This study reviews the literature regarding the theoretical rationale for creating a computer-based school system simulation for educational leaders' use in problem solving and decision making. Like all social systems, educational systems are so complex that individuals are hard-pressed to consider all interrelated parts as a totality. A…

An alcohol awareness campaign was designed and implemented as a collaborative effort between communication majors at Rutgers University participating in an organization simulation and a prevention specialist from the Center for Alcohol Studies. College seniors participating in a semester-long organizational simulation called Lindlee Enterprises…

A study used a paradigm in which adults believed they were teaching a simple video game to an unseen child. In fact, the adults saw computer-generated responses that were modeled on actual child behavior. Subjects were 160 mothers, who were randomly assigned to view simulations of either responsive or unresponsive behavior. The simulations of…

Item response theory (IRT) model parameter estimates have considerable merit and open up new directions for test development, but misleading results are often obtained because of errors in the item parameter estimates. The problem of the effects of item parameter estimation errors on the test development process is discussed, and the seriousness…

This paper examines the effect of using unidimensional item response theory (IRT) item parameter estimates of multidimensional items to create weakly parallel test forms using target information curves. To date, all computer-based algorithms that have been devised to create parallel test forms assume that the items are unidimensional. This paper…

This study investigated information needs and use by groups in decision-making processes. Problem contexts were varied by conflict, quality, and time conditions and presented to 89 graduate level education students who simulated school board members making decisions about educational programs. The research hypotheses were: (1) there are no…

The study investigated whether school administrators (n=128) implicitly perceive the "types" of evaluators proposed by Meltsner (1976) when they consider evaluative information. One simulated evaluation report was written to represent each evaluator, differentiated from one another by their norms, expectations, motivations, and training.…

A 2-to-the-kth-power mirror-image design is defined as one in which repeated observations of subjects occurs among the levels of a usual 2-to-the-kth-power design, but there is the restriction that no subject may receive a given level of any factor more than once. Such a restriction might arise, for example, if a subject's response is expected to…

This paper presents a method for estimating certain characteristics of test items which are designed to measure ability, or knowledge, in a particular area. Under the assumption that ability parameters are sampled from a normal distribution, the EM algorithm is used to derive maximum likelihood estimates to item parameters of the two-parameter…

A simulation game designed to increase knowledge of basic place location is described. Preparation, materials, and variations of the game are included in the description. (DE)

Suggests themes and methods for teaching ecology in first-year university biology courses. (LS)

Statistics used to estimate the population correlation ratio were reviewed and evaluated. The sampling distributions of Kelly's and Hays' statistics were studied empirically by computer simulation within the context of a three level one-way fixed effects analysis of variance design. (Author/RC)

Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of three types of computer instruction in engineering education: tutorial, design, and simulations. Includes comments on efficiency, student acceptance, and scheduling problems. (MLH)

Discusses the use of a simulation language designed to teach dynamic behavior to engineering students via a digital computer. Describes specific applications of the language and the costs of implementing digital dynamic simulation. (MLH)

Describes two types of computer-based experiments: simulation (which assumes no student knowledge of the workings of the computer program) is recommended for experiments aimed at inductive reasoning; and modeling (which assumes student understanding of the computer program) is recommended for deductive processes. (MLH)