Presents a classroom activity on estimating animal populations. Uses shoe boxes and candies to emphasize the importance of mathematics in biology while introducing the methods of quantitative ecology. (JRH)

Presents an activity that demonstrates a crude method of mapping the sea floor and helps students appreciate some basic considerations that scientists face in working with a project of this type. Demonstrates the logistics of teamwork and the effects of time and cost limitations on science projects. (JRH)

Two possible standard error formulas for the polytomous differential item functioning index proposed by N. J. Dorans and A. P. Schmitt (1991) were derived. These standard errors, and associated hypothesis-testing procedures, were evaluated through simulated data. The standard error that performed better is based on N. Mantel's (1963)…

Debunks five misconceptions about improving creative thinking. To encourage students to think creatively, instructional techniques should reflect an integrated set of mental skills, use materials mimicking real-life situations, consider students' beliefs and tendencies toward creative thinking, show metacognitive sensibility, and foster a creative…

The consequences of underextracting factors and components within and between the methods of maximum likelihood factor analysis and principal components analysis were examined through computer simulation. The principal components score and the factor score estimate (T. W. Anderson and H. Rubin, 1956) tended to become different with…

Developed and investigated a goodness-of-fit statistic that considers the uncertainty with which ability is estimated and a resampling-based hypothesis testing procedure. Simulation study results indicate that the procedure should be useful for evaluating goodness-of-fit item response theory models for most testing applications when uncertainty in…

Reviews "Learning from the Market: Integrating 'The Stock Market Game' across the Curriculum" guide for teachers in grades 4 to 12. Believes the guide suffers from errors of fact and omission. Suggests corrections and alternative activities that enable instructors to continue to use the material. (JEH)

Presents a design framework that incorporates integrated structures for modeling knowledge and skills, designing tasks, and extracting and synthesizing evidence. Illustrates these ideas in the context of a project that assesses problem solving in dental hygiene through computer-based simulations. (SLD)

Discusses research in spatial cognition that uses computer-simulated three dimensional environments and evaluates the use of virtual desktop environments by replicating an experiment which was formerly done in a laboratory or real world setting. Investigates the role of landmarks when acquiring route knowledge in a system of paths. (Author/LRW)

Studied three stratification designs for computerized adaptive testing in conjunction with three well-developed content balancing methods. Simulation study results show substantial differences in item overlap rate and pool utilization among different methods. Recommends an optimal combination of stratification design and content balancing method.…

Explored procedures to detect test takers using item preknowledge in computerized adaptive testing and suggested a Bayesian posterior log odds ratio index for this purpose. Simulation results support the use of the odds ratio index. (SLD)

Synthesizes lessons from school finance research that employs computational structural models to investigate different policy proposals. Suggests that full equilibrium analysis may lead to outcomes that differ from those predicted by partial equilibrium models. (Contains 50 references and 47 notes.) (JOW)

Describes an activity that would be useful for any level biology class discussing recombinant DNA technology to help students visualize the step-by-step process involved. (JRH)

Several methods of constructing confidence intervals for Spearman's rho (rank correlation coefficient) (C. Spearman, 1904) were tested in a Monte Carlo study using 2,000 samples of 3 different sizes. Results support the continued use of Spearman's rho in behavioral research. (SLD)

Describes advances in and advantages of computer simulation in education and industry. Gives examples from health care and waste handling industries and technology education classrooms. (SK)