A small, representative sample of 114 U.S. teachers was asked to indicate the extent to which their teaching corresponded to each of five models of teaching. The models were those discussed by M. M. Kennedy: (1) process model; (2) learning community model; (3) additive model; (4) transformational model; and (5) conceptual change model. Respondents…

A more comprehensive definition of the variable "interaction" is needed to answer the numerous questions concerning interaction effects in distance learning. This study attempts to qualify the concept of interaction by applying various dimensions such as amount, timeliness, method, spontaneity, and quality. In turn, these dimensions of interaction…

This booklet, one of six in the Living Things Science series, presents activities about diversity and classification of living things which address basic "Benchmarks" suggested by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for the Living Environment for grades 3-5. Contents include background information, vocabulary (in…

Cross-validated classification accuracies were compared under assumptions of equal and varying degrees of unequal prior probabilities of group membership for 24 bootstrap and 48 simulated data sets. The data sets varied in sample size, number of predictors, relative group size, and degree of group separation. Total-group hit rates were used to…

The taxonomy presented in this paper lends structure to the range of tasks or problems possible within an interactive graphical medium. Some 70 items from a testing project were the basis for forming the categories described in the taxonomy. Items were drawn from science and technology domains. The categorical scheme was refined iteratively by two…

In education and the social sciences, problems of interest to researchers and users of research often involve variables that do not meet the assumptions of regression in the area of an equal interval scale relative to a zero point. Various coding schemes exist that allow the use of regression while still answering the researcher's questions of…

It is argued that viewing learners' errors as evidence for the emergence of new varieties of the English language is dangerously mistaken, particularly where it leads to the abandonment of Standard English as a model for learners. It is shown how this view is mistaken by: (1) citing recent British thinking on the relationship of varieties of…

Two parallel studies investigated the influence of principle-based and attribute-based similarity relations on new category learning by preschoolers. One of two possible functions of a single novel artifact (which differed between studies) was modeled for children and practiced by children. Children then judged which test objects received the same…

An exploratory study probed the extent to which children rely on category membership to guide their inferences. A total of 60 children, 4 years of age, were shown 20 sets of pictures of various animals, plants, and minerals. Each set consisted of representations of three objects having two salient features: perceptual similarity/dissimilarity and…

This paper critiques Aumaugher's argument which states that the traditional view of concepts as a class of things with common attributes is an insufficient one, and, instead, offers a counterview, stemming from the work of Wittgenstein, which says that a concept is a term's use in the language. Aumaugher states that concept-terms are not always,…

Two studies were conducted to examine the extent to which the category "learning disabilities" (LD) meets the major criterion for classification systems, specifically that the category demonstrates at least one universal and one specific characteristic. Analyses were conducted on psychometric data for 248 students in regular 3rd, 5th,…

Three types of definitions of learning disabilities (LD) (ability-achievement discrepancy, low achievement, and scatter) were examined to determine the extent of common variance within 48 school-identified LD children and 96 nonLD children (all elementary students). Both samples had previously been administered a battery of psychoeducational…

Frender and Doubilet suggest that Bousfield's ratio of repetitions (RR) is the best measure of clustering in free recall presently available. Conditioning only on the number of words recalled, they determine the mean of RR in the absence of clustering. In this note the null variance of RR is presented. (Author)

Children from grades 1, 3 and 5 classified and later recalled 24 pictorial items. It was found that classification, recall and clustering scores increase with age and vary as a function of item category. (GO)

Presents a classification scheme for sorting out kinds of school reform. The scheme is based on the three basic elements of any organization--structure, product, and process. (Author/IRT)