The fundamental purposes of this study were to develop mastery tests in the cognitive and psychomotor domains for skin and scuba diving and to establish validity and reliability for the tests. A table of specifications was developed for each domain, and a pilot study refined the initial test batteries into their final form. In the main study,…

An overview of the research on the cognitive effects of higher education is presented. It is suggested that studies exist on three levels: (1) measurement of the increment of specific factual knowledge; (2) understanding the basic concepts in a certain area, studied by qualitative analysis; and (3) the development of awareness of the nature of…

Eighty-eight college students were invited to cook a chocolate mousse and were allowed first to ask any question that seemed helpful to completing the task. The questions were answered immediately according to a predetermined schema: in one condition the subjects were told that the task would be rather easy, in the other condition they were told…

The Chicago Mastery Learning Reading (CMLR) program provides a model of instruction and a set of instructional materials for teachers and students, from kindergarten through eighth grade, in Chicago Public Schools. An analysis of CMLR progress records for more than 240,000 students in June 1983, found that compared to 1982 and earlier years, (1)…

A long-standing issue in cognitive psychology is the question of content effects upon problem-solving skills, that is, do students' problem-solving abilities generalize across specific subject matter domains? Although Piaget argued that formal reasoning strategies are independent of content, the well-known decalogs of Piaget can be interpreted as…

This is an autobiographical account of a teacher's first day in an inner city high school; it contains a discussion of the importance of understanding the subculture of one's students. The teacher's dress and comprehension of slang are noticed by the students. Incidents are related that illustrate the effects of ethnocentrism (the belief in the…

A study sought answers for seven questions about the public's orientation toward television news. Television interviews were conducted with 823 adult residents of Dane County, Wisconsin, during October 1983 by trained graduate students and advanced undergraduates as part of a communications research methods course. Results showed that the public…

Author explored certain aspects of B. Bernstein's thesis concerning educational knowledge and social control by applying his model of collection and integrated codes and their power and control components to an examination of the Italian intermediate school. (Author/RK)

This study investigates the effects of adapting elementary science instruction to students' entering achievement levels on three dependent variables: (1) performance on tests of science content knowledge; (2) mastery of lesson objectives; and (3) attitude toward science. Subjects were 235 sixth graders from four elementary schools in a small,…

This report sought to identify, describe, and compare the characteristics of technical assistance as they related to the process of meeting the New York State Department of Education mandate for the establishment of performance based teacher education programs (PBTE). Research questions dealt with (1) the knowledge levels of participants regarding…

This essay on the management of information presents areas of agreement and disagreement about the "knowledge revolution", its general effect on the world population, and its particular effect on libraries and other information systems, as well as on those who are charged with its management. The myth of Adam and Eve is used to symbolize the…

This paper examines the need for energy education, discusses classroom opportunities and quandaries for teaching about energy, and provides some suggestions for social studies educators. Two recent studies show that there is a real need for energy education. First, the Education Commission of the United States surveyed the energy knowledge and…

Two studies were carried out to determine proficiency of special education teacher diagnosticians (N=95 and 39) in knowledge and application of basic measurement concepts (including reliability, validity, norms, criterion referenced interpretations, measures of central tendency and variability, and interpretive aids). Findings showed that both…

A study was conducted in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, to replicate research undertaken in Columbus, Ohio, that measured public knowledge about newspapers and television news business. Data were collected through telephone interviews with 341 heads of households. The results supported the findings of the earlier research. Among the findings of the…