Large-scale Markov chain models and Monte Carlo simulation, two types of models useful for academic managers to analyze academic staffing policies, are described. Their relative advantages and disadvantages regarding technical requirements and performance, as well as managerial usefulness at different levels of the university, are discussed.…

Not only did voter power contribute meaningfully to local control behavior regardless of the exact shape of the relations between state aid and local control, but the hypothesized inverse relationship between state aid and local control did not receive support. Journal availability: see EA 511 898. (Author/IRT)

Argues that Blacks have begun to receive monetary benefits from education commensurate with those of Whites and that the gap has narrowed because of the relative upgrading of educational quality for Blacks. Available from American Economic Review, 1313 21st Avenue So., Suite 809, Nashville, TN 37212. (Author/IRT)

Ten models are proposed for predicting a student's final grade placement in a computer-assisted instruction curriculum from the time the student spends taking lessons. Two of the simplest models, using only the most recent point and parameters estimated for the whole group, are best at prediction. (Author/RD)

Demonstrates how teachers can move their students from the novice into the expert range of problem-solving strategies. Utilizes a problem-solving model that follows how such skills develop. (DDR)

Describes in economic and mathematical terms the learning production process at the individual level. Presents a model to determine which factors influence this process. Tests the model, using data from two widely divergent learning situations, ranging from lecture-oriented college economics courses to programmed instruction to learn eighth-grade…

Investigates the use of mathematical modeling tasks in 11- and 12-year-old students and the development of mathematical thinking skills using practical modeling activities. Analyzes the development of students' mathematical thinking with interviews of a form of dynamic assessment. Reports that some students proved to be naturally mindful and…

Examines four areas of difficulty with graphing and modeling, identifies confusions and misconceptions, and shows how these areas interact in the presence of data-collection devices. (KHR)

Describes a simulation using dice-tossing students in a population cluster to model the growth of cancer cells. This growth is recorded in a scatterplot and compared to an exponential function graph. (KHR)

Describes a rugby problem designed to help students understand the maximum-minimum situation. Presents a series of explorations that locate an optimal place for kicking the ball to maximize the angle at the goalposts. Uses interactive geometry software to construct a model of the situation. Includes a sample student activity. (KHR)

Describes a credit-card-debt activity that allows students to increase their awareness of underlying mathematical concepts relevant to the world of commerce and personal finance through learning geometric and arithmetic sequences. (KHR)

Reports on a research project to use transformation geometry to give students an opportunity to work with proportions using visual models. (YDS)

Draws on data from 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study to estimate the impact of block-scheduled mathematics course on 10th-grade student achievement and teachers' use of class time. Findings suggest that while block scheduling is positively associated with teachers' use of multiple instructional methods and more individualized instruction,…

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of self-deferral, a social screen implemented to protect the U.S. blood supply from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection prior to the advent of laboratory testing. Mathematical models are developed to estimate the number of infectious transfusions ultimately leading to AIDS prior to self-deferral.…

A methodology for calculating the return on training investment is described. The method covers attitudes, knowledge, and behavior of participants as well as effectiveness in organizational improvement. Output, time savings, quality improvements, and "soft data" on effectiveness are set against costs. (TJH)