Describes the need and prospects for alternative assessment approaches in online learning environments in higher education. Explains the difference between assessment and evaluation and discusses three approaches to integrating alternative assessment approaches into online learning environments: cognitive assessment, performance assessment, and…

Discusses the value of role-play in developing interpersonal skills and presents a 10-step model to help performance technologists design effective role-plays. Highlights include training objectives; designing assessment instruments; task analysis; generality and demonstration; designing social-communicative problems for the content; practice; and…

Some of the six themes about high stakes testing, based on English, Welsh, and American research, include: not all stakes are perceived as equally high; pressure to respond to tests comes from more than formal stakes; external pressure is useful for changing content taught; and external pressure is less effective in changing instructional strategy…

A study investigated the effect of teaching assistant (TA) training and preparation and prior teaching experience on undergraduate students' perceptions and TAs' self-perceptions of nine teaching effectiveness factors. Subjects were 129 TAs in 29 departments at one university. Results reveal that TAs with either K-12 or college teaching experience…

Examined the contribution of biological and environmental variables to 11-year-olds' phonological development. Found that temporal lobe (planar) asymmetry, hand preference, family history of reading disability, and SES explained over half the variance in phonological and verbal performance, demonstrating a linear association between cerebral…

Examined relationship between mother-child conversational interactions when children were 30, 36, and 42 months old and children's recall of these activities 1 day and 3 weeks later. Found that at all ages, features of activities jointly handled and jointly discussed were remembered better than features jointly handled but discussed by mother only…

Discusses the results of a national study of 930 (response rate 71%) community colleges' evaluation methods for faculty who have achieved tenure or who have long-term status. Identifies current practices and perceptions regarding post-tenure faculty reviews in community colleges. Asserts that faculty evaluation practices need to be changed if they…

A study was designed to test whether there are differences between Spanish children (ages 7-9) with arithmetic learning disabilities (n=60), garden-variety (G-V) poor performance (n=44), and typical children (n=44) in strategy choice when solving arithmetic word problems. No significant differences were found between children with dyscalculia and…

Using information from a 20-year study, this article presents a conceptual framework for fostering success attributes in students with learning disabilities and provides suggestions for classroom activities. Activities are suggested for fostering self-awareness, proactiveness, perseverance, goal setting, use of support systems, and emotional…

Reports on needs identified by three teachers during an investigation into their first experiences of implementing technology in primary classrooms. Presents two models for conceptualizing and planning units of work in technology. The models form frameworks that may help structure thinking for authentic classroom planning and sequencing of lessons…

Examined effects of a change in teacher efficacy on primary school students' computer cognitions and skills when students moved to a new grade. Found that teacher efficacy explained 7 to 9 percent of student outcome variance. Effects were stronger when district inservice training was differentiated, distributed throughout the information period,…

A study involving 19 low achieving first-graders investigated the effectiveness of two grouping adaptation strategies (heterogeneous small-groups versus peer tutoring) to accommodate individual and group differences in mathematics learning. Results revealed a significant increase in number sense and arithmetic skills when pupils worked in pairs.…

It is argued that challenging behavior can be better understood if a correlational analysis (looking for correlations between behavior occurrence and other variables) is used in addition to functional analysis. A case example is provided of a man whose aggressive outbursts were negatively correlated with trips out of his unit. (Contains…

Describes experiences of three second graders taking standardized achievement tests. Maintains that many children lose learning time and confidence over test results that are not adequately explained to parents. Argues that samples of children's work over time better document growth and that young children should be viewed in terms of widely held…

A comparison of levels of emotional and behavioral disturbance in 599 children and adolescents with four genetically determined causes of intellectual disability and an epidemiologically derived control group found in a 4-year follow-up study that persons with Down syndrome had significantly less behavior disturbance than controls and those with…