Aim/Purpose: This paper explores the potential value of critical thinking in computer science education and discusses strategies for its integration across the curriculum. Background: As technology rapidly evolves and becomes increasingly integrated into society, there is a growing need for computer science graduates who can think critically about…

Explores the issues that arise when development of personal attributes is identified as one of the goals of a new undergraduate medical program. Concludes that such personal learning should be assessed, but that the purpose should not be to certify competence but to harness the powerful effects of assessment onto an important aspect of practice…

Both as a method of measurement and as a theoretical hypothesis, syntactic maturity (SM) has profoundly affected thinking about verbal growth and ways to enhance that growth. On the positive side, SM is easy to use, requiring no elaborate training in grammar or statistics, and it is quantifiable providing an objective numerical index of…

An unfolding model was selected for the scores on the Scale of Intellectual Development to take into account that, for stage-based instruments, agreement with a statement first increases as the student approaches the stage represented by the statement, then decreases as the student progresses beyond that stage. (Contains 21 references.) (Author)

The focus of this paper is the effect of teachers' expectations for their students on their own behavior, on the classroom environment, and on learning. Literature is reviewed and integrated, and an assessment system for matching individual students with learning environments is presented. Section one reviews literature on the following topics:…

Introduces the practitioner to psychometric issues related to developmental assessment and makes recommendations for the assessment refinements needed in the field. (Author/BH)

Discusses the need for systems of performance indicators (PI) to measure important aspects of university operations. Comparison of three models--production, student development, and systems--makes clear that model choice yields fundamentally different PI systems and, in turn, different contexts of relevance. Suggests a hybrid model, combining the…

Current methods and instruments for assessing college student academic outcomes are identified and described, and possible outcome measures of NCRIPTAL's (National Center for Research to Improve Postsecondary Teaching and Learning) are suggested. Section I defines college outcomes from several perspectives, including pressures for outcome…

A variety of techniques are available for evaluating the success that implemented programs have in terms of achieving the expected and desired student outcomes and, by extension, the desired goals and objectives of the institution. Current approaches to such analysis are generally limited to the basic strategy of survey research. The two major…

Discusses how some behavioristic techniques can increase humanism in schools. Describes activities to enhance students' active participation in the self-actualization process, including using behavioral objectives, evaluation, and grading. Defines classroom application of behavioral principles and suggests they encourage a humanistic environment.…

This pamphlet discusses student learning styles and teachers' adaptability to those styles. Section 1 discusses "What Are Learning Styles" by talking generally about cognitive, affective, and physiological aspects of those styles. Section 2's topic is "What Determines Learning Style?". "The Relationship Between Learning Styles and Teaching Styles"…

This book presents a series of case studies in higher education which demonstrate how teams of academics have improved their practice, skill and conditions of learning and teaching through "action research." Action research is defined as collaborative critical enquiry by academics themselves into their own teaching practice, into problems of…

Indices and manifestations of quality in undergraduate education are considered and a four-part framework is developed. Context indices represent institutional characteristics that remain relatively stable over time (e.g., expenditures per student and size of student body), while input indices reflect characteristics of entering students (e.g.,…

Resource allocation processes suitable for use in not-for-profit institutions are discussed and a conceptual model for resource allocation in institutions of higher education is presented. The objectives of higher education include the personal development and education of students, not merely the certification of students by conferring degrees.…