The purpose of this study was to report the results of a nationwide survey of Taiwanese high schools students' understandings about electric circuits. The study involved two stratified random samples consisting of 7,145 students in Grades 8 and 9, and 2,857 students in Grade 11, accounting for about 2.3% of the total enrolment in the corresponding…

This longitudinal study compared business faculty's use of information technology in distance education as well as their perception of the technology's impact on their productivity and technology preferences between 2000 and 2006. Data were collected from 81 professors in 2000 and 140 professors in 2006 at AACSB-accredited business colleges across…

This paper investigates and compares the utilization of online resources to support teaching and learning in two different educational sectors with overlapping student groups in Scotland: secondary schools and further education (FE) colleges. The online "Core Skills" materials included Numeracy, Communication, Information Technology…

We tested five course designs that varied in the structure of daily and weekly active-learning exercises in an attempt to lower the traditionally high failure rate in a gateway course for biology majors. Students were given daily multiple-choice questions and answered with electronic response devices (clickers) or cards. Card responses were…

In this study, the consistency of on-task data collected across raters using either a Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) or systematic direct observation was examined to begin to understand the decision reliability of using DBRCs to monitor student behavior. Results suggested very similar conclusions might be drawn when visually examining data…

The purpose of this experimental study was to compare the effects of different types of computer-generated visuals (static versus animated) and advance organizers (descriptive versus question) in enhancing comprehension and retention of a content-based lesson for learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Additionally, the study investigated…

A national survey of college faculty provided data for an analysis of class size norms in postsecondary institutions, and the institutional and academic variables associated with class size differences. Institutional characteristics considered include public versus private control, Carnegie classification, and institution size. Course academic…

The first version of Suggestopedia, developed in the 1960s and early 1970s, is compared with the second version, developed in the mid-1970s at the same institute and favored over the first by director Georgi Lozanov. Focus is on differences in the versions, particularly integration of the arts into the second version. First, Lozanov's writings…

A significant amount of research has revealed that many students memorize words for a test, then later forget the correct spellings. A study examined the effectiveness of two approaches to teaching spelling: the "traditional" method based on grade level speller and deductive thinking; and word study based on recent research on developmental…

Unlike less skilled writers, who are intensely writer-oriented, skilled writers of personal essays and autobiographies are reader-oriented and demonstrate a conscious concern for their external audience. Student writers can develop a sense of an external audience by analyzing parallel autobiographical text selections of skilled and unskilled…

In the preparation of mathematics teachers both similarities and differences exist between the United States and the USSR. The vast majority of mathematics graduates in the USSR are females, primarily because most mathematics graduates will become teachers and most males do not want to teach because of low salaries and lack of respect for…

A study examined instructional television (ITV) to determine the differences in the affect domain existing among three concurrent environments: the face-to-face environment, defined as the site from which the message originates; the on-site location, defined as a location in close proximity to the origin of the message; and the off-site location.…

Six introductory educational psychology classrooms were differentially taught. One experienced an individually competitive structure (n=39) and five other sections experienced three different cooperative goal structures: one using intergroup competition (n=29), two without intergroup competition (n=29 and n=36), and two using Sharan's Group…

This comparison is based on the authors' selective review of literature, observations of Montessori preschools in America and Australia, and experience in early childhood teacher education in Australia. The discussion explores general educational objectives, curricula, children's activities, instructional approaches, and teacher role in preschools…

A study was conducted to establish a process for evaluating the difficulty of different handwritten letter forms. A criterion for calculating difficulty scores was delineated and four sets of letter forms were evaluated: manuscript, cursive, italic, and D'Nealian. Using the criterion, small letters were given a score of difficulty, the sum of…