astronomy

William G. Harless

William G. Harless is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand William G. Harless rather than just read about it. In short: William G. Harless (November 20, 1933 – May 7, 2014) was an educational theorist.

Key takeaways

William G. Harless belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect William G. Harless to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of William G. Harless from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

William G. Harless (November 20, 1933 – May 7, 2014) was an educational theorist. He held a Ph.D. degree in psychology and learning theory and was co-founder, President and CEO of Interactive Drama Inc. (IDI). He held a faculty position at the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities, where accredited doctorate degrees are awarded from a multidisciplinary, experientially based curriculum. In the early 1960s, while a professor at the University of Illinois School of Medicine in Chicago, he developed the first natural language computer patient simulation model. He created the first voice-activated interactive videodisc patient simulation model at the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the mid-1980s. While a professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine, he integrated these patient simulations into the medical school curriculum. In 1991, he was awarded a patent for his voice-controlled video simulation model (Conversim). He founded IDI in 1986 and left academia in 1992 to focus on further research and development and expanded applications (Virtual Conversations programs) of the virtual dialogue method. His work was funded through competitive grants and contracts awarded by NIH and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense. Harless was awarded a second patent in 1998 for his dynamic prompting system used in the virtual dialogue programs. He published over fifty articles on natural language interactive simulation as a learning strategy, the most recent being the results of a study of the effectiveness of the Virtual Conversations Arabic Language Series.

Articles by William G. Harless Virtual Conversations: An Interface to Knowledge by WIlliam G. Harless An Interactive Videodisc Drama: The Case of Frank Hall by William G. Harless

References

External links Interactive Drama Inc. website Patent - Interactive simulated dialogue system and method for a computer network

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with William G. Harless

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what William G. Harless claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to William G. Harless before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about William G. Harless ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of William G. Harless

In research: William G. Harless appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses William G. Harless in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: William G. Harless is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1933 births, 2014 deaths, 20th-century American educational theorists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for William G. Harless outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study William G. Harless in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what William G. Harless means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain William G. Harless out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is William G. Harless in simple terms?

William G. Harless (November 20, 1933 – May 7, 2014) was an educational theorist.

Why does William G. Harless matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study William G. Harless?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on William G. Harless.