Simultaneously Student and Teacher: Measuring Achievement Goals in Preservice Teachers

Abstract

Preservice teachers can be considered simultaneously students and teachers and therefore likely have both academic and professional goals. However, once in a professional program, predicting professional outcomes becomes somewhat more important than academic ones. This distinction may have implications for the selection of measurement tools used in research on preservice teachers’ motivation. We used a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) design that included tests of alternative confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), within and between method correlations, and relations with other variables to compare two measures of achievement goals: Elliot and Murayama’s (2008 Elliot, A. J., & Murayama, K. (2008). On the measurement of achievement goals: Critique, illustration, and application. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(3), 613–628. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.100.3.613[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) measure of students’ achievement goals and Butler’s (2007) measure of teachers’ achievement goals. Results of the CFAs suggested that the scales are measuring separate constructs. The MTMM correlations, however, revealed evidence that certain factors may function similarly. This was most evident for the homotrait-heteromethod factors of mastery approach, which correlated similarly with sense of self-efficacy, emotions, and classroom mastery goal structures.     

Conducting the “Business of Teaching”: Expectations of Non-instructional Tasks of Beginning STEM Teachers

Abstract

Much debate centers on the most necessary elements of teacher preparation programs, with many focusing on practice of core instructional tasks (Forzani 2014 Forzani, F. M. 2014. Understanding “Core Practices” and “Practice-Based” teacher education learning from the past. Journal of Teacher Education 65 (4):357–68. doi: 10.1177/0022487114533800.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Kennedy 2016 Kennedy, M. 2016. Parsing the practice of teaching. Journal of Teacher Education 67 (1):6–17. doi: 10.1177/0022487115614617.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), which may be diluted in alternative preparation programs (Forzani 2014 Forzani, F. M. 2014. Understanding “Core Practices” and “Practice-Based” teacher education learning from the past. Journal of Teacher Education 65 (4):357–68. doi: 10.1177/0022487114533800.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Teachers prepared in alternative programs tend to have greater difficulties with classroom management, instructional planning, and differentiated instruction (Darling-Hammond 2009 Darling-Hammond, L. 2009. Educational opportunity and alternative certification: New evidence and new questions. Policy Brief (1). Stanford, CA: Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education. [Google Scholar]; Wilson 2011 Wilson, S. 2011. Effective STEM teacher preparation, induction, and professional development. In National Research Council’s Workshop on Successful STEM Education in K–12 Schools. Washington, DC. http://sites.nationalacademies.org/dbasse/bose/dbasse_080128#.UgEMEFPkDDn. [Google Scholar]); however, few studies have examined alternatively prepared STEM teachers’ beliefs and expectations about teaching and learning (Tigchelaar et al. 2010 Tigchelaar, A., N. Brouwer, and J. Vermunt. 2010. Tailor-made: Towards a pedagogy for educating second-career teachers. Educational Research Review 5 (2):164–83.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Good et al. 2006 Good, T., M. McCaslin, H. Tsang, J. Zhang, C. Wiley, A. Rabidue Bozack, and W. Hester. 2006. How well do 1st-year teachers teach: Does type of preparation make a difference? Journal of Teacher Education 57 (4):410–30.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and fewer still have examined their beliefs about non-instructional responsibilities associated with the profession (LeTendre et al. 2001 LeTendre, G.K., D.P. Baker, M. Akiba, B. Goesling, and A. Wiseman. 2001. Teachers' work: Institutional isomorphism and cultural variation in the U.S., Germany, and Japan. Educational Researcher 30 (6):3–15. doi: 10.3102/0013189X030006003.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Ovando 2001 Ovando, M. N. 2001. Teachers' perceptions of a learner-centered teacher evaluation system. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education 15 (3):213–231. [Google Scholar]; Scriven 1994 Scriven, M. 1994. Duties of the teacher. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education 8 (2):151–84. doi: 10.1007/BF00972261.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). This inquiry examines the expectations of a cohort of STEM practitioners transitioning into STEM teaching positions from an abbreviated alternative certification program; during their first year of teaching and concurrent final internship, the paid interns exhibited heightened emotional responses (i.e. crying, not eating, not sleeping) documented by university supervisors. Researchers utilized Self-Discrepancy Theory (Higgins 1987 Higgins, E. T. 1987. Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review 94 (3):319–40.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to provide an understanding of how expectations can produce negative affect, such as anxiety or depression. Findings suggest this cohort of paid interns had expectations about both personal and non-instructional time, planning, school resources, and legal responsibilities incongruent with the realities of the job. Researchers call for further research on STEM practitioners’ beliefs and expectations of non-instructional tasks as they transition from accelerated M.A.T. programs into teaching.     

