Researchers often include covariates when they analyze the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), valuing the increased precision of the estimates over the potential of inducing small-sample bias when doing so. In this paper, we develop a sufficient condition which ensures that the inclusion of covariates does not induce small-sample bias…

Online learning has become a standard in today's teaching environment whether teaching fully online or using a blended learning approach. Various kinds of emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality are continually evolving or being developed, and educators are required to keep up with this trend. Educators are required to create and teach…

This dissertation contains a collection of essays centered on the relationship between theoretical model-building and empirical evidence-gathering in linguistics and related language sciences. The first chapter sets the stage by demonstrating that the subject matter of linguistics is manifold, and contending that discussion of relationships…

This paper provides qualitative student-centered research from an online Research Methodology course taught partly within the immersive, 3-D environment of Second Life with fifty-eight graduate psychology students for the purpose of suggesting a constructivist-based instruction model for immersive environments. A qualitative method approach was…

In recent years, research efforts on complex systems have contributed to improve our ability in investigating, at different levels of complexity, the emergent behaviour shown by a system in the course of its evolution. The study of emergence, an intrinsic property of a large number of complex systems, can be tackled by making use of Cellular…

This demonstration of the use of a computer simulation research method based on the System Dynamics modeling technique for studying distance education reviews research methods in distance education, including the broad categories of conceptual and case studies, and presents a rationale for the application of systems research in this area. The…

Describes an ongoing research project designed to develop a computer model capable of simulating the service delivery activities of community mental health care centers and human service agencies. The goal and methodology of the project are described. (NB)

Computer simulations can facilitate the building of models of natural phenomena in research, such as in the molecular life sciences. In order to introduce molecular life science students to the use of computer simulations for model building, a digital case was developed in which students build a model of a pattern formation process in…

Describes how a computer simulation research method can be used for studying distance education systems. Topics discussed include systems research in distance education; a technique of model development using the System Dynamics approach and DYNAMO simulation language; and a computer simulation of a prototype model. (18 references) (LRW)

Describes the construction of a knowledge representation from the identification of the problem (nephrotic syndrome) to a running computer simulation of causal reasoning to provide a vertical slice of the construction of a cognitive model. Interactions between textbook knowledge, observations of human experts, and computational requirements are…

Describes a computer simulation called "Supercontinent Aggregation and Dispersal" designed to model the interplay between the movement of the continents and the flow patterns of rock in the mantle. Discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the program in relation to the effects of continents on the mantle. (CW)

Describes research project being implemented in the United Kingdom that has been developed to examine the process of change in secondary school students' conceptual understandings in the physical sciences. Models of conceptual change are described, the role of computer based activities in promoting conceptual change is discussed, and software…

Discusses the nature and function of mental models, explains tools for exploratory and expressive learning, and describes a research program to be conducted in the United Kingdom for 10- to 16-year-olds that is designed to explore characteristics of students' mental models. Highlights include knowledge domains; software, including simulations; and…

This essay summarizes the theory and practice of computer simulation, assesses the state of the art of simulation with respect to pedagogically relevant processes like learning, and speculates about the impact of such simulations on pedagogical research and practice. Arguing that the use of computer simulation as a technique for building formal…

Presents thinking-aloud protocols from secondary pupils solving arithmetic story and geometrical problems and analyzes their protocols by using interpretation models founded on a general problem-solving model. A word problem solving simulation is also used to further explicate processes pupils use to solve mathematical tasks. (Author/MBR)