Methods are described for visualizing and characterizing user interactions with hypermedia systems; they have been found to be effective in several developmental and evaluation studies. Analyzing the patterns of user interaction makes it possible to evaluate the design and usefulness of such systems. Path algebras can be used to describe and…

Presented in this course guide are seven units of study focusing on: (1) animal identification; (2) environmental testing; (3) ecological concepts; (4) wildlife abuse, depletion, and extinction; (5) water pollution; (6) air pollution; and (7) nuclear energy and the environment. Each unit includes a general objective, followed by specific…

A practicum study designed to address the problem of inadequate language development skills in first-grade children was conducted. Specifically, efforts were directed toward developing and implementing a specialized instructional program to remediate students' deficiencies in listening comprehension, basic concept skills, classification skills,…

One area explored in the second (in-depth) phase of the Learning in Science Project was "children's science," defined as views of the world and the meanings for words that children have and bring with them to science lessons. The investigation reported focuses on students' (N=39) ideas on the concept of "animal." Data were…

A unit of study that introduces collecting, representing, describing, and interpreting data is presented. Suitable for students in grades 4 through 6, it provides a foundation for further work in statistics and data analysis. The investigations may extend from one to four class sessions and are grouped into three parts: "Introduction to Data…

A study examined the identification of distinct subgroups of learning-disabled young adults based on their ability to generate written language. Two subgroups of learning-disabled college students, the language strong/visually weak (N=22) and the visually strong/language weak (N=10), were identified based on evaluation of 32 essays. Subjects were…

An environmental scanning system was developed by the admissions office of a graduate school of management in a small southeastern university. The school's strategic planning committee felt that it would be beneficial to acquire information concerning issues, trends, and possible events that might impact upon the school in the future and to…

While initiative in educational policy formation has shifted increasingly away from local and federal to state-level policy systems, policy problems continue to be compounded by intellectual problems related to weak conceptualization and inadequate analysis. Policy debates of the 20th Century have focused successively on education efficiency,…

The encoding of Swedish syntactic information in a study of linguistic data processing is described in detail. The choice of syntactic variables and classification criteria, illustrated with examples, is also discussed. In addition, uses of the coding for contrasting languages, as in this study's comparison of Swedish, Finnish, and English word…

Based on the idea that active participation stimulates the processes by which learning takes place, this document provides teachers and students with a variety of information and learning activities which deal with plants. Basic concepts about plants are presented through the use of laboratory experiences, learning stations, field trips, and…

Developed to aid intermediate-level teachers and principals in initiating and developing computer literacy programs for their students, this document is a guide for the development of a one-semester course--Introduction to Computing--for the seventh and eighth grades. The course is designed to provide opportunities for students to develop computer…

This study investigated time allocated to instruction as a function of the specific type of mild handicap and as a function of setting and subject matter content. Subjects were 122 elementary students categorized as learning-disabled, emotionally/behaviorally disturbed, educable mentally retarded, and nonhandicapped. Subjects were in mainstreamed,…

Some of the dynamics involved in ability grouping classification at the secondary level are described via an examination of the decision-making process involved. Specifically, the practitioners' perspectives of the curriculum, their use of selected student characteristics, and their beliefs about the goals of the classification process were…

Reported are data from the initial use of the Motivation Checklist, a rating scale for teachers designed to help them think about student motivation problems in terms of an extended, research-based typology. Over 50 teachers rated 261 students in grades one through six who differed in their level of motivation and in their level of achievement.…

The study, involving 100 children (11 and 12 years old), was designed to generate descriptive data regarding the behavioral and psychometric characteristics of exceptional children in the public schools. A review of the literature revealed that it is difficult to make a differential diagnosis among educable mentally retarded (EMR), emotionally…