Identifying Possible Sources of Differential Functioning Using Differential Bundle Functioning With Polytomously Scored Data

Oshima, Raju, Flowers, and Slinde (1998) Oshima, T. C., Raju, N. S., Flowers, C. P. and Slinde, J. A. 1998. Differential bundle functioning using the DFIT framework: Procedures for identifying possible sources of differential functioning. Applied Measurement in Education, 11: 353–369. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] described procedures for identifying sources of differential functioning for dichotomous data using differential bundle functioning (DBF) derived from the differential functioning of items and test (DFIT) framework (Raju, van der Linden, & Fleer, 1995 Raju, N. S., van der Linden, W. J. and Fleer, P. F. 1995. IRT-based internal measures of differential functioning of items and tests. Applied Psychological Measurement, 19: 353–368. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The purpose of this study was to extend the procedures for dichotomous DBF to the polytomous case and to illustrate how DBF analysis can be conducted with polytomous scoring, common to psychological and educational rating scales. The data set used was parent and teacher ratings of child problem behaviors. Three group contrasts (teacher vs. parent, boy vs. girl, and random groups) and two bundle organizing principles (subscale designation and random selection) were used for the DBF analysis. Interpretations of bundle indexes in the context of child problem behaviors were presented.     

Creativity in the Early Childhood Classroom: Perspectives of Preservice Teachers

This study examined how preservice teachers view the nature and role of creativity in light of the complexities of contemporary early childhood classrooms. A multiple methods approach was utilized and data were collected with the Questionnaire Examining Student Teachers' Beliefs about Creativity (Diakidoy & Kanari, 1999 Diakidoy, I. and Kanari, E. 1999. Student teacher beliefs about creativity. British Educational Research Journal, 25: 225–243. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) survey instrument and through a qualitative examination of a learning community whose members were preservice teachers engaged in their student-teaching semester. Findings from both the survey and qualitative measures indicate that the vast majority of preservice teachers valued creative thinking; however, they voiced concerns over their own unclear understandings of how to support children's creative endeavors in complex classroom environments. Additionally, this research strongly suggests that early childhood teacher educators take a supportive role in the development of preservice teachers' understandings of the interrelationships between content, pedagogy, and creativity in early childhood classrooms.     

Preservice Teachers' Use of the Technology Integration Planning Cycle to Integrate iPads Into Literacy Instruction

The purpose of this case study was to examine preservice teachers' use of the Technology Integration Planning Cycle (TIPC; Hutchison & Woodward, 2014 Hutchison, A., & Woodward, L. (2014). A planning cycle for integrating technology into literacy instruction. Reading Teacher, 67(6), 455–464. doi:10.1002/trtr.1225.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]) to integrate iPads into literacy instruction. Analysis revealed two findings related to using the TIPC to plan instruction: (a) Though the TIPC provides a structured approach to planning that guides teachers in using their Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK), the preservice teachers still used a technocentric approach to planning instruction and did not fully engage in all elements of the planning cycle; (2) even with the structured planning approach, preservice teachers had difficulty aligning their lesson content with the instructional goals of the lesson; and (3) preservice teachers rely on recommendations from their university classes when selecting apps to use in instruction, rather than independently seeking out resources. The implications of this research suggest the need to support preservice teachers in developing a professional learning network; the importance of a structured approach to planning technology integration to support preservice teachers; and considerations for helping preservice teachers develop their TPACK. (Keywords: Common Core State Standards, digital technology, instructional planning, TPACK, technology integration)     

Analysis of Parent,Teacher, and Consultant Speech Exchanges and Educational Outcomes of Students With Autism During COMPASS Consultation

The significant increase in the numbers of students with autism combined with the need for better trained teachers (National Research Council, 2001) call for research on the effectiveness of alternative methods, such as consultation, that have the potential to improve service delivery. Data from 2 randomized controlled single-blind trials indicate that an autism-specific consultation planning framework known as the collaborative model for promoting competence and success (COMPASS) is effective in increasing child Individual Education Programs (IEP) outcomes (Ruble, Dalrymple, & McGrew, 2010 Ruble, L. A., Dalrymple, N. J. and McGrew, J. H. 2010. The effects of consultation on Individualized Education Program outcomes for young children with autism: The collaborative model for promoting competence and success. Journal of Early Intervention, 32: 286–301. doi:10.1177/1053815110382973[Crossref], [PubMed] , [Google Scholar]; Ruble, McGrew, & Toland, 2011 Ruble, L., McGrew, J. and Toland, M. Randomized controlled study of teacher training in autism. Poster session presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC. August.  [Google Scholar]). In this study, we describe the verbal interactions, defined as speech acts and speech act exchanges that take place during COMPASS consultation, and examine the associations between speech exchanges and child outcomes. We applied the Psychosocial Processes Coding Scheme (Leaper, 1991 Leaper, C. 1991. Influence and involvement in children's discourse: Age, gender, and partner effects. Child Development, 62: 797–811. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1991.tb01570.x[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to code speech acts. Speech act exchanges were overwhelmingly affiliative, failed to show statistically significant relationships with child IEP outcomes and teacher adherence, but did correlate positively with IEP quality.     

