Presents information from the first year of the California Formative Assessment and Support System for Teachers (CFASST), suggesting that it offers a way to diagnose teaching systematically and facilitate improved student academic achievement. Open-ended feedback from support providers all over California on the first CFASST events indicates that…

Discussion of evaluation of computer-based learning (CBL) looks at six different approaches: use of quantitative data for assessment; student and staff attitudes and perceptions of computer use for learning; formative evaluation for CBL design; effectiveness of CBL in comparison to conventional instruction; evidence of whether CBL enables students…

Reports on a study where subjects were asked to evaluate the level of musical intensity expressed in various music excerpts. Defines musical intensity as that which conveys strong, ardent, or concentrated emotion. Compares subjects' ongoing evaluation (continuous) with a single concluding (summative) evaluation. Includes a list of orchestral…

Recognizing typical problems with staff development, the administration and teachers of a local school district and a team of reading and special education faculty united in a collaborative staff development model designed for the purpose of improving literacy. The purpose of the partnership was to implement a model staff development program that…

This article describes the use of a lesson study approach to collaborative professional growth in an elementary science methods course. Preservice candidates designed and taught integrated science-mathematics lessons during the semester before their student teaching. Working in 8 teams of 3 student teachers, participants per team designed a common…

This paper describes the process evaluation of an organ donation education program for high school students aged 15-18 years of which the effectiveness was established. The program consisted of three components: a video with group discussion, an interactive computer-tailored program and a registration training session. A cross-sectional survey was…

Developing a library collection to support the curriculum of Canada's largest computer studies school has debunked many myths about collecting computer science and technology information resources. Computer science students are among the heaviest print book and e-book users in the library. Circulation statistics indicate that the demand for print…

This article reviews the literature and practice concerned with the evaluation of science, technology, and innovation (STI) policies and the way these relate to theories of the innovation process. Referring to the experience of the European Union (EU), the authors review the attempts to ensure that the STI policy theory is informed by advances in…

This paper reviews a series of formative assessment studies that were conducted to inform and evaluate a large-scale instructional software development project at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR). The three-year project, entitled "Taking the Next Step in Engineering Education: Integrating Educational Software and Active Learning,"…

FODEM (FOrmative DEvelopment Method) is a design method for developing digital learning environments for widely dispersed learning communities. These are communities in which the geographical distribution and density of learners is low when compared to the kind of learning communities in which there is a high distribution and density of learners…

A major issue confronting educators is the extent to which they wish to conform to so-called paradigm shifts in teaching and learning. In the contemporary world of tertiary education these shifts embrace both pedagogy (from instructivist to constructivist) and technology (from classroom to online). As teachers and learners are faced with the…

Students involved in holistic technological practice need to develop an understanding of technological practice outside the classroom and to participate in tasks set as close as practicable to actual technological practice. This paper investigates the context of assessment and its relationship to achievement and the importance of teacher knowledge…

To address calls for restructuring and reform in the mid 1980's, educators proposed joining schools and universities in collaborative partnerships to improve education. Little attention has been given in the educational reform literature, however, to the field of teacher education for teachers of students with blindness or low vision. Reform…

The MIT Libraries enthusiastically implemented real-time online reference service in September 2001. After 15 months, Ask Us!--Live was suspended due to ongoing software problems. This article describes the four-part assessment of the service with recommendations for the future. (Contains 6 figures and 21 notes.)

The article focuses on the planning and implementation of interim assessment tasks in Key Stage 3 Geography. This research identifies three key dimensions which impact on the planning of assessment in the medium and long term. These are: teachers' emerging conceptualization of "formative assessment"; the statutory requirements for…