Fault Tree Analysis: An emerging methodology for instructional science

Fault Tree Analysis is a systematic approach to improving the probability of succes in any system. FTA was first developed as part of the U.S. Space Industry and was applied to such programs as the Minute Man Missile evaluations. Kent G. Stephens has successfully applied the technique to instructional and administrative programs, the latest program being the development of an FTA Institute for the Training Command of the United States Navy. More than a million dollars are being allocated to that program. R. Kent Wood has used the FTA methodology as a tool for a national needs assessment of teacher use of library media centers in the United States (NATUL Project). Bruce Barker has used the FTA methodology in religious education curriculum development. Because of the newness of the Fault Tree Analysis, coupled with its rapid acceptance as a tool for systems analysis and its very different approach of analyzing possible modes of failure in systems to increase the probability of success, this article is timely as the most complete coverage of FTA to date.     

Some Experiments in Man—Machine Interaction Relevant to Computer Assisted Instruction

Some experiments in man-machine interaction are briefly described in the context of their relevance to multi-media audio-visual instruction. Two important points emerge: the need for the development of appropriate data-base management systems and the necessity for a suitable author language capable of providing the instructor with a means of coordinating the use of instructional resources.     

Effects of curriculum organisation on study progress in engineering studies

Procrastination and time investment areimportant issues in the study of studentperformance and progress. Previous research onthese issues has mainly concentrated uponindividual differences between students inpersonality and time management skills.However, study progress depends not only onstudent characteristics but also on theorganisation of the curriculum. A multilevelanalysis that was carried out on dataconcerning 1578 engineering students on twelvedifferent programmes provides evidence thatvariation in study progress can partly beattributed to curriculum organisation. Thespread of study activities over the year,instruction characteristics and examinationcharacteristics were found to have effects onprogress. This implies that institutes inhigher education may improve their studentsprogress to some extent by means of efficientcurriculum organisation.     

Classroom Interpreting and Visual Information Processing in Mainstream Education for Deaf Students: Live or Memorex?

This study examined visual information processing and learning in classrooms including both deaf and hearing students. Of particular interest were the effects on deaf students' learning of live (three-dimensional) versus video-recorded (two-dimensional) sign language interpreting and the visual attention strategies of more and less experienced deaf signers exposed to simultaneous, multiple sources of visual information. Results from three experiments consistently indicated no differences in learning between three-dimensional and two-dimensional presentations among hearing or deaf students. Analyses of students' allocation of visual attention and the influence of various demographic and experimental variables suggested considerable flexibility in deaf students' receptive communication skills. Nevertheless, the findings also revealed a robust advantage in learning in favor of hearing students.