In the early 1970's, a major modification of the introductory service course in statistics at Brigham Young University was implemented, first on an experimental basis and then in all sections by 1974-75. The basic components of the course that distinguish it are: a self-pacing text prepared under the guidance of educational research specialists; a…

A study was designed (1) to develop an instrument which measures activity ratios, the ratio of time a teacher spends teaching with indirect activities (those in which he acts as a co-ordinator of learning experiences) to time he spends teaching with direct activities (those in which he is imparting knowledge), (2) to devise an inservice science…

The records of 27 farm operators participating in farm business analysis programs in 5 Ohio schools were studied to develop and test a model for determining the influence of the farm business analysis phase of vocational agriculture instruction in farm management. Economic returns were measured as ratios between 1965 program inputs and outputs…

A four year study was made of the effectiveness of a chemistry preparatory course (Chemistry 51) on students' success in general chemistry (Chemistry 1A-1B) in the three colleges of the San Mateo County Community College District (California). Data indicated: (1) approximately 60% of the students enrolled in Chemistry 51 completed the course, and…

A new system for assessing student ratings of instruction has been implemented at the University of Washington. Two major changes are in evidence. First, there is an explicit recognition that student ratings can and do serve multiple functions, and the same evaluative questions are not necessarily appropriate for each. Secondly, there is an…

This evaluation of the Law Focused Curriculum Project of the Oklahoma Public Schools analyzes the human and nonhuman resources utilized in the project, and the nature and extent of activities. The first part of the document examines the program and its objectives. School-age citizens are to become acquainted with the law, the functions and…

This report presents statistical analyses of data derived from the first year's use of the Instructional Assessment System. Included are: means, standard deviations, and several reliability estimates for each item within each form; inter-item correlations; and correlations of items with non-evaluative variables. Among the major results discussed…

Seven typical faculty concerns about the appropriateness of using ratings of instructor and instruction are examined. These are summarized in terms of common observations frequently expressed by faculty: (1) Students cannot make consistent judgments because of their immaturity, lack of experience, and capriciousness; and a widely held belief is…

This study was designed to assess the effects of the problem-oriented method compared to those of the traditional approach in general chemistry at the college level. The problem-oriented course included topics such as air and water pollution, drug addiction and analysis, tetraethyl-lead additives, insecticides in the environment, and recycling of…

The Instructional Improvement Questionnaire (IIQ) is a student rating form designed to provide evaluative feedback to instructors about their teaching. The IIQ was first developed at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1969 and revised in 1972. The documents included here describe the development of the IIQ and research associated with…

In fall 1975, a project was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of the PBS television course "Classic Theatre: The Humanities in Drama" in terms of: (1) the attitude toward and utilization of course materials and prescribed format by participating institutions (153 two-year, and 122 four-year) nationwide; (2) the response to the…

Two grading distributions--a liberal and a more stringent curve--were compared between two sections of an undergraduate psychology course. The two classes were team taught and treated as similarly as possible. Four unit exams and an optional final were administered, with one section consistently receiving a more lenient grade distribution. No…

The project sought to adapt a maternity nursing course and a series of pharmacology lessons for use on a computer-based teaching system (PLATO, Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operation) and to study the relationships of process variables to student achievement in a self-directed learning situation. A combination of tutorial-inquiry…

The relationship between grades that students expected to receive and their evaluations of instructional quality was investigated. Correlations between expected grades and 10 evaluation scores--eight evaluation factors and two overall summary items--were based on the average responses in 591 undergraduate classes offered one term at the University…

This report was compiled from information supplied by instructors participating in the National Science Foundation's community college field test of PLATO IV--a computer-based system developed at the University of Illinois--during the fall semester of 1975. Represented here are the responses of instructors at five Illinois community colleges to…