This study investigates whether spatial learning outcomes differ with respect to different instructional media. Spatial thinking skills were tested pre- and postlesson implementation via the spatial thinking ability test as eighth grade students participated in either paper-based or digital map-based instruction. Students' attitudes toward…

The University of Arkansas developed and integrated visual communications curriculum related to agricultural communications into secondary agricultural programs throughout the state. The curriculum was developed, pilot tested, revised, and implemented by selected secondary agriculture teachers. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate…

There are both achievement and opportunity gaps for low-income students when compared to their economically advantaged peers; and, for rural students, these gaps may be even more pronounced. In this manuscript we draw from our ongoing work in a five-year federally-funded, Jacob K. Javits grant focusing on promoting gifted education in rural…

Singapore's strong performance in international benchmarking studies--Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)--poses a conundrum to researchers who view Singapore's pedagogy as characterized by the teaching of facts and procedures, and lacking in constructivist…

Dyslexia and other learning disabilities are not being properly recognized and treated in our educational system or society at large. Unrecognized and untreated learning disabilities represent a serious social and economic problem, not only to the individual but to society as a whole. For example, antisocial behavior, as seen in prison populations…

In order to directly relate research on children's thinking to curriculum development in the social studies, this study approximates the conditions and substances of daily classroom life and examines the levels of abstraction in children's thinking about complex social problems. The subjects include 210 boys and girls in equal numbers in grades…

CONCEPTS FOR USE IN LINKING VISUAL INPUTS TO COGNITIVE OUTCOMES WERE PRESENTED. IN ADDITION, TWO EVALUATION PROPOSALS FOR THE CONTINUING CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, EDUCATION THROUGH VISION, WERE DETAILED. SAMPLES OF THIS PROGRAM'S TEST BATTERY WERE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT WITH THE TWO EVALUATION PROPOSALS FOR DETERMINING THE EFFECTS OF THE…

This publication contains two separate reports. Part I, the report of the Anthropology Curriculum Study Project (ACSP), is an accounting of the time, money, and human endeavor involved in curriculum development efforts toward a course in anthropology for the high school curriculum. The document includes four reports of ACSP staff members and nine…

Thirty-four 5- to 11-year-old children, classified as concrete or preoperational on a conservation task, were asked questions during individual interviews about food and snacks, the changes food undergoes, and the effects of food on their bodies. Implications for nutrition curriculum and instruction based on the findings are discussed. (DS)

This report presents the results of two field-based experimental studies to determine the effects of questioning techniques on student achievement and attitudes. The first study was done to determine what student learning outcomes are affected by teachers' use of probing and redirection techniques in classroom discussions. Another purpose of the…

A criterion-referenced instrument, Inventory of Cognitive Skills and Visual-Motor Functioning, was devised to evaluate a prekindergarten program for economically disadvantaged 4-year-olds. The Inventory, administered to each child at the beginning and end of the preschool experience, provided specific information in: (1) knowledge of body parts,…

REPORTED IS AN INVESTIGATION OF CONCEPTS INCLUDED WITHIN A CONCEPTUAL SCHEME--THE BIOLOGICAL CELL--WHICH ARE MOST APPROPRIATE FOR STUDY BY CHILDREN IN GRADES 2-6. SUB-PROBLEMS WERE (1) TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE LEVELS OF UNDERSTANDING AS INDICATED BY OBJECTIVE TEST SCORES, (2) TO DETERMINE WHETHER SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES EXIST BETWEEN PUPILS AT…

Describes a study that measured the disposition toward critical thinking of freshmen enrolled in California State University's (Northridge) College of Business Administration and Economics. Reports: (1) a positive tendency toward critical thinking for these students; (2) no significant differences in this tendency among ethnic groups; and (3) no…

The report describes the organization and implementation of an evaluation of the Rose Tree Media Social Studies Curriculum. A questionnaire designed to gather teachers' assessment required response to twelve sets of statements reflecting sound curriculum procedures. Teams of teachers constructed tests summarizing the curriculum of each year…

This is the second of two reports on the first year activities and results of the Systems Thinking and Curriculum Innovation Project (STACI), a two-year project which is examining the cognitive demands and consequences of using the STELLA (Structural Thinking Experimental Learning Laboratory with Animation) software to teach systems thinking,…