In this study, we build on an emerging trend in socioscientific issues (SSI) education to support action through the use of personally relevant digital tools. We investigate the design of curriculum that integrates SSIs with the design and programming of mobile apps using a design-based research methodology. Through the series of design…

In this study the authors investigated the effects of integrating iPad applications into writing instruction for fifth grade students. By comparing the writing of students taught with paper and pencil methods with that of students utilizing the iPad writing applications, two research questions guided the study: (1) Are there differences in student…

The Course Sequencing Pathways Computer Support System was developed at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) to aid students and advisors in selecting appropriate courses based on test scores, MDCC graduation requirements, the university of choice (if applicable), and the student's major. A student report, which is calculated on-line, is available…

These 2 papers describe the development of a computerized class scheduling system aimed at achieving uniform and efficient utilization of staff and physical facilities and a schedule that permits the maximum number of students to fulfill their curricular requirements. In "An Introduction to CUSS," Victor Abell describes the development…

Four monte carlo simulation studies of Owen's Bayesian sequential procedure for adaptive mental testing were conducted. Whereas previous simulation studies of this procedure have concentrated on evaluating it in terms of the correlation of its test scores with simulated ability in a normal population, these four studies explored a number of…

The goal of this research was to predict from a recruit's responses to the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) items whether the recruit would pass the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT). The data consisted of the responses (correct/incorrect) of 1,020 Navy recruits to 200 items of the ASVAB together with the scores of these…

Individualized instruction programs have imposed an increased reliance on tests as a means of selecting and routing students through sometimes complex programs. Testing which occurs within the training sequence is particularly vulnerable to inefficient use of both trainee and instructor time, but computer-based instruction system can provide a…

The results of a series of simulation studies designed to investigate the influence of guessing and item pool characteristics on the bias, accuracy, and information properties of the trait estimates derived from Owen's Bayesian sequential testing strategy are reported. (RC)

This paper reviews the historical development of programed instruction from the works of S.L. Pressey and B.F. Skinner to the concept of program-assisted instruction. A categorical listing of both the limitations and the capabilities of programed instruction is included. (RL)

The problem of structuring sequences of instructional stimuli such that learning is optimized is modelled as a sequential decision problem with an imbedded mathematical model of learning providing a criterion function. Three types of optimization methods for such a representation are investigated for the specific case of paired-associate learning…

Methods for the implementation of on-line contingent research are described in this study. In a contingent experimentation procedure, the content of successive experimental trials is a function of a subject's responses to a previous trial or trials (in contrast to traditional experimentation in which the subject is presented a previously…

The intent of this investigation was to answer a number of questions in regard to instructional treatments and learner characteristics in a Computer-Managed Instruction (CMI) learning environment. Treatments varied in terms of sequence of tasks and evaluation of instructional materials. Sequencing was either student-selected or computer-assigned…

The various devices used in programed instruction range from the simple linear programed book to branching and skip branching programs, adaptive teaching machines, and even complex computer based systems. In order to provide a background for the would-be programer, the essential principles of each of these devices is outlined. Different ideas of…

This report contains the Proceedings of the 1982 Item Response Theory and Computerized Adaptive Testing Conference. The papers and their discussions are organized into eight sessions: (1) "Developments in Latent Trait Theory," with papers by Fumiko Samejima and Michael V. Levine; (2) "Parameter Estimation," with papers by…

The problem of enabling a teaching machine to adapt to the individual characteristics of students in presenting course material has been considered--general outlines of computer algorithms and decision criteria have been formulated. It is assumed that there exists both an ordered set of concepts which comprise the material to be learned and, for…