This report summarizes the complex research literature on quantitative methods for assessing how impacts of educational interventions on instructional practices and student learning differ across students, educators, and schools. It also provides technical guidance about the use and interpretation of these methods. The research topics addressed…

This methodological brief is designed to provide both program operators and researchers with practical advice about how to assess a program's implementation and impact. Adapted from an article that first appeared in "The Handbook of Youth Mentoring" (DuBois and Karcher, ed. 2005), the brief focuses on the evaluation of mentoring programs, but the…

The central purpose of the present study was to evaluate several statistical techniques (analysis of variance (ANOVA) on raw gains, standardized ANOVA, standard analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and z-score ANOVA) under various quasi-experimental conditions (three levels of reliability, three levels of sample size, three levels of gain, and the…

Describes study that examined text density levels as a design variable in print and computer-based instructional presentations. The six treatment groups are explained, including low density, high density, and learner controlled density; attitude surveys and achievement posttests are described; and implications of the findings for instructional…

Describes study that compared the attainment gains of Guyanan secondary school children in science and geography following two different learning regimes, i.e., systematically designed learning materials, and conventional teaching. Implications of the results for curriculum design and teacher training are discussed. (Author/LRW)

Addresses the four questions raised by Yelon about use of pretests with instruction--should I pretest; on what should I pretest; how should I pretest; how should I adjust to results--and answers them from the perspective of instructional designers conducting formative evaluations to improve quality of instruction under development. (MBR)

The purpose of this study was to replicate the Bentti, Golden, and Reigeluth study (1983), which explored the use of nonexamples to teach common errors as an effective strategy in teaching a procedure. A total of 24 undergraduate students enrolled in the Syracuse University Symphonic Band were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a…

Ninth-grade learners used one of three versions of an interactive video lesson on basic economics theory, one based on knowledge strategy, one on context strategy, and a control version without embedded questions. Results indicated context strategy was as effective as knowledge strategy for teaching declarative knowledge and more effective for…

This study of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in computer literacy courses focuses on the effects of orienting activities and varied cognitive processing times on learning facts and deriving inferences. Highlights include computer-based instruction processing, embedded instructional activities, and suggestions for further research.…

Social desirability responding and effort justification were each studied for their effect on response shift as seen in retrospective pretest-posttest responses. The first study used a bogus pipeline induction (half the subjects were told their self-reporting could later be validated) before the self-report pretest. After experimental or control…

Statistical analysis of data evaluating the effects of a bibliographic instruction program on college students' library-related behavior--changes in library usage, attitude toward libraries and librarians, understanding of basic library skills--indicates that students scored significantly higher on posttest than on pretest. Sample test questions…

Describes study conducted with undergraduate students to examine the combined effects of orienting activities and levels of practice on learning from interactive video. The videodisc used, "Tour of the National Gallery of Art," is described, posttests and results are analyzed, and suggestions for further research are given. (27…

Using the Component Display Theory as an analyzing tool, this study compared the effects of expository and discovery methods of instruction on two learning outcomes, application and transfer. One hundred ninth grade students in each of four earth science classes were randomly assigned to five groups--four experimental groups designed to test four…

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that students who are given common errors matched with correct performance as part of their instruction in carrying out a procedure will perform better than students who are given only the correct performance. The task was the procedure for correcting color imbalances in color slides, and 56 college…

One of the important components of the elaboration theory (Reigeluth, 1979) is the synthesizer, which provides information to relate and integrate a set of concepts and which can appear in different formats. This study investigated the effectiveness of three formats of post-instruction synthesizer on student recall of definitions of concepts and…