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Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Simulation-Based Instruction About Water Resources In Las Vegas, Stephanie Fincher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study compared the effectiveness of simulation-based instruction to traditional teacher-directed instruction about water resource management in Las Vegas. Subjects, undergraduate students recruited from Psychology and Environmental Studies departments, participated in one of two treatments. All participants were given a pretest prior to instruction, a post-test immediately following instruction, and a retention-test 4 weeks after instruction. Evaluation instruments provided overall scores, gauged student learning in topic areas and different question difficulty-levels as well as attitudes toward the environment and water management. The treatments differed only in how students interacted with the system after receiving background information on Las Vegas valley’s …