In order to understand and predict students' achievement and persistence at learning activities, many contemporary motivational models consider how much students are motivated for their school work. However, students' achievement and persistence might not only be affected by their amount of study motivation, but also by the motivation to engage in…

A needs assessment determined Oregon community college staff knowledge of (a) accessible information technology (IT) guidelines, (b) IT-related disability laws, (c) legal obligations regarding Web accessibility, and (d) perceived level of current Web accessibility. Training needs were assessed and training suggestions were solicited. IT staff…

The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of creating positive washback by focusing on factors in the background of the test development process and anticipating the conditions most likely to lead to positive wash-back. The article reports on a multiphase empirical study investigating the washback effects of a needs-based test of spoken…

I have examined how frequency of assessment impacts learning in an undergraduate biology course employing a student-centered, active-learning pedagogy. Frequent assessment was associated with better student performance and greater retention of course concepts. Improvement of higher-order thinking skills may require more classroom practice.…

The Socratic Method has impacted thinkers and instructors from Hegel, who moved through the negation to the negation of the negation, to Marx, who viewed history through dialectical materialism, to C.C. Langdell, who introduced case law as an innovative method to study law as a science, to present-day professors who use this method to compel…

A study of records for 1 large U.S. company revealed that employees with positive drug screens were fired, whereas workers who self-disclosed drug/alcohol problems remained employed. Both groups were offered substance abuse intervention, and some previously fired workers were rehired after they received treatment. Accident results showed that…

These proceedings contain the papers and posters of the International Conferences on Internet Technologies & Society (ITS 2016), Educational Technologies (ICEduTech 2016) and Sustainability, Technology and Education (STE 2016), which have been organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society and…

The purpose of this booklet is to introduce parents of students with disabilities to the "big ideas" contained in school improvement efforts under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and to provide them with the information they need to help ensure that their children…

While California community colleges are open to all students eligible and able to benefit, most students must demonstrate that they are ready for college-level academic work by passing the college's placement exam once they enroll. Because California does not explicitly define college readiness standards for high school students, the placement…

Many of the most talented authors and artists of the past and present have shared their thoughts and their gifts with young children through picture books. Many picture books allow young children to explore important ideas and to stretch their minds far beyond rote memorization. Young children absorb knowledge at a very rapid pace. In an age of…

Purpose: This paper seeks to determine the relationship among school size, school culture and students' achievement at secondary level in Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: The study was descriptive (survey type). It was conducted on a sample of 90 secondary school head teachers and 540 primary, elementary and high school teachers working in…

Formative computer-based assessments (CBAs) for self-instruction were introduced into a Year-2 field biology module. These CBAs were provided in "tutorial" mode where each question had context-related diagnostic feedback and tutorial pages, and a self-test mode where the same CBA returned only a score. The summative assessments remained…

This article evaluates the role of the Online Faculty Development and Assessment System (OFDAS), created at universities in the Canary Islands, Spain, in staff development. The evaluation indicates that the system helped staff in learning to teach curriculum and teaching capacities. The tasks, online resources and opportunities for discussions…

This study investigated the accuracy order of English relative clauses in the usage of 199 Japanese high school students of English as a foreign language (EFL). Specifically, it looked at: (1) whether the Accessibility Hierarchy conform to the accuracy order by Japanese senior high school students of EFL; and (2) how frequently this population…

The purpose of this research study was to compose a user profile of one specific electronic conference/electronic mail (e-conference/e-mail) discussion group through an in-depth case study, using a survey administered, collected, and tabulated electronically. The BALT-L is an online forum devoted to communication to and about the Baltic republics…