This article addresses an important problem that faces educators in assessing students' competence levels in learned tasks. Data from 165 students from Massachusetts and Minnesota in the United States are used to examine the validity of five assessment modes (multiple choice test, scenario, portfolio, self-assessment and supervisor rating) in…

This paper describes a pilot project that explored teacher candidates' opinions of the use of desktop videoconference technologies to provide teaching experiences that mimic the real-world practicum. Opinions were gleaned from questionnaires and reflective papers. Videoconference software was said to mimic certain aspects of the practicum such as:…

Objective: To examine a statewide sample of school counsellors' reporting behaviour of suspected cases of child sexual abuse, and their need for further education in this area. Design: A questionnaire using four hypothetical vignettes on child sexual abuse requested information on the degree of suspicion, reporting behaviour and familiarity with…

This article demonstrates how the Leadership and Professional Development course at Morehouse College, an all-male historically Black college in Atlanta, Georgia, goes beyond teaching traditional leadership and professional development skills and exposes students to the impact of being a "professional of color" in corporate America. This…

Purpose: To explain why cross-cultural negotiations simulations are an excellent, active, and dramatic means of training employees to be culturally adaptable and literate. Design/methodology/approach: Through a discussion of how drama plays an important role in creating learning that lasts, and by comparing passive, traditional classroom training…

Background: The number of HIV infections among adolescents is increasing, and youth in psychiatric care are at particular risk because of their high rates of risky sexual behavior. Methods: As part of a larger longitudinal study examining AIDS-risk behavior among adolescents in psychiatric care, this pilot study investigated the relationship…

Variation is a key concept in the study of statistics and its understanding is a crucial aspect of most statistically related tasks. This study aimed to extend and apply a hierarchy for describing students' understanding of variation that was developed in a sampling context to the context of a natural event in which variation occurs. Students aged…

Multimedia as an educational technology tool is used throughout the educational system. In this article we present a research project where multimedia scenario was used to initiate a discussion about Internet use among students and teachers at a primary school. Multimedia scenario is the use of large screen multimedia to initiate and facilitate…

Human service educators constantly struggle with how to best teach students the communication skills required of entry-level human service professionals. While teaching such skills is easier in a traditional face-to-face environment, teaching communication skills via distance learning presents its own challenges. Developing interactive web-based…

In this paper the authors describe a novel "Virtual Research Environment" (VRE) based on the Sakai Virtual Collaboration Environment and designed to support education research. This VRE has been used for the past two years by projects of the UK Economic and Social Research Council's Teaching and Learning Research Programme, 10 of which…

This study explored some practical issues for single-case researchers who rely on visual analysis of graphed data, but who also may consider supplemental use of promising statistical analysis techniques. The study sought to answer three major questions: (a) What is a typical range of effect sizes from these analytic techniques for data from…

The goals of the present research were to develop a modified version of an existing self-assessment questionnaire designed to measure parents' emotional style and to examine how the aspects of child regulation may moderate the relation between the emotional styles and social outcomes in childhood. Participants in Study 1 were 140 mothers and…

In this paper we argue that the use of audit trail data for research and evaluation purposes has attracted scepticism due to real and perceived difficulties associated with the data's interpretation. We suggest that educational technology researchers and evaluators need to better understand how audit trail data can be processed and analysed…

Aim: This study examined the responses of care managers and direct care staff to vignettes of inappropriate sexual behaviour (ISB) by a man with an intellectual disability. The aim was to identify psychological factors that influenced their assessment of risk and the perceived need for risk management strategies. Method: The vignettes varied in…

In Ontario, the secondary school science curriculum advocates the use of laboratory activities to reinforce specific scientific concepts and promotes the development of skills in scientific investigation and communication. Students in biology courses are often expected to identify unknown substances using standard tests, but rarely are these tests…