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Using Microcomputers with Fourth-Grade Students to Reinforce Arithmetic Skills
This paper presents a learning-research based argument for the integration of computer programming into the science and mathematics curricula in pre-college education as well as college. Students who generate solutions to science and mathematics problems develop a procedural understanding of the fundamental theories of these disciplines. Students should be taught to use programming languages for these solutions for the same reasons they are taught the universal tools of arithmetic and algebra, and because only a computer provides the means to describe solutions in explicit, correct, and executable form. Programming should be integrated into all mathematics and science teaching from the earliest years. In precollege education, programming should be taught over a period of eight to ten years, rather than as a 6-12 week separate topic, and should be matched to the level of complexity of the science and mathematics content.
The present review examines research on the effects of educational technology applications on mathematics achievement in K-12 classrooms. Unlike previous reviews, this review applies consistent inclusion standards to focus on studies that met high methodological standards. In addition, methodological and substantive features of the studies are investigated to examine the relationship between educational technology applications and study features. A total of 74 qualified studies were included in our final analysis with a total sample size of 56,886 K-12 students: 45 elementary studies (N = 31,555) and 29 secondary studies (N = 25,331). Consistent with the more recent reviews, the findings suggest that educational technology applications generally produced a positive, though modest, effect (ES = +0.15) in comparison to traditional methods. However, the effects may vary by educational technology type. Among the three types of educational technology applications, supplemental CAI had the largest effect with an effect size of +0.18. The other two interventions, computer-management learning and comprehensive programs, had a much smaller effect size, +0.08 and +0.07, respectively. Differential impacts by various study and methodological features are also discussed.
This chapter discusses the design and use of instructional graphics. The chapter presents methods through which designers can use graphics to convey meaning and instruct, the types of outcomes that graphics are particularly adept at facilitating, and the conditions that affect how well they succeed. The design of instructional graphics (charts, graphs and diagrams) is carried out by means of a decision-making process that is common to all instructional design. The purpose of design is to select the best instructional method from among many, and to base that selection upon a rational analysis of what the goals to be attained are, and the conditions under which their attainment is to occur. Instructional strategies that use graphics are chosen largely on the basis of the different ways in which different graphic forms convey meaning. Charts, graphs, and diagrams express ideas in a variety of ways, such as concrete concepts, such as the animals in a food chain, can be represented by words, by pictures of varying degrees of realism, or by arbitrary symbols.
Computer‐mediated communication (CMC) is being used increasingly in education, often as a means to provide discussion forums for university classes. The growth of the use of CMC provides an opportunity to study its impact in instructional communication. Content analysis can provide answers about the types of messaging content and the longitudinal evolution of specialized codes in instructional CMC. The Uses and Gratifications approach can provide a perspective to ask questions about user motivations in instructional contexts, as well as the perceived consequences of CMC use in instructional contexts.
Educators have employed microcomputers to support instruction for over 20 years. However, results of research studies comparing the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction with other types of media are inconclusive. To use computers appropriately, educators must first identify the purpose of the course, the desired learning goals, the role of the computer, and the best teaching style. This paper presents a review of studies using computers for educational activities and then describes the application of a computer-assisted drafting and design (CADD) program in a hospitality design course.
This literature review examines recent research on computers and learning. It covers investigations of the computer in relation to: 1) effects on learning, 2) development of cognitive skills, 3) academic motivation, 4) learning environments, and 5) methodological issues. It notes three emerging trends; though these trends do not characterize the field as a whole, they set new and rigorous standards for research in the field. They include the integration of educational and psychological theory into research, precision in concept specification, and improvements in research design. The review notes the predominance of quantitative methods for hypothesis testing, with new interest emerging in the application of qualitative approaches for hypothesis formation. In addition, several new directions for research are proposed.
This article reviews research on the achievement outcomes of three types of approaches to improving elementary mathematics: mathematics curricula, computer-assisted instruction (CAI), and instructional process programs. Study inclusion requirements included use of a randomized or matched control group, a study duration of at least 12 weeks, and achievement measures not inherent to the experimental treatment. Eighty-seven studies met these criteria, of which 36 used random assignment to treatments. There was limited evidence supporting differential effects of various mathematics textbooks. Effects of CAI were moderate. The strongest positive effects were found for instructional process approaches such as forms of cooperative learning, classroom management and motivation programs, and supplemental tutoring programs. The review concludes that programs designed to change daily teaching practices appear to have more promise than those that deal primarily with curriculum or technology alone.
This is a study of the effects of one hour of computer‐assisted instruction (CAI) on the transformation geometry skills of a small number of average and below‐average ability 15 year‐olds after six hours of conventional study. The findings of the investigation include: significant gains in the short term on the transformation geometry skills embodied in the instructional software; a lack of transfer of the gains in specific transformation geometry skills into gains in other (related but distinct) transformation geometry skills; and high levels of student motivation during the CAI.
This review of learning from maps and diagrams consists of two sections. The first section presents a theoretical framework for learning from maps and diagrams. The case is made that the symbol systems of maps and diagrams are sufficiently similar for them to be considered together. The theoretical framework is built around what is known of pre-attentive and top-down psychological processes. It accounts for the way people discriminate between symbols used in maps and diagrams and how they group them into clusters. The second section comprises a review of psychological and instructional research. This research provides support for a number of hypotheses arising from the theoretical framework. Many of these are based on the notion that maps and diagrams communicate a considerable amount of information by the way in which components are placed relative to each other and to the frame surrounding them. Evidence that configuration and discrimination are fundamental to learning from maps and diagrams is summarized in 10 concluding points.
THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THE DEVELOPMENT of a Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) tool for learning management decision-making using advanced and traditional Computer Information Systems (CIS) technologies. Professors from Russia and the United States developed this tool, which differs substantially from earlier CAI systems in several ways:1.
It is cross-nationally useful since it has been used in Russia and the United States with the respective language modules integrated into the same tool, therefore, accommodating language differences;
2.
It focuses on management decision-making learning as well as technical skills learning;
3.
It integrates competitive (free) market and economic (controlled market) concepts and analysis;
4.
It is able to measure not only results accurately but also, by increasing before and after tutorial answers, measure the impact of the system on the user’s ability to correctly reply to questions; and
5.
It combines traditional computer technologies with artificial intelligence/expert system technologies.
In two experiments, university students solved kinship problems as they studied family trees or lists of statements about
who was whose parent. Subjects were given problems to solve requiring the application of rules to the statements or trees.
In the first experiment, response latency was less for subjects seeing trees than for those seeing statements. It was also
found that latency increased as the problems became more difficult. In the second experiment, response latencies for subjects
seeing no rules were less on difficult problems than for subjects working with rules involving English and nonsense kinship
terms. This difference disappeared with practice. These findings provided support for an account of diagram interpretation
based on the facilitation of search and computation through the spatial arrangement of concepts.
This paper describes the development and use of "Talk With the Experts," a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) tool for assisting learning management decision-making. Utilizing expert knowledge-based systems (EKBS), a user consults with computerized "experts" by answering a series of questions asked by the EKBS about his her specific situation (for example, judging the appropriateness of a franchise offering for the user). The system, using decision rules and computer logic, not only makes recommendations about a user's management decision problem situation, but also explains the reasoning processes leading to those recommendations. "Talk With the Experts" extends prior research in the CAI field in small but significant ways: it has incorporated advanced computer technologies into CAI tools and has developed applications to management decision-making learning.
Abstract: How people understand and learn information is changing due to an increased reliance on technology. The Internet is creating a complex environment where the lines between media and information are blurring. This switch can be seen in mass media, classroom learning applications and the work environment. Along with this reliance on technology comes access to an almost unlimited amount of information presented in a multitude of ways. This presentation can be overwhelming to information seekers and online learners alike. By taking advantage of the inherent properties of new media, namely the ability to present content in different forms to a variety of learners, online learning can be structured to improve recall and satisfaction for multimedia learners. This research presents the results of an experimentally designed research study that examines the effects of learning style, content delivery method, and pre-instructional strategy on recall and satisfaction in an online learning environment. Two hundred and forty-two participants were tested on their individual learning styles and online learning self efficacy and then randomly assigned to one of six conditions. The three independent variables consisted of 1) two learning styles: concrete and abstract; 2) two content delivery methods: linear and nonlinear; and 3) three pre-instructional strategies: control, elaborative interrogation and factual questioning. Online learning self-efficacy, or one's belief in their ability to learn using the web, was used as a covariate in all analyses. This research indicated a strong relationship between learning style, recall and satisfaction. Abstract learners had higher recall scores and were more satisfied in the online learning environment than concrete learners. Online learning self-efficacy was found to play an important role with recall and satisfaction in the online learning environment. Content delivery method also affected content satisfaction. Future research is needed to examine the role of learning style and online learning self efficacy in both educational and mass media contexts. Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 125 p.; also includes graphics. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-125). System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF viewer.
The effects of practicing computerized exercises in class by 59 learning disabled students who received an 8-hr. training program, 30 min. per week, were evaluated. Six exercises designed to facilitate basic cognitive skills development were used. Twelve subjects were assigned to a control group without any form of intervention. Covariance analysis (pretest scores used as covariates) showed a significant effect of training on mental arithmetic. These results suggest that practicing a computerized exercise of mental arithmetic can facilitate the automatization of basic arithmetic skills (addition, subtraction, and multiplication). The nature, progress, and evaluation of such types of intervention are discussed.
Reviewers have consistently concluded that males perform better on mathematics tests than females do. To make a refined assessment of the magnitude of gender differences in mathematics performance, we performed a meta-analysis of 100 studies. They yielded 254 independent effect sizes, representing the testing of 3,175,188 Ss. Averaged over all effect sizes based on samples of the general population, d was -0.05, indicating that females outperformed males by only a negligible amount. For computation, d was -0.14 (the negative value indicating superior performance by females). For understanding of mathematical concepts, d was -0.03; for complex problem solving, d was 0.08. An examination of age trends indicated that girls showed a slight superiority in computation in elementary school and middle school. There were no gender differences in problem solving in elementary or middle school; differences favoring men emerged in high school (d = 0.29) and in college (d = 0.32). Gender differences were smallest and actually favored females in samples of the general population, grew larger with increasingly selective samples, and were largest for highly selected samples and samples of highly precocious persons. The magnitude of the gender difference has declined over the years; for studies published in 1973 or earlier d was 0.31, whereas it was 0.14 for studies published in 1974 or later. We conclude that gender differences in mathematics performance are small. Nonetheless, the lower performance of women in problem solving that is evident in high school requires attention.
The author reviews the research on the effectiveness of graphics
in instruction and then proposes a framework for developing a theory
that accounts for the syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of graphics. His
goal is to lay the groundwork for developing prescriptive guidelines for
the design of effective graphics in training documents. He stresses that
further research needs to be done in order that a theory of learning
from graphics can be developed in sufficient detail for design
prescriptions to be provided and that prescriptive theory for graphic
design is necessary
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