The role of computer-assisted instruction in promoting intrinsic and extrinsic motivation among Nigerian secondary school chemistry students was investigated in this study. The study employed two modes of computer-assisted instruction (computer simulation instruction and computer tutorial instructional packages) and two levels of gender (male and…

The objective of this study is to reveal the effect of the use of smart board in the biology class at the tenth grade of the secondary education on the academic achievements of students. The study used the quasi-experimental model with pre-test and post-test control groups and semi-structured interviews were made with the students. The study group…

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the course materials developed in accordance with 7E model in the unit of electromagnetism in high school physics class on students' conceptual success. The present study was conducted with a total of 52 11th grade students in two separate classrooms at a high school. The action research…

The different strategies and methodologies used by teachers in their day-to-day activity may have an impact on the academic performance of their students. Indexes constructed to summarize how teachers address different teaching tasks can be used to quantify the teaching activities' associations with academic results. In the IEA's Trends in…

Background: Density is difficult to learn and teach in middle schools. This study, hypothesizing that the density concept develops as part of a conceptual system, used a conceptual change approach to teaching density. The approach emphasized the use of multiple strategies to teach the density concept and the associated concepts in the conceptual…

To improve assessments of academic achievement, test developers have been urged to use an "assessment triangle" that starts with research-based models of cognition and learning [NRC (2001) "Knowing what students know: The science and design of educational assessment." Washington, DC: National Academy Press]. This approach has been successful in…

The problem of fitting unidimensional item-response models to potentially multidimensional data has been extensively studied. The focus of this article is on response data that contains a major dimension of interest but that may also contain minor nuisance dimensions. Because fitting a unidimensional model to multidimensional data results in…

Guided by the theoretical framework of curriculum as a platform for talent development, this quasi-experimental field study investigated an intervention focused on engineering curriculum and curriculum based on a biography of a scientist through a comparative design implemented in low-income schools. Student outcome measures included science…

"Transforming Science Assessment: Systems for Innovation," is a series of resources designed to provide state education leaders with: (1) Information about how states are currently pursuing statewide assessment systems in science; (2) Analyses of what features influence different approaches, with an eye to supporting state leaders as…

Background: Complex problem-solving competence is regarded as a key construct in science education. But due to the necessity of using interactive and intransparent assessment procedures, appropriate measures of the construct are rare. This paper consequently presents the development and validation of a computer-based problem-solving environment,…

College faculty have myriad choices of resources for their students when designing courses. The rising prices of textbooks and the availability of cell phones with internet access open the question of using cell phones in the classroom. In this study, I compared student learning in an ecology course between a semester in which a textbook was used…

Block scheduling is the reallocation of a school day into longer class sessions to allow for more active teaching strategies and active engagement of students, in the effort to increase student performance. Various types of block scheduling exist. Traditional scheduling is when the school day is divided into six to eight sessions, with each…

The emphasis on scientific inquiry has increased the importance in developing the fundamental abilities to conduct scientific investigations and urged a need for valid assessments of students' inquiry abilities. We took advantage of the advanced technology to develop a simulation-based assessment of inquiry abilities (SAIA) that allowed…

This paper compares the performance of students at a high-performing U.S. public school (n = 64) on the advanced placement (AP) chemistry exam to their performance on the ChemQuery assessment system. The AP chemistry exam was chosen because, as the National Research Council acknowledges, it is the "perceived standard of excellence and school…

The "Report on the Condition of Education" is a congressionally mandated annual report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Using the most recent data available (at the time this report was written) from NCES and other sources, the report contains key indicators on the condition of education in the United States at…