Because studies examining youth drug use often have data with a high proportion of zeros, they often do not meet the assumptions for univariate or linear regression analyses that are typically used. We demonstrate the use of zero-inflated negative binomial regression models to address excessive zeros in drug use frequency on perceptions of…

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…

Instructors are constantly baffled by the fact that two students who are sitting in the same class, who have access to the same materials, can come to understand a particular chemistry concept differently. Variation theory offers a theoretical framework from which to explore possible variations in experience and the resulting differences in…

The Oregon Statewide Report Card is an annual publication required by law (ORS 329.115), which reports on the state of public schools and their progress towards the goals of the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. The purpose of the Oregon Report Card is to monitor trends among school districts and Oregon's progress toward achieving the…

A model is presented in which a test score is influenced by three factors: (1) the test itself, including the nature of the item tryout samples, the nature of the standardization group, the item scaling model and methods, the manner of item subset generation, logical strategies in test building, the format of questions, the test appearance, item…

A sample of 328 freshman economics students is disaggregated by the students' gender, previous knowledge of economics, attitudes toward economics, and innate abilities. Results show that students learn more economics if they take microeconomics before macroeconomics. Appended are 14 references. (MLF)

The keynote speech identifies six categories of problem areas for children with learning disabilities: (1) synchronization, (2) consistency, (3) methodology, (4) cohesion, (5) saliency determination, and (6) tempo. A model of neurodevelopmental functions and performance elements to guide researchers and practitioners is offered. (DB)

This paper (1) presents observations about the major paradigms and assumptions that have historically shaped media research; (2) encapsulates the activities, thinking, and paradigms of the present; and (3) reports on a study in which 100 theoreticians and researchers were asked to respond to 50 hypothetical statements about media in the learning…

Effective teaching is a multifaceted endeavor comprised of process, product, artistic, and scientific aspects. The scientific dimension pertains to that multidisciplinary accumulation of systematic knowledge which makes possible the prediction and control of human behavior as it relates to the events comprising instruction and learning. This paper…

This chapter outlines the measurement and interpretation of cognitive style using the conceptual structure of Educational Cognitive Style and the Educational Sciences developed by Dr. Joseph Hill and others. The measurement and interpretation of 36 aspects of cognitive style are discussed, as well as the use of cognitive style mapping (the graphic…

This paper examines and critiques several learning style inventories (LSI) in an effort to find the optimal research instrument for a proposed empirical study of both the quality of courseware and the impact of courseware characteristics on variations of learning effectiveness due to learner characteristics. Five LSIs are examined: (1) Dunn LSI;…

Administration of verbal and nonverbal measures to 20 normal language and 20 specifically language-impaired children (ages 4-5) indicated that a "qualitative-differences" model of specific language impairment better accounts for the co-occurrence of poor verbal and poor nonverbal cognitive skills in subjects than a "low-normal"…

The goal of the programmatic research program for the Minnesota Adaptive Instructional System (MAIS), an intelligent computer-assisted instruction system, is to empirically investigate generalizable instructional variables and conditions that improve learning through the use of adaptive instructional strategies. Research has been initiated in the…

This article describes the Munich Longitudinal Study of Giftedness (initially including about 25,000 students) and concludes that, although the multidimensional model proved to be useful in predicting achievement behavior, the typological attempts failed. Distinct differences between academically gifted and creatively gifted students were found.…

This study compared 28 preadolescents, either with or without learning disabilities (LD). Students with LD had less effective monitoring skills, lower attributions to effort, and a wider range of depressive symptoms. Results are discussed in relation to Borkowski's model that relates behavioral patterns of children facing school tasks with…