Based on the Theory of Transactional Distance and Needs Assessment, this article reports a procedure for quantitatively measuring how close the actual delivery of a course was to ideal, as perceived by students. It extends Zhang's instrument and prescribes the computational steps to calculate relative proximity at the element and construct…

Problem Statement: Kinematics is one of the topics in physics where graphs are used broadly. Kinematics includes many abstract formulas, and students usually try to solve problems with those formulas. However, using a kinematics graph instead of formulas might be a better option for problem solving in kinematics. Graphs are abstract…

Several statistical techniques that can be used to ameliorate the difficulties inherent in the data analysis of longitudinal studies are presented. The first step in longitudinal data analysis is graphing. This permits visual inspection of the data, and with educated viewing can yield insights into the nature of the underlying mechanisms. The next…

This project aimed to quantitatively measure the ability of first year science students to transfer their mathematical skills and knowledge to a physical context. An instrument used in earlier studies to measure transfer of mathematical knowledge was modified for this project, and tested with 49 student volunteers. This paper presents the Transfer…

Canonical analysis of two convex polyhedral cones involves looking for two vectors whose square cosine is a maximum. New results about the properties of the optimal solution to this problem are presented. The convergence of an alternating least squares algorithm and properties of limits of calculated sequences are discussed. (SLD)

Reports on a longitudinal study of the relationship between productive phonological ability and awareness in children under the age of six. The study followed 45 subjects with variant productive phonology levels from the mean age of 3 years, 6 months to 6 years, 0 months. As a child matures in productive phonology, accompanying exponential growth…

Using factor analysis, seven socioeconomic indicators and three information activity indicators (written communications, technology, and libraries) were derived to relate social and economic conditions in less developed countries with measures of information activity. Information activity variables are appended. (17 references) (EJS)

The quality of knowledge underlying students' algebraic thinking is a major concern of K-12 mathematics teaching and reform-driven curriculum documents. In this paper the author examines this issue by characterizing a group of high school students' algebraic knowledge and patterns of use of that knowledge during the solution of selected problems.…

Describes a study of high school students that investigated the use of microcomputers to teach principles relating to the design and interpretation of graphs. Results related to student achievement, higher order thinking skills, and behavioral protocols are discussed. A sample assignment sheet and test questions are appended. (66 references) (LRW)

Recent research has demonstrated the promise of graphing software as an aid to teaching graphs in two content areas: line graphs of aspects of motion and graphs of algebraic functions. This study attempted to generalize the idea of computer-assisted graphing to include the use of several kinds of graphs to solve a wider range of problems. A unit…

The intent of this document is to describe approximately 30 management science and organizational behavioral techniques with practical applications in school business management. Each technique is described by the mechanics of using the technique, specific applications of the technique, and requirements and constraints in the use of the technique.…