Clarity of written expression is prized highly in the university curriculum and in the societal arena. Professors need to study, analyze, and appraise diverse recommended philosophies in teaching writing. An existentialist writing curriculum should: include extensive input from students on topics, forms of writing to be emphasized, and planning of…

Color monitors are in wide use in computer systems. Thus, it is important to understand how to apply color effectively in computer assisted instruction (CAI) and computer based training (CBT). Color can enhance learning, but it does not automatically do so. Indiscriminate application of color can mislead a student and thereby even interfere with…

The effect of the interaction between cognitive style differences (field dependence/field independence) and various degrees of visual complexity on pictorial recall memory was explored using three sets of visuals in three different formats--line drawing, black and white, and color. The subjects were 86 undergraduate students enrolled in two core…

Taken from the terms "computer" and "paideia," the term "compupaideia" refers to the cultural context of computer assisted instruction (CAI) and computer assisted learning (CAL). The question may be raised, what is the cultural context that made CAI desirable, and how does one determine whether CAI is well suited to a particular culture? The…

Teachers are provided with a model and general recommendations for efficient and effective instructional planning. The model, a map, begins with an identification of the major concepts, skills, and attitudes to be taught. A graphic route is then charted for logical planning towards achieving these instructional objectives. Nine…

Three main factors in textbook selection for distance education--readability, appropriateness, and availability--are examined in detail, and suggestions for adapting standardized texts to the needs of individual groups are provided. Twelve specific criteria are listed for determining the appropriateness of a text and textual factors influencing…

Physics learning studies demonstrate that students' pre-instructional world knowledge is often logically antagonistic to the principles of Newtonian mechanics taught in introductory physics courses. Under these conditions psychological theory predicts that learning will be inhibited, a prediction consistent with both the experiences of physics…

The Corrective Feedback Paradigm (CFP), which has been refined and expanded through use on the PLATO IV Computer-Based Education System, is based on instructional design strategies implied by stimulus-locus analyses, direct instruction, and instructional feedback methods. Features of the paradigm include adaptive feedback techniques with…

The importance of the role of meaningfulness as a learning variable is discussed. (DEP)

Remarks are focused on two of the findings of a study carried out by Bingham-Newman and Hooper in "Classification and Seriation Instruction and Logical Task Performance in Preschool."

This paper describes the results of a study of community college learning resource centers as they exist today and examines some emerging functions which point toward the role of the center in the future. (DC)

This review of the research on aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) discusses four methods or assumptions that might explain why ATI research has not generated the anticipated empirical support: (1) the lack of a theoretical base; (2) disagreement over what a given aptitude means and how it should be measured; (3) difficulties in defining…

As a regional institution serving the needs of 11 different island nations of the South West Pacific, the University of the South Pacific (USP) is, along with its on-campus face-to-face teaching activity, deeply committed to and reliant on distance study methods. Both of these activities at the university are the principal responsibility of a…

A computer assisted learning (CAL) program in the area of intravenous drug administration developed by the Nightingale Project is currently being used in a number of nursing schools and hospitals throughout the United Kingdom. The success of this program and the emergence of interactive video as a significant training medium persuaded the…

The pedagogical strategies of human tutors in problem solving domains are described and the possibility of incorporating these techniques into computerized tutors is examined. GIL (Graphical Instruction in LISP), an intelligent tutoring system for LISP programming, is compared to human tutors teaching the same material in order to identify how the…