Equivalence of Free-Response and Multiple-Choice Items

This study examined the relationship of multiple-choice and free-response items contained on the College Board's Advanced Placement Computer Science (APCS) examination. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the fit of a two-factor model where each item format marked its own factor. Results showed a single-factor solution to provide the most parsimonious fit in each of two random-half samples. This finding might be accounted for by several mechanisms, including overlap in the specific processes assessed by the multiple-choice and free-response items and the limited opportunity for skill differentiation afforded by the year-long APCS course.     

A new look at the professional training of secondary school mathematics teachers

Typical patterns followed in American colleges and universities in the preparation of mathematics teachers are inadequate for at least four reasons: some mathematics courses are perceived by students as irrelevant, the preparation is often not in step with societal changes, little attention is given to developing a solid understanding of mathematics content which is particularly important for secondary teachers, and insufficient emphasis is placed on the big ideas and unifying themes which pervade all of mathematics. This article discusses the reasons for these shortcomings and suggests a possible remedy involving the design of a program based on the intersection of certain needs of a secondary teacher and certain mathematics courses studied by prospective teachers.     

A content analysis of student/instructor communication via computer conferencing

The focus of this study centers upon an analysis of instructor and student postings on the Electronic Forum (EF) during a one-semester undergraduate phonetics course. Sixty-one students were invited to participate in a class computer conferencing project to discuss questions about the course content and assignments, share ideas with others, and respond to comments made by their peers and the instructor. The content of each student's and instructor's posting was analyzed to determine the number and type of topics discussed. Students wrote about 340 topics in 143 postings; the instructor wrote 124 topics in 23 postings. These topics were placed in categories and analyzed with respect to the postings made during the first and second half semester. Four interactive communicative Category Clusters were identified. These Clusters show interaction trends between students and instructor and resulting accommodations made by both students and the instructor. The advantages of using an electronic forum to enhance student learning, to improve classroom activities, and to empower students to take more active roles in their learning, are discussed.     

GRE candidates' perceptions of the importance of graduate admission factors

This study examines the perceptions of a representative sample of GRE test takers who were asked to indicate their views of the importance of eight widely considered factors in graduate admissions. Overall, candidates perceived undergraduate grades as the most important factor in graduate admissions. Recommendations and one's undergraduate field were rated as somewhat less important than undergraduate grades, and GRE Aptitude Test scores were rated even less important. GRE Advanced (Subject) Test scores were perceived as considerably less important than any other factor. Analyses by subgroup revealed that candidates' perceptions differed markedly according to the graduate field they intended to enter. Perceptions also differed by ethnic group (blacks versus whites) but not by sex or age.     

Control of pigeons’ keypecking by the left-right arrangement of stimuli

Control of pigeons’ keypecking by conditionalities in the spatial arrangement of two element stimuli (designated A and B) was investigated. In Experiment 1, reinforcement for keypecking was made conditional upon the left-right location of A and B: Reinforcement was available when A was on the left and B was on the right (AB), but not on BA, AA, or BB trials. The pigeons successfully discriminated the rewarded AB configuration, but only after a stage in which a particular element in a particular location (e.g., A on left) primarily controlled pecking. Experiments 2 and 3 systematically replicated these findings and included controls to discount discrimination of the AB compound on the basis of the temporal order (e.g., A followed by B) rather than the spatial configuration of the elements. During a generalization test in Experiment 4, the elements were presented singly either in the left (AX, BX) or right (XA, XB) positions. As would be expected had the animals learned “A on the left, B on the right is rewarded,” responding on AX trials exceeded that on XA trials, and responding on XB trials exceeded that on BX trials.     

Form perception and attention in pigeons

This report selectively reviews the authors’ research on stimulus control by visual forms. Most studies employed visual search of computer-generated displays, and the main behavioral measure was search reaction time. Pigeons classify simple line forms much as do humans, and there was some evidence for feature extraction, though a search asymmetry probe failed to identify several putative features. Dimensional analysis revealed a new quantitative relation between similarity and the probability of detecting a target. It also identified candidates for integral and separable stimulus dimensions. Similarity and set-size variables influenced the extent to which attention was engaged. Further studies addressed the manner in which attention is focused, revealing relationships between priming and search images. In these cases, attention to a selected form is probably driven by a top-down assessment of predictability.