The reasons behind the reading habits of undergraduate MIS students were examined to learn from the students' point of view why many don't read the textbook. Willingness to work hard on homework and project assignments and an appreciation of what is expected of them appears to be in place. However, carrots, sticks, ruses and requests all meet with…

Field placements in teacher candidate preparation have long been established as significant and formative for learners. Teacher educators attempt to align course goals with fieldwork and then assess candidate progress. This authentic practice has been highly valued for preservice candidates. For educators in the United States, providing an…

The learning of science can be made more like the practice of science through authentic simulated experiences. We have created a networked handheld Augmented Reality environment that combines the authentic role-playing of Augmented Realities and the underlying models of Participatory Simulations. This game, known as Outbreak @ The Institute, is…

To increase student achievement, schools and districts are hiring teachers as leaders to support peers in improving teaching and learning. Their roles are variously called coach, school-based staff developer, instructional specialists, or program facilitator. Yet though many have exceptional teaching skills, they seldom have a deep understanding…

This experiment involved college students (N = 464) working on an authentic learning task (writing an essay) under 3 conditions: no feedback, detailed feedback (perceived by participants to be provided by the course instructor), and detailed feedback (perceived by participants to be computer generated). Additionally, conditions were crossed with 2…

Medical schools have reduced the time allotted to anatomy instruction. Consequently, schools engage students in more independent settings using information and communication technologies (ICT). There has been limited research in the use of video aids, a type of ICT, to enhance anatomy examination performance. The objective of this study is to…

This publication is part of a series of monographs on the art of teaching. Each volume, focusing on a specific discipline, explores theory in the context of teaching strategies Three techniques for using the series: dialogues (as self-evaluation and in study groups), shop talk (review of current professional literature), and teacher-to-teacher…

This study demonstrates the advantages of using a constrained optimization algorithm to explore the optimal number of prompts, modes of discourse, and raters for achieving an acceptable level of reliability during a direct writing assessment. Writing samples elicited from 50 college students were rated by 3 graduate students and the scores…

Much speculation abounds concerning how expensive performance assessments are or are going to be. Recent projections indicate that, in order to achieve an acceptably high generalizability coefficient, many additional tasks may need to be added, which will enlarge costs. Such projections are, to some degree, correct, and to some degree simplistic.…

One of a series of educational packages designed for implementation either in a workshop atmosphere or through individual study, this Hot Topic guide presents a variety of materials designed to assist educators in designing and implementing classroom projects and activities centering on the topic of standardized and alternative assessment. The Hot…

The first stage of a 3-part research project designed to assess the appropriateness of using cooperative learning groups in communication courses with a significant oral performance component, a study assessed student perceptions about the appropriateness of using cooperative learning groups in a communication class with more than half of the…

As part of Alberta Education's (Canada) broadened assessment initiatives, a sample of 693 Grade 3 students from across the province participated in the Mathematics Performance-based Assessment, 1994. This activity-based assessment, using picture books and manipulatives, was developed by Grade 3 teachers to assess a broad range of skills not easily…

This 138-item annotated bibliography of books, journal articles, papers, and computer disks represents the reading assessment portion of the Test Center lending library. Listed alphabetically by author, materials in the bibliography were published between 1984 and 1996. An index using a set of descriptors developed for this material is attached.…

Focusing exclusively on the art and science of oral communication for grades K-8, this book explains fundamental concepts in contemporary oral communication instruction and suggests practical strategies for implementing a competency-based approach to oral communication in an integrated classroom setting. The book also emphasizes oral communication…

Standards-based systems generally require students to meet the performance level specified in order to proceed or be certified. This issue of the Oregon School Study Council (OSSC) Bulletin surveys the types of standards currently being proposed. After an introductory chapter, chapter 2 describes eight components of standards, illustrated with a…