Reports on a study designed to examine the effect of concrete and formal instruction upon reasoning and science achievement of sixth grade students. Results indicated that the concrete instruction group had significantly higher levels of performance in science achievement and cognitive development and that males outperformed females. (TW)

The primary purpose of the 2004 Mississippi Business and Technology Framework is to promote business and economic literacy, both successful domestic and international functioning, diverse practice of interpersonal, teamwork, and leadership skills, technology as a tool for managing information, and lifelong learning skills that foster flexible…

A graduate communications course in multimedia literacy uses a completely online environment to assemble faculty and curriculum resources normally unavailable in traditional classrooms. Guided by a teacher/coordinator, a librarian teaches information literacy by examining Internet copyright and fair use issues, ethics, and the evaluation of…

In order to facilitate the professional development of its student teachers, North Carolina has initiated a grant program that offers a number of grant opportunities. This paper describes how one of these grants was used in a special education classroom. The classroom consisted of 14 students with a wide range of handicapping conditions. The…

The guide is designed to give teachers of second language reading a broad theoretical basis for developing effective teaching methods and a flexible curriculum. An introductory section looks at the process by which learners acquire, expand, and refine their knowledge as a learning spiral, a reference made throughout the text. Chapter one describes…

Twenty-six papers on the education of students with developmental disabilities are divided into 7 sections on: (1) definition and placement; (2) assessment and curriculum; (3) instructional strategies; (4) individual needs; (5) systematic and data-based instruction and management; (6) family involvement and community attitudes; and (7) appropriate…

This guide is a companion document to the revised "Second Language Standard Course for Study," which was approved by the North Carolina State Board of Education in November 1999. It was designed to address needs that were identified by teachers and supervisors during the curriculum development process. The guide is divided into three…

The shift from traditional classroom education to computer-mediated distance learning poses enormous challenges to instructors and learners. The concept of the classroom where students meet to interact with other learners and the instructor no longer exists. Learners lack a natural social outlet to engage with other learners thus leading to…

This paper applies Cognitive Flexibility Theory (CFT) principles to a 19th century Portuguese novel ("Cousin Basilio" by Eca de Queiros) that is available on the World Wide Web. An undergraduate Portuguese literature Web course that studied the novel is also described. Students' reactions to this distance learning course were analyzed by…

This document contains the following papers on theory from the SITE (Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education) 2002 conference: (1) "The Emerging Ecological Contribution of Online Resources and Tools to K-12 Classrooms" (Therese Laferriere, Robert Bracewell, Alain Breuleux); (2) "Pedagogical Ethnotechnography: A Bifocal Lens To…

This book presents practical skills for successful instructional design. Maintaining a balance between theory and application, it offers a flexible model that can be adapted for use in many settings. Examples are presented from business, higher education, and K-12 education. The 15 chapters are: (1) "Introduction to the Instructional Design…

Teaching via Interactive Television (ITV) is more than pushing a few buttons. Existing courses taught in the traditional lecture-based format must be modified in order to be effective via ITV. Visual literacy and guidelines which support visual literacy are critical to the success and effectiveness of an ITV course. This paper addresses visual…

As several initiatives relating to integrating the use of information technologies (IT) were started in Prince Edward Island, the Faculty of Education at the University of Prince Edward Island saw a unique opportunity where the merging of some of the initiatives and collaboration among the participants might be more productive and advance the…

This study looked at the effect of contextual advisement and competition on transfer of mathematics skills in a computer-based instructional simulation game and simulation in which game participants helped their "aunt and uncle" fix up a house. Competition referred to whether or not the participant was playing against a computer…

Computer-delivered, case-based instruction can provide medical students with valuable clinical diagnostic experiences before encountering real patients. Diagnosis requires physicians to understand and use causal reasoning for prediction. Such reasoning may be scaffolded in the design of computerized learning environments. Scaffolding of causal…