Evaluation Of Instructional Programs Research Articles

An Evaluation of Instructional Process of Expert System Course Program by Using Mobile Technology-based CSE-UCLA Model

<span lang="EN-GB">One of various types of application program which could facilitate human activities is known as expert system application program. The concept of the expert system of the application program so important that it requires to be shared to other people by developing a course program called expert system conducted in particular by an institution which specialized in the field of information technology. This course program of expert system which is offered to the students need to be designed in terms of good instructional process to improve its effectiveness. In fact, not all existing course programs conducted based on expert system could run more effectively than it was expected in order to achieve higher quality of learning outcomes. This could be explained as a numerous problems occurred during the process of implementation. In order to discover the extend of program effectivity in the expert system of the course, a through program evaluation is required to be conducted. One model called CSE-UCLA will be recommended in making deeper instructional program evaluation in relation to expert system of course program. Through this model the instructional affectivity of application program of expert system could be measured by involving system assessment, program planning, program</span><span lang="EN-GB"> implementation, program improvement, and program certification.</span>

College and Career Readiness Assessment

In this study, the authors examined the psychometric properties of the key cognitive strategies (KCS) within the CollegeCareerReady™ School Diagnostic, a self-report measure of critical thinking skills intended for high school students. Using a cross-validation approach, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted with a randomly selected portion of the sample ( n = 516) and resulted in five reliable factors: (a) problem formulation, (b) research, (c) interpretation, (d) communication, and (e) precision/accuracy. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with the remaining sample ( n = 808). Goodness-of-fit indices indicated acceptable model fit. The five-factor solution is consistent with earlier validity studies of the KCS framework. Implications for use by high school personnel in evaluation of instructional programs and as a value-added assessment are discussed.

Using instructional design process to improve design and development of Internet interventions.

Given the wide reach and extensive capabilities of the Internet, it is increasingly being used to deliver comprehensive behavioral and mental health intervention and prevention programs. Their goals are to change user behavior, reduce unwanted complications or symptoms, and improve health status and health-related quality of life. Internet interventions have been found efficacious in addressing a wide range of behavioral and mental health problems, including insomnia, nicotine dependence, obesity, diabetes, depression, and anxiety. Despite the existence of many Internet-based interventions, there is little research to inform their design and development. A model for behavior change in Internet interventions has been published to help guide future Internet intervention development and to help predict and explain behavior changes and symptom improvement outcomes through the use of Internet interventions. An argument is made for grounding the development of Internet interventions within a scientific framework. To that end, the model highlights a multitude of design-related components, areas, and elements, including user characteristics, environment, intervention content, level of intervention support, and targeted outcomes. However, more discussion is needed regarding how the design of the program should be developed to address these issues. While there is little research on the design and development of Internet interventions, there is a rich, related literature in the field of instructional design (ID) that can be used to inform Internet intervention development. ID models are prescriptive models that describe a set of activities involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instructional programs. Using ID process models has been shown to increase the effectiveness of learning programs in a broad range of contexts. ID models specify a systematic method for assessing the needs of learners (intervention users) to determine the gaps between current knowledge and behaviors, and desired outcomes. Through the ID process, designers focus on the needs of learners, taking into account their prior knowledge; set measurable learning objectives or performance requirements; assess learners’ achievement of the targeted outcomes; and employ cycles of continuous formative evaluation to ensure that the intervention meets the needs of all stakeholders. The ID process offers a proven methodology for the design of instructional programs and should be considered an integral part of the creation of Internet interventions. By providing a framework for the design and development of Internet interventions and by purposefully focusing on these aspects, as well as the underlying theories supporting these practices, both the theories and the interventions themselves can continue to be refined and improved. By using the behavior change model for Internet interventions along with the best research available to guide design practice and inform development, developers of Internet interventions will increase their ability to achieve desired outcomes.

ENHANCING INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS THROUGH EVALUATION: TRANSLATING THEORY INTO PRACTICE

This article describes an instructional program evaluation process used at Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton, Wisconsin. Evidence indicates that this is a valuable process which can be used to enhance instructional programs. This evidence was uncovered during a recent evaluation designed to determine appropriate changes to enhance the process. Surveys, interviews, and focus groups were conducted with various stakeholders to obtain feedback on the relevance for each instructional program evaluation component. In addition, an analysis of the instructional program evaluation recommendations was reviewed to determine the level to which the recommendations were implemented. When the assessment results were compared to the effectiveness criteria, the evidence supported the conclusion that the instructional program evaluation process is effective in achieving the intended outcomes. The assessment information demonstrated that stakeholder perceptions were positive.

AUR memorial award--1987. The impact of focused instruction on learning mammography.

Recent promotion of breast cancer screening has increased the demand for mammography services and well-trained mammographers. To determine whether focused instruction, which may occur in continuing medical education courses, is effective in imparting mammography skills and knowledge, an instructional program was developed and evaluated. Seventeen physicians were tested before and after six 1-hour instructional sessions about breast disease and cancer screening, mammogram interpretation, and determining appropriate patient disposition. Twelve weeks after instruction, subjects demonstrated significant improvement in factual knowledge, in decision-making ability regarding patient disposition, and in recognition of benign disease on mammograms. There also was significant improvement in specificity, but no improvement in cancer detection. Further, no correlation between participants' subjective self-assessment of improvement and their actual performance on the postinstruction evaluation was found. Evaluation of instructional programs is necessary to determine their effectiveness, and promotes improvement in instructional offerings.

