Processing Fluency in Education: How Metacognitive Feelings Shape Learning,Belief Formation,and Affect

Processing fluency—the experienced ease with which a mental operation is performed—has attracted little attention in educational psychology, despite its relevance. The present article reviews and integrates empirical evidence on processing fluency that is relevant to school education. Fluency is important, for instance, in learning, self-assessment of knowledge, testing, grading, teacher–student communication, social interaction in the multicultural classroom, and emergence of interest. After a brief overview of basic fluency research we review effects of processing fluency in three broad areas: metacognition in learning, belief formation, and affect. Within each area, we provide evidence-based implications for education. Along the way, we offer fluency-based insights into phenomena that were long known but not yet sufficiently explained (e.g., the effect of handwriting on grading). Bringing fluency (back) to education may contribute to research and school practice alike.     

The methodological benefits of social media: “studying up” in Brazil in the Facebook age

While conducting research on the organizational cultures of elite nonprofit organizations in Rio de Janeiro, the author encountered many access issues identified in the current literature: in particular, difficulty in encountering research subjects due to the transitional nature of educational nonprofits and the role of secretaries and administrators as gatekeepers. This article explores two previously undeveloped methodological innovations utilized by the author to overcome these difficulties with regard to access: namely, the use of social media as a participant recruitment tool and the use of an organization's online marketing presence as an alternative data source.     

Improving research on teacher quality in science and mathematics: Report of a symposium of scientists,educators, and researchers

Many initiatives designed to improve the quality of elementary and secondary teachers have been proposed and implemented at national, state, and local levels. It is unclear whether these initiatives are based on a common definition of teacher quality or adequate knowledge about the conditions that produce quality teaching. This article summarizes the results of a symposium of the National Research Council on the state of research knowledge on teacher quality. Topics for needed research that were identified in the symposium included studies on the effects of state and local policies which set new standards for teachers, studies on the subject-matter knowledge and preparation of teachers, analyses of alternative methods of developing teaching skills, and assessments of the effects of school conditions for teaching on career patterns of teachers.     

Learning about students’ knowledge and thinking in science through large-scale quantitative studies

The main issue addressed in this article is that there is much to learn about students’ knowledge and thinking in science from largescale international quantitative studies beyond overall score measures. Response patterns on individual or groups of items can give valuable diagnostic insight into students’ conceptual understanding, but there is also a danger of drawing conclusions that may be too simple and nonvalid. We discuss how responses to multiple-choice items could be interpreted, and we also show how responses on constructed-response items can be systematised and analysed. Finally, we study, empirically, interactions between item characteristics and student responses. It is demonstrated that even small changes in the item wording and/or the item format may have a substantial influence on the response pattern. Therefore, we argue that interpretations of results from these kinds of studies should be based on a thorough analysis of the actual items used. We further argue that diagnostic information should be an integrated part of the international research aims of such large-scale studies. Examples of items and student responses presented are taken from The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).     

Globalised student achievement? A longitudinal and cross-country analysis of convergence in mathematics performance

ABSTRACT

With the aid of longitudinal country-level data from five IEA TIMSS assessments (1995–2011), the current study addresses the issue of the globalisation of curricula and achievement. To explore the hypothesis of global convergence, we study performance in four subdomains of mathematics. Using regression with fixed effects for countries, we consider whether the variation of subdomain scores decreases globally over time. Additionally, we explore qualitative differences in performance profiles using latent class analysis. Our results provide little evidence for a global harmonisation of student achievement. Rather, for regions with a similar language and culture, we observe similar strengths and weaknesses in mathematics content areas. Furthermore, these patterns remain stable over time. Directions for future research include the exploration of global trends in aspects of attained curricula for other subjects, and the use of information on school achievement.     

Psychometric analysis of a measure of socio-emotional development in adolescents

This is a psychometric analysis of an instrument to assess the socio-emotional development of school students, How I Feel (HIF), developed as a situational judgment test, with scoring based on expert judgments. The HIF test was administered in grades 4–9, 1999–2005. Internal consistency, retest reliability, and year-to-year stability were satisfactory, and the HIF instrument appears sensitive to intervention effects. Sex differences and associations with substance use and other instruments support construct validity. A significant negative trend was found across grades, attenuated in a group receiving socio-emotional training. The HIF test has limited discriminatory power among individuals with high socio-emotional maturity.