May 2004 — Exclusive Series: SBR
Print this article | Email this articleClick here to receive your FREE subscription to T.H.E. Journal
IES Funded Projects
Principal investigator: Janet MetcalfeOnline: www.columbia.edu/
Using a highly flexible and effective computer-based study program based on principles of cognitive science and designed to specifically target and improve memory and learning, this research team seeks to improve academic performance by changing the way children approach studying. The computer-based tutor will be tested with a group of urban inner-city sixth- and seventh-grade children studying academic content.
Washington University
Test-Enhanced Learning.Principal investigator: Henry R'ediger III
Online: www.wustl.edu/
This project provides a new approach to learning, memorization and comprehension of written material. Traditional studies in educational psychology emphasize the way material is organized and/or study strategies during learning. In contrast, the present approach emphasizes the power of testing in enhancing learning, while also examining the effectiveness of using testing as a learning tool in a Web-based university course.
Carnegie Mellon University
The Neural Markers of Effective Learning.Principal investigator: John Anderson
Online: www.cmu.edu/
Failure to learn the mathematics necessary for success in algebra is widespread. At the same time, success in algebra is considered the gatekeeper to pursuing careers in mathematics and science. This research team will use brain imaging to improve the design of a computer-based instructional approach to teaching key algebraic concepts. Over the course of the research, the cognitive computer tutor for algebra word problems will be substantially modified, refined and improved. The effectiveness of the tutor will be evaluated by assessing student gains on the class of word problems used in the curriculum as well as transfer problems that generalize the relationships in the word problems.
University of Maryland, College Park
Computer-Assisted Instruction for Learning and Long-Term Retention Based on Recent Cognitive and Metacognitive Findings.Principal investigator: Thomas Nelson
Online: www.umd.edu/
The main focus of this project is to improve computer-assisted instruction (CAI) designed to facilitate the learning and long-term retention of second-language vocabulary. This newly developed second-language CAI will use individuals' prior learning patterns and judgments of learning in order to create a highly effective and individualized computer tutor that can be used by both children and adults who are second-language learners.
LessonLab Inc.
Improving Achievement by Maintaining the Learning Potential of Rich Mathematics Problems: An Experimental Study of a Video- and Internet-Based Professional Development Program.Principal investigator: James Stigler
Online: www.lessonlab.com/research/curProj.htm
International comparisons indicate that middle school students in the United States are outperformed in mathematics achievement by students in many other countries. U.S. mathematics lessons rarely involve discussions of rich mathematical problems, in sharp contrast to lessons in the higher achieving countries, which participated in the TIMSS 1999 Video Study. The team created a video- and Internet-based professional development program in which middle school prealgebra teachers learn to identify, design, and incorporate mathematically rich problems in ways that retain their rich learning opportunities for students.
