This report is a collection of 11 recent papers by the Human-Machine Interaction Group at the University of California, San Diego. The following papers are included: (1) "Stages and Levels in Human-Machine Interaction," Donald A. Norman; (2) "The Nature of Expertise in UNIX," Stephen W. Draper; (3) "Users in the Real…

To explain some of the problems and questions concerning the study of communicative competence, this paper discusses observations that motivate activity in the area and several issues generated by the observations, and suggests implications of the issues raised. The observations discussed first are that humans manage to get things done…

This document summarizes a 1982 project of the National Institute of Education (NIE) in which seven scholars, representing a variety of disciplines and ideological positions, were commissioned to write papers on the effects of school desegregation on black achievement. As previous efforts to arrive at a consensus among experts regarding…

This paper examines the life-span approach to developmental psychology as it relates to teacher development research and presents some empirical results demonstrating the potential of the approach for increasing understanding of teacher development. Five assumptions of the life-span orientation as applied to the study of teacher development are…

Two hundred fifty-five students in grades 2 through 6 and 51 teachers participated in structured interviews to assess how democratic governance was practiced in their classrooms. Teachers also completed the Pupil Control Ideology Form (PCI), which measures orientation toward control of pupils. Findings showed that students do not want to rule…

Three major educational revolutions have been the advent of writing, the use of books as teaching tools, and the shift in educational responsibility from the home to the school. The fourth revolution, which is based on the use of electronic technology in teaching, began with programmed teaching machines, individualized instruction, and the…

A meta-analysis was conducted of simple confirmation feedback, which informs the learner whether a response was correct or incorrect, and feedback which provides the correct answer. Following initial selection of 72 studies of computerized and printed instruction, 15 studies were identified which met the selection criteria of involving: (1) adults…

A study was conducted to provide a replication of the gaze duration algorithm proposed by M. A. Just and P. A. Carpenter using a different kind of passage, to compare the three gaze duration algorithms that have been proposed by other researchers, and to measure processing time in reading. Fifty-one college students read a passage while their eye…

The readings in this collection were prepared to accompany a report of a series of experiments conducted to determine what information readers, both skilled adults and children beginning to read, use when they read to understand a story. Titles of the readings are are (1) "Oral Reading: Does It Reflect Decoding or Comprehension?" (2)…

This report describes a study which tested the applicability to rural schools of "effective school" research, which focuses on characteristics associated with schools found effective through analysis of standardized student achievement test scores. Strategies for providing input from local personnel included research awareness sessions,…

The sampling errors of maximum likelihood estimates of item-response theory parameters are studied in the case where both people and item parameters are estimated simultaneously. A check on the validity of the standard error formulas is carried out. The effect of varying sample size, test length, and the shape of the ability distribution is…

A study assessed the applicability of the American Institutes for Research (AIR) procedures' Performance-Against-Standard form for use in personnel evaluation by the Ohio Cooperative Extension Service. The study also compared relevant test construction approaches identified in the literature to those used in the AIR study in attempting to confirm…

The stand taken in the Learning in Science Project (Primary)--LISP(P)--is that primary school science should be centrally concerned with children's present interaction with their world rather than their future science education. Further, it has been decided that one of the LISP(P) foci should be on questions that children ask and how these…

The focus of this review is on observational measures of pupil classroom behaviors. Two issues are raised in connection with these measures. First, there is a survey of the types of observation schedules employed in recent classroom intervention research. Second, there is an evaluation of the validity of these behavioral measures. That evaluation…

This manual provides guidelines for needs assessments based on training and development programs designed and used by business and industry. The guide defines needs and needs assessments and describes how to implement the process, using an eight-level needs assessment. Information is provided on stages of needs assessment, the process of assessing…