We obtained data from pre- and postcourse questionnaires given in an Introduction to the Psychology Major course taught for 10 semesters and compared these data with institutional outcomes concerning the students' last known major and their graduation status. We found the questionnaire reliably measured (a) vocational identity, (b) knowledge of…

Both virtual and physical manipulatives are reported as effective learning tools when used with different groups of students in a variety of contexts to learn mathematical content. The use of multiple representations and the flexibility to translate among those representational forms facilitates students' learning and has the potential to deepen…

The characteristics of missing data in statistical analysis are outlined, and techniques to deal with missing data are explored using a real data set that contained pretest and posttest measures of kindergarten children. In the first part of the investigation, randomly created missing values for 5%, 10%, 20%, and 25% of the sample were supplied…

Two different methods of obtaining three parameter logistic item response theory (IRT) pretest item parameter estimated for the Graduate Management Admissions Testing Program. The first method consisted of calibrating pretest and operational items simultaneously in a LOGIST run, that is a concurrent calibration design. The second approach entailed…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether getting students involved in analyzing issues critically would help them develop effective critical thinking skills. The subjects were 113 students, ages 17-60 years, freshmen through seniors, enrolled in freshman level courses at a southwest state university. These students responded to the…

Sixty subjects, 30 volunteers and 30 nonvolunteers, participated in an experiment examining pretest sensitization effects. Two interpretations of these effects--the commitment hypothesis and the demand interpretation--are explored. (Author)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two death education seminars to create in the participants a better capacity to prepare for their own death and to cope with the death of others. An affective death education seminar was presented to 28 health education students, and a cognitive death education seminar was presented…

This guidebook is one in the Target Topic Series developed to highlight issues and concerns related to effective community education operation. It is intended for the community educator who is responsible for working with the community education program staff--both paid and volunteer. A pretest covers material discussed in the guidebook. The…

The Elementary Secondary Education Act Title IV-C Bilingual Project instituted in the Detroit (Michigan) Public Schools consisted of two bilingual learning centers at a target school which served 114 students in grades one through five during the 1978-1979 school year. Materials and assistance were also offered to a parochial school. A total of…

PURPOSES OF THIS STUDY WERE TO EXPLORE THE FEASIBILITY OF SYMBOLIC LOGIC AS AN EXPERIMENTAL TASK TO BE PRESENTED USING PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION ON TEACHING MACHINES, TO DEVELOP A STANDARD PROGRAM AND RELIABLE CRITERION MEASURES OF ITS CONTENT, AND TO INVESTIGATE EFFECTS OF RESPONSE MODE, FEEDBACK, AND PROGRAM CONSTRUCTION ON LEARNING RATE AND ON…

THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF FIVE METHODS FOR IMPROVING THE SPELLING ABILITY OF PUPILS IN GRADES 2 AND 3 WAS DETERMINED. ASSIGNMENTS OF TEACHERS AND CLASSROOMS TO METHOD WERE BASED UPON TEACHER PREFERENCE FOR METHOD, ESTIMATED AVERAGE ACHIEVEMENT LEVEL OF PUPILS IN EACH CLASSROOM, AND RATINGS OF TEACHER QUALITY. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE STUDY A…

The relationship between attitude change, recall of previous attitudes and dissonance between these two perceptions was investigated using 72 female undergraduates randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. The first group, posttest first, completed a posttest after participation in a group discussion on construction of nuclear power…

Computer assisted test construction (CATC) is a new testing technique that seems to provide ease and flexibility for faculty members and students. The purpose of this paper was to verify that student test scores are not adversely affected by implementation of CATC. Two sections of a basic course in cataloging were tested for one semester. One…