing. First, a set of principles for guiding the writing of vocabulary tests are outlined, presented in the form of…

The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation has commissioned studies of state academic standards in five core subjects. This is the fourth of these studies, focusing on state standards for mathematics. For this evaluation of mathematics standards, researchers developed nine criteria under the four areas of: clarity, content, reason, and negative qualities.…

Preventing the spread of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among sexually active adolescents and adults has become a primary social concern. This study was designed to investigate the following areas relevant to safer and unsafe sexual behavior among college students: knowledge and practice; personal risk assessment; and risk…

Human sexuality programs or sex education programs have been a controversial issue for many years. This study assessed the effectiveness of human sexuality programs within Catholic secondary schools. This study investigated the effects of comprehensive or non-comprehensive sexuality programs upon students positive sexual attitudes, awareness of…

This study, which examined children's understanding of machines, focused on how children decide which objects are machines and which are not, and how they group machines as similar or different. Brainstorming sessions involving two groups of four kindergarten children and one class each from the second, fourth, and fifth grade, were conducted.…

Selected cognitive science methods were used to modify existing test development procedures so that the modified procedures could in turn be used to improve the usefulness of job knowledge tests as a proxy for hands-on performance. A plan-goal graph representation was used to capture the knowledge content and goal structure of the task of using a…

In 1989, the Colorado Department of Education, in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control, administered the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome/Human Immunodeficiency Virus (AIDS/HIV) Student Survey to randomly selected Colorado students (1,851), excluding the Denver Public Schools, grades 9-12. The sample was fairly equally divided by…

The paper reports on interviews with three profoundly deaf, college educated young men who are moderately to very politically active in the deaf community. Responses are grouped into the following categories: political issues; barriers to political participation; and personal perspectives on the attitudes of deaf people. Among issues and needs of…

In response to public health concerns and the adverse health consequences of alcohol abuse, a national sample of junior and senior high school (7th through 12th grade) students (N=956) was surveyed to determine their knowledge about alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages from stores close to each school were…