Creating activities that model engineering design as it appears in industry provides great experience for technology students. Design in general creates an element with special regard to its form and function. Engineering design involves doing that, and going beyond to produce an efficient product that addresses its intended purpose. In this…

For a TELE to become adopted by the vast majority of individual learners as a tool for learning, adoption at the institutional level must be considered, because the vast majority of a population of technology users depends on external stimuli to adopt the technology. This article analyses a case where a social simulation game, a prize-winning…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop guidelines for the statistical analysis of percentage of syllables stuttered (%SS) data in stuttering research. Method; Data on %SS from various independent sources were used to develop a statistical model to describe this type of data. On the basis of this model, %SS data were simulated with…

This paper presents the development of the fusion model skills diagnosis system (fusion model system), which can help integrate standardized testing into the learning process with both skills-level examinee parameters for modeling examinee skill mastery and skills-level item parameters, giving information about the diagnostic power of the test.…

This paper examines the effects of preschool expansion in Kalamazoo County on the county's economic development. Effects on the county's economic development are defined as effects on the employment and earnings of county residents. The estimated effects are found to be large relative to the costs. In addition to their relevance to Kalamazoo…

In its recent report, the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence proposes a major restructuring of California's school finance system, replacing most of the separate programs through which revenue now flows from the state to local school districts with a base program and a targeted program. The base program would serve the educational needs…

Many students with reading difficulties have a specific learning disability called dyslexia, which is neurobiological in origin and characterized by problems with spelling, decoding, and accurate/fluent word identification, negatively impacting vocabulary growth and comprehension. Consequently, the role of the insightful teacher is critical in…

This paper explores the influence of symbolic or representational learning materials on pupil engagement or learning outcomes, when 14-16 year old pupils use common types of science simulations. The project pilot phase involved three (15-16 year old) male pupils and a main phase involved twenty-one (14-15 year old) pupils. A retrospective accounts…

Economic pressures on universities and the emergence of new technologies have spurred the creation of new systems for delivering engineering laboratories in education, in particular simulations and remote-access laboratory systems. Advocates of simulation argue that physical labs needlessly consume university space and students' time. However,…

The decentralization of natural resource management provides an opportunity for communities to increase their participation in related decision making. Research should propose adapted methodologies enabling the numerous stakeholders of these complex socioecological settings to define their problems and identify agreed-on solutions. This article…

Role-playing games in natural resource management are currently being tested as research, training, and intervention tools all over the world. Various studies point out their potential to deal with complex issues and to contribute to training processes. The objective of this contribution is to analyze the limits and potentialities of this tool for…

Purpose: Games are an effective teaching and classroom training tool, since they allow students to practise real-life events. In the area of project management, most games focus on the planning phase of a project. The current paper aims to describe a new game, called PEG--Project Execution Game. The uniqueness of this game is its focus on real…

Narrative is the basic mode of human interaction and a fundamental way of acquiring knowledge. In the rapidly growing field of health communication, narrative approaches are emerging as a promising set of tools for motivating and supporting health-behavior change. This article defines narrative communication and describes the rationale for using…

Differential item functioning (DIF) continues to receive attention both in applied and methodological studies. Because DIF can be an indicator of irrelevant variance that can influence test scores, continuing to evaluate and improve the accuracy of detection methods is an essential step in gathering score validity evidence. Methods for detecting…

The research methods unit of survey psychology classes introduces important concepts of scientific reasoning and fluency, making it an ideal course in which to deliver enhanced curricula. To increase interest and engagement, the author developed an expanded research methods and statistics module to give students the opportunity to explore…