In this paper, a required introductory programming course being taught to MIS undergraduates using the C++ programming language is described. Two factors make the objectives of the course--which are to provide students with an exposure to the logical organization of the computer in addition to teaching them basic programming logic--particularly…

Roles of variables is a new concept that captures tacit expert knowledge in a form that can be taught in introductory programming courses. A role describes some stereotypic use of variables, and only ten roles are needed to cover 99% of all variables in novice-level programs. This paper presents the results of an experiment where roles were…

In this paper, the authors depict performance ethnography as having multiple ethical dimensions and multiple implications for the relationships between the evaluator and program participants. They have found performance ethnography to be essentially an intimate form of representation that has tremendous implications for the ownership of…

This paper describes a survey of BioOne participating publishers that was conducted during the fall of 2003. In that survey, BioOne collected data from 18 not-for-profit publishers on circulation levels, scholarly output in terms of pages and articles produced, revenues, and expenditures. From eight of the publishers, complete profit, loss, and…

The IRT (Item Response Theory) has been studied and applied in computer-based test for decades. However, almost of all these existing studies evaluated focus merely on test questions with text-based (or static text/graphic) type of presentation form illustrated exclusively. In this paper, we present our study on test questions using both…

A single subject alternating treatment design was used to compare the relative effectiveness of one-to-one embedded instruction in the general education classroom and one-to-one massed practice instruction in a special education class. Four middle school students with developmental disabilities, their special education teacher, and…

A study was performed to evaluate the effects of tutor initiated telephone communication on students' course completion rates and their quantitative achievements in the Norwegian NKI distance education program. Secondary goals of the project were to assess other consequences of teletutoring, such as organization, costs, and student and tutor…

Personalization of word problems in mathematics has been used to increase student motivation and comprehension. Similar techniques may be effective in other disciplines. In the present study computer techniques allowed integration into stories of personalized referents from an inventory of student interests. Stories were produced at three levels…

The objectives of this study were to develop comparative research data on two library instruction methods in order to improve student skills in collecting information, evaluating material critically, and communicating effectively through writing, as well as to evaluate a methodology for the assessment of library instruction. The traditional…

Undergraduate students who were given specific instructions to form mental images while reading a text passage containing spatial information scored significantly higher than the control group on a drawing posttest. Significant correlations also resulted between the test scores and both reading time and use of imagery. The use of imagery…

This paper contains the results of a study on the importance of discovery learning using computer simulations. The purpose of the study was to identify what constitutes discovery learning and to assess the effects of instructional support measures. College students were observed working with an assignment and a computer simulation in the domain of…

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the animation of visual information when used in conjunction with text and static visuals in microcomputer-based instruction. Of particular interest were consequent performance on higher level learning tasks as a result of viewing these forms of visual presentation, and those levels of…

Claims that computers and other high technology can replace teachers and staff, thereby reducing educational costs, are unwarranted for several reasons. First, most cost analyses focus on hardware costs, which are not the major factor directing the cost of computer assisted instruction (CAI). Second, technology is more likely to change the skill…

The effectiveness of learning paired associates from a computer-based drill strategy known as the progressive state drill was compared in this study with the effectiveness of having students use their own strategies with flashcards. Characteristics of the progressive state drill which make it a potentially effective drill and practice strategy for…

The hypothesis for this study assumed that subjects who received a diagram representing the structural relationships of a story would be more likely to solve a new and analogous problem than subjects who received two analogs without a diagram. The 151 graduate students who acted as subjects were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: one or…