This paper argues that chaos theory may be a an appropriate framework for strategic planing in higher education and presents a brief case study of a strategic planning process underway at Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) in Virginia where chaos theory is in use. Chaos theory holds that many seemingly random activities and systems evidence…

This study investigated the characteristics of Computer-based Case Simulations (CCS) that may be associated with case difficulty. Difficulty was defined as the average rating by physicians of examinee performance on a nine-point scale or the passing rate on the cases. Two data sets were used, one from an administration of 18 cases to 201 medical…

This paper reviews the literature on factors affecting students' performance in undergraduate statistics courses for the social sciences. Statistics anxiety and attitude have been linked to one's performance in statistics classes. Math factors, such as anxiety and attitude, may have an impact on performance in statistics classes, but the…

This study explored personality variables measured by the 16 Personality Factor (16PF) test and their relevance to success, as defined by the final course grade, in college calculus courses with 94 students. Two personality variables were significant predictors of success as determined by the final course grade. A Statistical Analysis System…

Cognitive science, the study of both biological and artificial intelligent systems, is an inherently interdisciplinary activity that embraces aspects of psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, engineering, and other behavioral and social sciences. This document reports the results of a workshop designed to provide advice to…

This paper examines the plight of the child with a learning disability who enters a classroom to hear only a foreign language, to misunderstand the accompanying nonverbal signals, and to see only alien symbols written on the board. This child with a learning disability will have difficulty in the classroom unless the teacher applies the basic…

Because intelligence and culture are inextricably intertwined, the measurement of ability is difficult. Test material inevitably reflects the culture of the test developer. As a consequence of this culture-boundedness, a test might not measure the same thing in another culture, and scores might not be comparable across cultures. There are three…

Among the constructs commonly considered by career counselors are vocational interests, aptitudes, and personality variables. Although the predictive power of each of these domains with respect to successful occupational functioning has been demonstrated, little research has been conducted on the nature of their interaction. The interrelatedness…

The focus of the session summarized in this paper was on how postsecondary educational institutions can better anticipate the future of higher education by using the "alternative futures approach to planning" model. The alternative futures model processes the best available information obtainable so that plausible alternative futures in…

Because a cumulative score is not computed for the Urban Teacher Selection Interview, item rankings do not appear to be operationally related to the overall ranking and final categorization of teacher education candidates. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which, during the final selection process, the interviewers ranked…

Methods of adjusting cut scores used in placement decisions are examined empirically. Admission and performance variables are used to study alternate methods of adjusting cut scores for placement in standard and accelerated rhetoric courses in a large university setting, with the predicted variable being success or failure as measured by…

These guides are designed for use by early childhood teachers in conjunction with four popular children's books, providing teachers with lesson plans and activities to develop their students' thinking skills. Each guide focuses on a specific book and skill as follows: (1) the guide for "The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters" emphasizes the…

This paper addresses the problem of shaping new strategies in the face of current enrollment declines at many colleges and universities. It describes an approach that applies a long term planning model that can incorporate the short-term realities of lower enrollments and budget constraints with projections for new strategic initiatives. The paper…

Course placement systems in postsecondary education consist of an assessment component (to predict students' probability of success in standard first-year courses) and an instructional component (in which underprepared students are taught the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the standard course). The effectiveness of a placement system…

This study tested the ability of the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) to predict attrition for first-time, full-time freshmen at a predominantly white, medium-sized, liberal arts, denominational college in the southeast. A random sample of 100 students were surveyed of which 84 returned usable questionnaires (57 females, 27 male,…