In computer-based simulations meant to support learning, students must bring a wide range of relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities to bear jointly as they solve meaningful problems in a learning domain. To function efficiently as an assessment, a simulation system must also be able to evoke and interpret observable evidence about targeted…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether students expected course difficulty to be reflected in grade distributions and in the amount of out-of-class effort required for success. Students from both upper and lower division classes described the amount of time they expected to spend preparing for an easy class, a difficult class, and a…

This article reports a study examining the use of group activities in English language coursebooks published since 1990. Ten coursebooks were randomly selected for examination. The number and percentage of group activities and of group activities rated as fostering cooperation were calculated. The results are discussed in light of theory and…

On the basis of her experience with brain damaged and autistic children, a teacher suggests guidelines for structuring tasks, the learning environment, and student behavior to facilitate learning. (GW)

Suggests ways in which a teacher can change the learning task to suit the student's level of development. References. (VJ)

UCLA project to become information center for distribution of materials in the health occupations field. (Editor)

Reprinted from "Value Engineering , Volume I, Number 5, February 1969.

Depending on age and the demands of the task, people may use different processing strategies in object categorization. Three-year-olds used a wholistic approach with strong effects of object typicality on three categorization tasks. Older children and adults showed differential effects of typicality, suggesting various strategies including…

The Instructional Systems Development approach for vocational education programs provides a methodology for gathering and analyzing job information, developing instructional materials, and conducting instruction and evaluation. This approach is based upon evidence that each job task can be identified and analyzed and that appropriate objectives…

Six ways a dentist can profit from the basic sciences are: (1) increased sensitivity to the environment, (2) improved judgment, (3) better explanations to patients, (4) enhanced ability to learn, (5) improved communication with health professionals, and (6) greater role diversity. Literature is reviewed related to mental processes. (Author/MLW)

Examines the effect of leader and follower gender on leader communication behavior and follower satisfaction. Research suggests that group members can be equally satisfied with male and female leaders as long as they exhibit similar frequencies of task-oriented communication. (JMF)

Discusses recent developments in instructional psychology relative to cognitive task analysis, individual difference variables, and cognitive models of interactive instructional decision making, which use constructs developed within the field of cognitive/information processing psychology. (Author/WBC)

The study of human-computer interactions has revealed that highly interactive devices are often easier to learn to use than keyboard-based devices. Describes an integrated cognitive model designed to exhibit interactions between people and computers while learning task-action mappings such as the action sequences for opening a file in a word…

Investigates the effects of awareness, or lack thereof, on 32 adult second or foreign language learners' subsequent intake and written production of targeted Spanish morphological forms. Think-aloud protocol data were used to measure awareness or lack of it, and morphological learning was assessed by the learners' performances on two postexposure…

FACETS many-facet Rasch analysis software was utilized to look at two consecutive administrations of a large-scale second language oral assessment in the form of a peer group discussion task with Japanese English-major university students. Results are discussed. (Author/VWL)