This report summarizes the rewriting of the BASIC Instructional Program (BIP) (a "hands-on laboratory" that teaches elementary programming in the BASIC language) from SAIL (a programming language available only on PDP-10 computers) into MAINSAIL (a language designed for portability on a broad class of computers). Four sections contain…

A new approach to computer-assisted instruction (CAI) called Author Tutorial System (ATS) was field tested in a National Science Foundation-sponsored school consortium in New York State. ATS was designed as a package of authoring functions written in the APL interactive programing language to enable authors who are not experienced programers to…

This report documents the BASIC Instructional Program (BIP), a "hands-on laboratory" that teaches elementary programming in the BASIC language, as implemented in the MAINSAIL language, a machine-independent revision of SAIL which should facilitate implementation of BIP on other computing systems. Eight instructional modules which make up…

This study manipulated the timing and control of error feedback in problem solving and examined their effects on skill acquisition by 40 undergraduate students learning to program in the computer language Lisp under four error feedback conditions. These four conditions included two types of symbol-by-symbol feedback that vary in content, a…

Describes new sources in word processing, proofreading, and text editing that can be used in hands-on computer sessions, analyzing writing samples for and with students. (MM)

This manual for supervisory instructors documents the goals, methods, and operation of the BASIC Instructional Program (BIP), an interactive problem-solving laboratory that teaches elementary programming in the BASIC language. The first two sections describe features of BIP that may be of interest to the supervisor, especially the individualized…

To explore the problem of designing an automated system for instruction in programing, and to study the problem-solving behavior of students, computer programs written by 40 college students as part of a CAI course in Algebraic Interpretive Dialogue were analyzed. The self-contained course consisted of 50 tutorial lessons; the analysis covers…

Describes and compares five different uses of computers in physics education: tutorial, demonstrations, modelling toolkit, laboratory aid, and student as programer. Provides examples of computer uses and offers perspectives on developing further programs. (ML)