Large-scale, classroom-based experiments using adaptive instructional software pose somewhat unique challenges for experimental design and deployment. One reason for this is that adaptive software allows students to advance through the curriculum at different rates and encounter content at different times, meaning that content targeted for…

Many modern anatomy curricula teach histology using virtual microscopes, where students inspect tissue slices in a computer program (e.g. a web browser). However, the educational data mining (EDM) potential of these virtual microscopes remains under-utilized. In this paper, we use EDM techniques to investigate three research questions on a virtual…

Transitioning to university is recognised as a challenging endeavour for commencing students. For commencing Computer Science students specifically, evidence suggests a link between poor performance in introductory technical courses, such as programming, and high attrition rates. Building resilience in students, particularly at the start of their…

Students explored variation and expectation in a probability activity at the end of the first year of a 3-year longitudinal study across grades 4-6. The activity involved experiments in tossing coins both manually and with simulation using the graphing software, "TinkerPlots." Initial responses indicated that the students were aware of…

Different computational models for generating analogies of the form "A is to B as C is to D" have been proposed over the past 35 years. However, analogy generation is a challenging problem that requires further research. In this article, we present a new approach for generating analogies in Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format that can be used…

Traditional experimental paradigms have focused on executing experiments in a lab setting and eventually moving successful findings to larger experiments in the field. However, data from field experiments can also be used to inform new lab experiments. Now, with the advent of large student populations using internet-based learning software, online…

This paper proposes a learning based method that can automatically determine how likely a student is to give a correct answer to a problem in an intelligent tutoring system. Only log files that record students' actions with the system are used to train the model, therefore the modeling process doesn't require expert knowledge for identifying…

The Rockwell AIM 65 is recommended for use in physics laboratories. Among advantages cited are that the basic board can be purchased customized; for example, it can be purchased with or without a printer, power supply, extra memory, and other items. In addition, the computer is basically designed to control equipment and take data from peripheral…

Describes a quantitative evaluation of an interactive videodisc program in which students measure the temperature dependence of the solubility product of lead chloride by titration of chloride with silver nitrate using a Mohr titration. Student reaction (based on responses made using the program, quiz answers, and laboratory performance) was…

Modeled after the program "Mastermind," this program teaches students the art of protein sequencing. The program (written in Turbo Pascal for the IBM PC, requiring 128K, a graphics adapter, and an 8070 mathematics coprocessor) generates a polypeptide whose sequence and length can be user-defined (for practice) or computer-generated (for…

Instruction in Scientific Inquiry Skills (ISIS) is part of a seven-year Air Force effort--the Fundamental Skills Training Project--to design, build, evaluate, and transition advanced computer-aided instruction to the education community. This report describes ISIS 2.0 and presents the results of an initial field evaluation of the software during…

Recent technological advances and new software packages put unprecedented power for experimenting and theory-building in the hands of students at all levels. Microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) and model-solving tools illustrate the educational potential of the technology. These tools include modeling software and three MBL packages (which are…

The techniques used for teaching college economics have remained relatively unchanged over the past few decades. These techniques do not give the students an opportunity to apply, to develop, or to practice the economic theory they read about and hear in lectures. They tend to reinforce student assumptions about the subject's "givenness"…

Assuming that dynamic features of Dynamic Geometry Software may provide a basic representation of both variation and functional dependency, and taking Vygotskian perspective of semiotic mediation, a teaching experiment has been designed with the aim of introducing pupils to the idea of function. First data coming from the observations in Italian…