Early childhood intervention requires assessment procedures that are designed and field-validated specifically for young children with disabilities, capture real-life competencies in everyday routines, help plan individual programs, and document incremental improvements in developmental competencies. Conventional tests and testing, which have…

An authentic assessment embedded in a course becomes a teaching tool integral to the aims of the course, not simply a mandated test. The following are appended: (1) Our Initial Rubric for SUNY GE Assessment: Critical Thinking; and (2) Our Revised Rubric for SUNY GE Assessment: Critical Thinking. (Contains 4 notes.)

The report provides detailed information about the methods and instruments used to evaluate school readiness initiatives, discusses important considerations in selecting instruments, and provides resources and recommendations that may be helpful to those who are designing and implementing school readiness evaluations. Study results indicate that…

This study investigated the level of generalizability across a few high quality assessment tasks and the validity of measuring student writing ability using a limited number of essay tasks. More specifically, the research team explored how well writing prompts could measure student general writing ability and if student performance from one…

Students in an introductory educational psychology course used two WebCT communication tools (synchronous chat and asynchronous discussion) to discuss four case studies. In response to the item, "I learned the case studies best when using," 39 students selected synchronous chat and 51 students selected asynchronous discussion. Students who…

This study evaluated the effects of visual performance feedback (VPF) on teacher use of behavior-specific praise. In addition to receiving individual VPF, teachers participated in group consultation focused on increasing competence in the use of behavior-specific praise. Three general education elementary teachers and six students participated in…

This paper presents our experiences and the challenges identified in transforming traditional lecture-based modules at a university into problem-based blended learning within a social constructivist approach. Our experiment was, among other factors, motivated by an urgent need to meet new curriculum requirements by reducing the lecturing time in a…

The authors evaluate impacts of web-based learning (WBL) for a geographic information system (GIS) course in which self-paced interactive learning modules replaced lectures to prepare students for GIS laboratory activities. They compare student laboratory, mid-term, final exam and overall scores before and after introduction of WBL, analyzing for…

The study discussed in this article investigated the impact of a short self-management skills training course on frontline bank employees' learning about the use of self-management to overcome obstacles to the initiation of banking product sales, perceived self-efficacy in initiating the sale of a product, and performance in activities related to…

Understanding the impact of different technological media on the achievement of instructional goals enables the delivery of a subject matter more effectively. Among the various instructional technologies that advance learning, educators and practitioners recurrently identify interactive multimedia as a very powerful tool for instruction and…

One way to assess the quality of education in post-secondary institutions is through the use of performance indicators. Studies that have compared currently popular process indicators (e.g., library size, percentage of faculty with PhD) found that after controlling for incoming student ability, these process indicators tend to be weakly associated…

This study examined whether requiring undergraduate college nonmusic majors, enrolled in a music fundamentals course, to own a keyboard would enhance their keyboard skills. The course included instruction in reading notation, singing and keyboard skills. There were two groups. One group (experimental) owned keyboards and had them accessible at…

This study explored the impact of performance assessment versus traditional paper-and-pencil assessment on graduate students' achievement and motivation to learn while enrolled in a 16-lesson course on program evaluation methods. Students in two sections of the course were exposed to the same content and instructional methods, with one exception:…

This study examines data from focus group discussions with parents, students, and teachers at an online charter school. Standardized achievement test scores of children at the online charter school are compared with those in a similar school and across the state. Overall, the constituents involved in the online charter school were satisfied with…

Validation of assessments intended to improve instruction and learning should include evidence of instructional sensitivity. This study investigated the instructional sensitivity of a standards-based ninth-grade performance assessment that required students to write an essay about conflict in a literary work. Before administering the assessment,…