The case for scenario-based assessment of written argumentation

Reading and Writing - This paper presents a theoretical and empirical case for the value of scenario-based assessment (SBA) in the measurement of students’ written argumentation skills....     

Strategies for enhancing learning in the “blow-off” course

Lower division courses are typically perceived by students as blow-off courses. We can overcome this image. This paper contrasts active and passivelearning environments, and describes efforts to create an active, critical learning environment in both Introduction to Sociology and The Family System-typical lower division courses in Sociology. A review of grade distributions, quantitative course evaluations, qualitative course evaluations, and a survey asking students to subjectively compare the active learning course structure to the typical multiple choice format provide evaluation data. Finally, the paper discusses problems in using these innovations.Randy Stoecker recently received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Minnesota, and has been exploring alternative pedagogies since 1982. He has published in the areas of social theory and social movements. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Midwest Sociological Society Annual Meetings, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1988. Many thanks for insightful comments by Tuck Green, Ron Berger, and an anonymousInnovative Higher Education referee.     

Obstacles Confronting Technology Initiatives as Seen Through the Experience of Science Teachers: A Comparative Study of Science Teachers' Beliefs,Planning, and Practice

There currently exists unparalleled discrepant growth between technological advancements and educators' understanding of appropriate classroom technology implemenation. The Tech Tools teacher enhancement program was designed to provide teachers with hardware and expertise with state-of-the-art science and math microcomputer technologies. This study was conducted as an examination of the implementation of current technologies in teacher education and school settings for the purpose of informing other science, mathematics, and technology reform efforts. For over two years researchers gathered data from surveys, interviews, and on site visits and observations explicating the 1) teacher knowledge and beliefs, 2) computer use for instruction, 3) hardward access, and 4) school support for technology use. Results revealed teachers given identical equipment and training implemented similar technologies in vastly different ways. Discrepancies in implementation of technology were best explained through the lenses of teachers' existing practice and beliefs about their school context. Recommendations are given regarding technology implementation, teacher education, and evaluation of technology initiatives.     

Reconstructing Classroom Facts: Transforming Lower Track Science Classrooms

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Using New Technology to Improve Assessment

What are the areas of testing that will be most affected by new technology" Who is doing work on the cutting edge of these areas" What will be the ultimate effect of these innovations"     

Gender Differences in College Preparedness: A Statewide Study

In this study, the authors investigated the extent to which boys and girls differed in their college-ready performance in reading, in math, and in both subjects for the 2006–2007 school year for the state of Texas (n = 1,099 high schools). Also examined were the extent to which boys and girls differed in their performance on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the American College Test (ACT) for the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 school years. Differences in criterion scores, as well as how many boys and girls actually took these exams, were examined in addition to their average scores. Statistically significant differences were present between the college-ready scores of boys and of girls in reading, math, and in both subject areas. Of special note is that less than one-third of all students were deemed to be college-ready in both subject areas. Statistically significant differences also were revealed between boys and girls in the percentage taking the SAT or ACT, in the percentage meeting the SAT or ACT criterion, and in their SAT average scores, but not in their ACT average scores. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Executive function performance and trauma exposure in a community sample of children

ObjectiveThough children exposed to familial violence are reported to have difficulties with a range of emotional and behavioral problems (e.g., lower school achievement) that implicate executive function (EF) deficits, relatively little research has specifically examined EF as a function of trauma exposure in children.MethodsBased on parent report of children's exposure to potentially traumatic events, children (N = 110; Age_Mean = 10.39) from an ethnically diverse community sample were compared across three trauma-exposure groups: familial trauma, non-familial trauma, and no trauma. Children completed a battery of tests to assess working memory, behavioral inhibition, processing speed, auditory attention, and interference control.ResultsFamilial trauma (relative to non-familial and no trauma exposure) was associated with poorer performance on an EF composite (composed of working memory, inhibition, auditory attention, and processing speed tasks); the effect size was medium. Both trauma-exposure status and dissociation symptoms explained unique variance in EF performance after controlling for anxiety symptoms, socio-economic status, and potential traumatic brain injury. While IQ and EF performance were related, SES predicted unique variance in IQ (and not EF) scores, while familial-trauma exposure did not.ConclusionsThe contribution of trauma exposure to basic executive functioning held after taking into account symptoms (anxiety and dissociation), socio-economic status, and possible traumatic brain injury exposure. EF problems may provide one route via which maltreated children become at risk for peer, academic, and behavior problems relative to their peers.Practice implicationsEF problems may provide one route via which maltreated children become at risk for peer, academic, psychological, and behavior problems relative to their peers. Recently, intervention strategies have emerged in the anxiety and mood disorder treatment literatures that appear to effectively target EFs. As future research continues to specify the relationship between child trauma exposure and EF performance, these innovative treatments may have important practice implications for addressing EF deficits.