The purpose of this thesis is to improve our understanding of sensemaking process as a basis for building better systems to assist sensemaking. Sensemaking is the task of creating an understanding of a problem or task so that further actions may be taken in an informed manner. Sensemaking is a pre-requisite for many other tasks such as decision…

Though the public believes that urban school boards should handle problems with failing schools, urban school boards spend very little time considering ways to turn such schools around or transforming the educational experiences of at-risk students. Today's school board members are expected to be interest representatives, trustees for children,…

Professors create their careers through three forms of work: research, teaching, and service. Teaching and research are well defined in most professors' careers and in higher education at large. However, faculty service is nebulous. In this article, the authors define service as faculty members' contributions to (a) the governance, management, and…

The absence of suitable external criteria is a recurrent problem for test, battery, and inventory developers in selecting items or tests for inclusion in final operational instruments. This report presents a computing algorithm developed for use when no adequate external selection criterion is available. The algorithm uses a multiple linear…

This pilot study introduces a scale to assess structural knowledge in concept maps. The need to increase our understanding of structural knowledge through improved assessment is made evident in a review of research that indicates that its quality is related to problem-solving abilities. The new scale is derived from Biggs and Collis' (1982)…

This study traces the development of research in marriage counseling to discover whether generalizations concerning development in a scientific field also apply to research in marriage counseling. It is hypothesized that it is possible to identify development in a field along the lines of productivity of research, development of accretive studies,…

This bulletin contains a non-technical introduction to the forces that change the coastline and how engineers can sometimes modify their effects with occasionally unpredicted consequences. This publication introduces the reader to the basic geology of the Oregon coast. Next, an explanation of wave action discussing the changes in a beach due to…

A study investigated developmental changes in children's fluency in interpreting metaphors. Specifically, it examined the development of an implicit interpretation strategy found in adults of mapping relational structure from base to target. Ten subjects from each of three age groups--five to six years, nine to ten years, and college-age…

This paper describes an experimental course in which the author taught students to improve their learning skills. It is a first step toward constructing a systematic body of knowledge about learning strategies. The course covered four topics, chosen because they were complex enough to require several weeks to make progress, but simple enough that…

Prior studies of time-to-contact (TTC) focused on judgments of unoccluded approaching objects. P. R. DeLucia, M. K. Kaiser, J. M. Bush, L. E. Meyer, and B. T. Sweet (2003) showed that partial occlusion decreases an object's optical size and expansion rate and that the value of tau derived from the reduced optical size (relative rate of accretion;…

The collective bargaining agreement between the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF; 4,200 members) covering the period July 1, 1981 to June 30, 1984 is presented. Also included for this American Association of University Professors affiliated union is the reopener and…

Two instructional variables, visual illustrations and visual mental imagery, were compared for their influences on learning and cognitive strategies. It was hypothesized, based on dual-code theory, that attempts to combine the two would facilitate learning. In a completely randomized factorial design, treatments consisted of 4 versions of a…

Contradictory research findings on teachers and teaching are frequently the result of overlooking or neglecting a systematic approach to teaching, using principles of human learning to enhance pupils' learning and their enjoyment of learning. In discussing teacher preparation, it is pointed out that task analysis is a crucial operation, in which…

Some central issues in discussions of creative processes in science are: (1) the mechanism(s) by which hypothesis formation takes place; (2) the sources of new knowledge during hypothesis formation; and (3) the "Eureka" versus steady accumulation (accretion) issue concerning the pace of change during hypothesis formation. This paper…

A REVOLUTION IN PLANNING WAS TRIGGERED BY A REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION WHICH INVESTIGATED THE AVAILABILITY OF PLACES IN RELATION TO STUDENT ENROLLMENT PROJECTION. SIX NEW UNIVERSITIES WERE CONSTRUCTED AS A RESULT WITH AN EMPHASIS ON DESIGN. THE DESIGN WAS DEVELOPED TO HELP SOLVE THE DILEMMA OF "BELONGING" AT LARGE INSTITUTIONS.…