Assessment of Reading Comprehension: matching Test Purposes and Test Properties

Reading comprehension is difficult to measure because it is a multifaceted construct influenced by a variety of cognitive, social and affective variables. There are also many distinct reasons for measuring reading comprehension such as the evaluation of instructional programs, the ordering of students by ability, and the diagnosis of reading difficulties. In this article we suggest that appropriate measures of reading comprehension depend on the fit between the purposes for testing and the properties of individual tests. Three test properties that we identify are statistical: stability of individual differences, consistency of an individual's scores across testing occasions, and sensitivity of the criterion variable to treatment or growth. Three other properties are conceptual in nature and pertain to test validity: nomothetic span, construct representation, and penetration. Each of these test properties and purposes is described, as well as the perils of mismatches among them. Comparative research on reading tests, construction of tests from theories and models, and use of testing portfolios can all improve the effective measurement of reading.

Issues and Considerations in Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating Programs to Facilitate Cognitive Development

Given the growing concern for cognitive development as a central focus in education, this article (a) reviews important and recent developments in cognitive science that have relevance for designing, implementing, and evaluating instructional programs in schools; and (b) based upon these developments, offers a set of guidelines that educators and special resource providers may find valuable when consulting about or when involved in the implementation or evaluation of instructional programs based in the cognitive sciences.

Alternative Teacher Preparation Programs: A Cost-Effectiveness Comparison

pensive, without knowing whether any of them produce the desired effects. Treating outcomes without attention to costs can result in selecting program alternatives that are only marginally more effective, but exorbitantly more expensive than other alternatives. Only by incorporating both costs and outcomes within comparative studies of program alternatives can one reliably determine which alternative is most effective for a given cost, or how much it would cost to obtain a desired level of effect. A few writings designed to help researchers use cost-effectiveness analysis in program evaluation do exist. Alkin (1970) provided an early chapter advocating its use in the evaluation of instructional programs. Levin (1975) provided a sound general introduction to the topic, followed by an instructional analysis of specific applications in educational evaluation (Levin, 1981). Thompson (1980) also discussed the use of cost-effective-

Instructional product evaluation using the staged innovation design

In instructional program evaluation, pretest scores typically are compared to posttest scores, and any change is attributed to the instructional program. Such a pretest-posttest evaluation design ignores the possible existence of threats to internal validity. In contrast, the Staged Innovation Design makes use of an experimental and a control-replication group by not introducing the program to all learners at once. Use of the Staged Innovation Design allows for posttest scores for an experimental group to be compared to both pretest and posttest scores of a control-replication group to ascertain the instructional effectiveness of the program. In the study reported here, the Staged Innovation Design was modified with the addition of a simultaneous pretest for both groups prior to the introduction of the program to the control group. As altered, this design controls for threats to internal validity while providing options for multiple comparisons on which to base a contention that the program is instructionally effective.

Growth-Referenced Evaluation of Foreign Language Instructional Programs

A method was devised for inter-skill comparative evaluation of instructional programs. The method, termed “Growth-referenced evaluation”, is distinguished by its attempt to focus on comparative rate of growth and to provide empirical indication of areas for program intervention and reform. The method is explained by reference to a sample of 485 adult EFL students in a four-year undergraduate program. For the present context, intervention and program reform were indicated for component skills of listening comprehension and reading comprehension.

Performance Feedback to Improve the Planning and Evaluation of Instructional Programs

Federal and State regulations regarding education for handicapped children require that teachers document plans and evaluate instructional programs on a regular basis. This study investigated the performance of teachers on their documentation of services provided their students. The study employed a multiple baseline across schools designed to assess a performance feedback intervention. Following the initiation of feedback, large increases over baseline were observed for teachers in both schools on two performance measures: Percentage of instructional programs (IPs) planned: and percentage of teachers recording evaluation information on IPs. Results of the study are discussed with respect to the usefulness of performance feedback ss a practical, cost-effective intervention procedure for supervisors and administrators in organizational settings.

Using the Individual Interview to Assess Mathematics Learning

The main thesis of this article is that the individual interview is a useful tool for assessing students' mathematical thinking. In the first three sections, examples are presented to illustrate how the interview can be used for individual diagnosis, instructional planning for the entire class, and instructional program evaluation. In the last section, these uses are summarized and guidelines for when and how to use the interview methods are discussed.

Taking Your School's Pulse

Most schools do not have procedures established for the formal evaluation of instructional pro grams, yet they have a wealth of data avail able in records that are already being kept or could easily be kept. This brief article describes an attempt at identifying some of these data sources.

Teaching Effectiveness in Culturally Deprived Junior High Mathematics Classes

This study was designed to investigate the extent to which a policy existed regarding the evaluation by a team of evaluators from the Center for Study of Evaluation of Instructional Programs of thirteen teachers par ticipating in an experimental mathematics program at three Demonstration Math Centers in three junior high schools located in culturally disadvantaged areas of a large Southern California district. The investigators used a modified form of the Judgment Analysis (JAN) technique to capture the policy. Results of the study indicate that the subset of predictor variables identified as teacher characteristics contributed significantly to the group policy while another subset of predictor variables which were essentially pupil characteristics failed to make a significant contribution to the policy expressed by the evaluators.