Describes study that investigated the effect of learning Logo on middle school students' understanding of specific mathematical concepts and on their level of cognitive development. Treatments for the experimental and control groups are outlined, hypotheses tested are explained, and pretests and posttests are described. (22 references) (Author/LRW)

Discussion of the benefits of allowing programers to use their own words in programing focuses on a study of graduate students that tested whether an experimental group who specified their own operation codes performed better than a control group who used fixed codes. The results of regression analyses are discussed, and future research needs are…

Presents an inquiry unit of study focusing on the question of rights of smokers and nonsmokers as it may be acted out in a court of law. Includes two phases of data collection, beginning with a springboard scenario and incorporating a simulation during the hypothesis testing stage of the inquiry. References are provided. (LS)

Studies the language proficiency of the Turkish returnees from Germany who were either born in Germany or emigrated there with their parents at a young age. Results indicate that returnees have a deficit in cognitive academic language proficiency compared to control groups and that a correlation exists between language proficiency in Turkish,…

Reports on an investigation into the reading proficiency of primary school children in two African countries and tests two hypotheses regarding the relative reading ability of the children in these countries. Test results reveal statistically significant differences in favor of Malawi for reading proficiency in the first language and no…

This study examined scientific problem finding behavior in 40 gifted rising sixth graders participating in a 1-week summer residential program. Some correlations were found between ability to form hypotheses and creativity. Comparison with a previous study done with ninth graders found significant differences between groups. No differences were…

Describes the model for decision making used in inferential statistics and real-world applications that parallel the statistical model. Discusses two activities that ask students to write about a personal decision-making experience and create a mock trial in which the class makes the decision of guilt or innocence. (MDH)

Discusses cable television subscribers' perceptions and consumption patterns of television news and describes a survey that compared broadcast and cable television news viewing habits. Media dependency and media consumption are considered, attitudes toward news sources and the perceived monetary value of the Cable News Network (CNN) are studied,…

To test the Lewis and Mayer simulation model (1987) for understanding compare problems, 3 experiments involving 39 college students and 15 third graders used registration of eye movements. Two experiments somewhat support the model, suggesting it holds true only when the task puts cognitive demands on the subject. (SLD)

Defines playfulness in human-computer interactions in terms of flow theory and explores the dimensionality of the flow concept. Two studies are reported that investigated the factor structure and correlates of flow in human-computer interactions: one examined MBA students using Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software, and one examined employees using…

Discussion of computerized adaptive testing focuses on a study of graduate students at Indiana University at Bloomington that examined three kinds of computerized adaptive testing procedures to determine their psychological impact and how they may affect test performance. Previous research is reviewed, and further research is suggested. (28…

Adherence to the arbitrary 0.05 level of significance as a benchmark for decisions about publishing research largely accounts for the popularity of one-tailed hypothesis tests. Effect size estimates, accompanied by confidence intervals or exact two-tailed probabilities, are generally more compatible with the growing meta-analytic view of social…

Examines children's ability to formulate testable hypotheses, both from a theoretical viewpoint and from results of a British study of responses to an assessment instrument. Addresses implications for science education and difficulties in judging whether a child has demonstrated the skill. Concludes that evidence presented by teachers about…

The problem-solving behaviors and genetics concepts employed by experts and novices during interaction with the computer simulation CATLAB, were examined. Thirteen subjects (3 experts and 10 novices) investigated a common hypothesis on a specific genetic trait during the computer activity. Using naturalistic research methods, general patterns of…

Addresses three issues concerning the assessment of the overrating and underrating of academic competence: (1) the impossibility of separating effects of overrating and underrating from effects of perceived and actual competence; (2) the questionable validity of Connell and Ilardi's method; and (3) the proposal of a new method and its implications…