In recent years, efforts are being made at all levels of education to prescribe instructional actions that would optimize desired instructional outcomes. Component display theory (CDT), a micro level instructional design theory proposed by Merrill (1983), offers guidelines and prescriptions to present components of instruction to teach facts,…

Evaluating the impact of instructional innovations and coordinating instruction, assessment, and testing present complex tensions. Many evaluation and coordination efforts aim to address these tensions by using the coherence provided by modern cognitive science perspectives on domain-specific learning. This paper introduces an alternative…

Advances in assessment technologies are affording teachers and students new ways to efficiently assess and track achievement while also better promoting learning. WriteToLearn is one such technology, a Web-based tool that integrates practice and assessment in reading comprehension with writing about what is learned. Based on the principle of…

TICCIT has been a prominent feature of the instructional environment of the Alexandria Campus of Northern Virginia Community College since 1974, and its presence has pervaded all the operations of the campus, both instructional and administrative. Positive and negative impacts have been recorded by two evaluations. (Author)

This document outlines the operation of the Monte Carlo Integration Computer (MCIC), which is capable of simulating several types of chemical processes. Some data obtained through the MCIC simulation of physical processes are presented in graphs. After giving reasons for not using the initially contemplated summative research procedures for…

The outline, steps, prodecures, methods, and format of a planned evaluation of the United States Army's Computerized Training System (CTS) are given. The evaluation is built into the CTS project and will have both summative and formative aspects. The three main areas to which the evaluation is directed and for which specific evaluation plans are…

Formative evaluation has become an acceptable process to use in curriculum development. The article synthesizes the extant literature and reports the application of formative evaluation in the development of microcomputer instructional software. (Author)

Virtual schooling, or the practice of offering K-12 courses via distance technologies, has rapidly increased in popularity since its beginning in 1994. Although effective interaction with and support for students in these environments requires a unique set of skills and experiences, teacher education programs currently place very little emphasis…

Results are provided from a formative evaluation of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) designed for training of foster home certification and licensing staff. The evaluation was undertaken to provide information on issues of feasibility, installation, and implementation of CAI. Project data were obtained from two sources: the first was a review…

This handbook was written to enable elementary school educators to conduct formative evaluations of their computer integrated instruction (CII) programs in minimum time. CII is defined as the use of computer software, such as word processing, database, and graphics programs, to help students solve problems or work more productively. The first…

The purpose of this investigation was to empirically demonstrate and evaluate a brassboard for computerized collective training for teams (COLT2). The underlying tasks were to (1) conduct a state of the art assessment of instructional strategies appropriate for COLT2, (2) derive a conceptual framework for COLT2 instructional strategies, (3)…

Some special problems associated with evaluating intelligent computer-assisted instruction (ICAI) programs are addressed. This paper intends to describe alternative approaches to the assessment and improvement of such applications and to provide examples of efforts undertaken and shortfalls. Issues discussed stem chiefly from the technical demands…

A joint research project in educational techniques, which was conducted by the University of Waterloo and the IBM Corporation, explored the use of color television with random-access videotape under computer control. At the end of the three-year project, papers were solicited from all COMIT (Computerized Multi-Media Instructional Television)…

Using the Corey approach, retrosynthetic/synthetic schemes for six organic molecules of increasing complexity were programmed and tested in a module designed for a fourth year undergraduate course. A portion of a simple synthesis is presented and analyzed. Problems encountered were discussed and potential solutions are proposed. The module was…

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the FEHR (formative evaluation and heuristic research) Practicum training model, a computerized simulation providing practical experience in decision-oriented educational research and evaluation. The report is organized into five chapters. Chapter one contains an introductory discussion of the needs and…