Librarians from three regional campuses of Kent State University examine cooperative learning as an alternative to a lecture format for bibliographic instruction. The results of a research project comparing the effectiveness of cooperative learning and traditional methods are presented. Discussion includes problems in the evaluation process; steps…

In response to federal law requiring teachers to undergo professional development, this article presents and compares five approaches to training school staff. Approaches include training throughout the year; annual one- to three-day training sessions; sending staff to conferences; employing a staff trainer; and monthly video training. (JMV)

Compares two models of game instruction: the technique model and the "games for understanding" model. The analysis indicates that the second provides a more feasible way of teaching strategic decision making for game players. Includes discussion of various theories that contrast the two approaches. (JB)

The student-per-computer ratio identifies school districts with the greatest need for educational technology. Figures compare 12-year student-per-computer trends in K-12 public schools and rank the states with the greatest need. Results indicate that California, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have districts in the greatest need…

Discusses steps taken in planning, implementing, evaluating, and revising library instruction in a general education course for freshmen at the University of the Pacific, and examines results of student library skill tests taken before and after having library instruction. Figures offer example test questions and tables display test averages and…

Recommendations for feasible and rigorous evaluation design formulated by a 1991 conference on the evaluation of comprehensive community interventions are summarized and illustrated through the example of a program for drug risk reduction. Implications of a multisite design with matched pairs randomized into intervention and comparison conditions…

Benchmarking is an ongoing, systematic process for measuring and comparing work processes of one organization to those of another to identify best practices. Higher education can gain much from this technique, as industry has. The method is objective, reduces resistance to change and can lead to dramatic innovation and rapid development. (MSE)

To clarify what it means to teach mathematics for understanding and to learn mathematics with understanding, an interactional analysis of video recordings of two lessons in elementary school classrooms is presented. The two classrooms illustrate two distinct classroom traditions, in which mathematics was learned with and without understanding,…

Discusses enduser searching of online databases and describes a study conducted at Ohio State University that compared two methods of assessing the success of enduser searches. Reasons for dissatisfaction are discussed, problems with online searches are examined, possible solutions are described, and further research is suggested. (20 references)…

Conversational control was compared between hearing mothers using auditory-oral communication (A/O) and those using total communication (TC) with 34 deaf preschool children. Among A/O children, maternal style reflected children's spoken language ability, whereas among TC children, maternal style related to children's social development, and…

Two sets of real sorting data from 50 college students are used to compare results of multidimensional scaling of raw co-occurrence frequencies or dissimilarity measures (D) and profile distances (delta) to determine which yields a better representation of the underlying structure of 2 sets of stimuli. Slight differences are discussed. (SLD)

Describes SAPHIRE, an experimental information retrieval system featuring concept-based automated indexing, natural language input, and relevance-based retrieval; and compares its retrieval effectiveness with other indexing approaches in a Boolean-based searching environment. Indexing in MEDLINE is described, and a test collection of AIDS…

A study analyzed validity and reliability of grades and credits earned by college students in five departments, as indicators of student learning. Results indicate positive, strong correlation between faculty-assigned grades and student performance on external criterion measures. Validity of credits was not as clear. Strong and consistent evidence…

Describes a study that was conducted at Ohio State University at Mansfield to measure the effects of a self-paced, self-instructional workbook, both with and without a librarian's presentation, on students' library skills and their attitudes about libraries and librarians. Students' evaluations of the workbooks are also reported. (eight…

Process and impact evaluations are compared, and a framework is provided to determine the nature and potential variability of the costs associated with each technical step of each type of evaluation. Recommendations to help in the choice of evaluation option are provided. (SLD)