Comparison of Direct Instruction and Discrete Trial Teaching on the Curriculum-based Assessment of Language Performance of Students with Autism

There is limited research demonstrating direct instruction (DI) as an effective language intervention for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and developmental disabilities (DD). Existing research has shown that instruction using partial implementation of DI programs resulted in student learning (Ganz, 2007 Ganz, M. L. (2007). The lifetime distribution of the incremental societal costs of autism. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 161, 343&349.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and instruction using whole lessons resulted in positive instructional effects for students with ASD and DD (Ganz, 2007 Ganz, M. L. (2007). The lifetime distribution of the incremental societal costs of autism. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 161, 343&349.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). However, it is not known whether DI is more effective than other language interventions. The purpose of this study was to compare DI to an established intervention, discrete trial teaching. Thirteen students with ASD or participated in the study and data were collected using curriculum-based assessment. An independent samples t-test indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in student performance for the group who received DI. Results and their implications will be discussed.     

Assessing Preservice Leaders' Beliefs,Attitudes, and Values Regarding Issues of Diversity,Social Justice,and Equity: A Review of Existing Measures

While convincing research suggests that beliefs are the best predictors of individual behavior and that educators' beliefs influence their perceptions, judgments, and practices, research also states that beliefs are hardy and highly resistant to change (Bandura, 1986 Bandura, A. 1986. Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.  [Google Scholar]; Dewey, 1933 Dewey, J. 1933. How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process, Boston: D.C. Heath. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Pajares, 1992 Pajares, F. 1992. Teachers' beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62(3): 307–332. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Rokeach, 1968 Rokeach, M. 1968. Beliefs, attitudes, and values: A theory of organization and change, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  [Google Scholar]). Understanding the nature of beliefs, attitudes, and values is essential to understanding future administrators' choices, decisions, and effectiveness regarding issues of diversity, social justice, and equity. This article provides a review of quantitative measures, instruments, inventories, and studies that assess educators' personal and professional beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and preconceptions. The literature review briefly describes related studies and the discussion section highlights in detail the design, piloting, and results of two fairly recent measures that broadly define diversity, that report validity and reliability data, and that are relatively easy to administer and score.     

Critical elements for the science teacher to adopt a student‐centered approach: the case of a teacher in transition

Much research has been done and reform is suggested relating to teachers’ implementation of student‐oriented learning environments, yet research on the role, beliefs, pedagogy, and knowledge of teachers simultaneously in classroom environments has been minimal (Kyle, 1994 Kyle, W.C. 1994. School reform and the reform of teacher education: Can we orchestrate harmony?. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31: 785–786. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31, 785–786). This case study reports on a teacher’s perceptions, epistemology, and understandings of student‐oriented learning environments during a large project in which teachers from Grades 7 to 11 implemented an interactive‐constructivist approach in place of a traditional teacher‐oriented approach. In‐depth analysis of data revealed that the participant teacher’s perspective of a student‐centered science learning environment concerned the following: understanding of students’ prior knowledge, the importance and challenges of questioning, the teacher’s conceptual understanding of topics and unit preparation before and during the implementation, and the teacher’s motivation and problems in moving toward such an environment. There was consistency between the emerging themes and the crucial components of Simon’s Mathematics Teaching Cycle model, such as the teacher’s conceptual and pedagogical knowledge, hypothetical learning trajectory, and the teacher’s beliefs and teaching practice as argued by Haney, Czerniak, and Lumpe (1996 Haney, J., Czerniak, C. and Lumpe, A. 1996. Teacher beliefs and intentions regarding the implementation of science education reform strands. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33(9): 971–993.  [Google Scholar], Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 33(9), 971–993) and van Driel, Beijaard, and Verloop (2001 van Driel, J.H., Beijaard, D. and Verloop, N. 2001. Professional development and reform in science education: The role of teachers’ practical knowledge. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(2): 137–158. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(2), 137–158). Further, findings of this study would help teacher education and reform planners to conduct more comprehensive studies on teachers’ perceptions about inquiry‐based teaching over the course of several years of inservice and preservice programs.     

In Defense of Clarity in the Study of Personal Epistemology

Andrew Elby (this issue) argues that researchers in the field of personal epistemology should beware insistence on a narrow definition of epistemology to guide this work. His argument is a response to suggestions (Hofer & Pintrich, 1997 Hofer, B. K. and Pintrich, P. R. 1997. The development of epistemological theories: Beliefs about knowledge and knowing and their relation to learning.. Review of Educational Research, 67(1): 88–140. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Sandoval, 2005 Sandoval, W. A. 2005. Understanding students' practical epistemologies and their influence on learning through inquiry.. Science Education, 89: 634–656. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) that the study of personal epistemology should focus on people's views about knowledge and knowing and not conflate those with views about learning. His main concern is that learners' views about knowledge and their views about learning may, in fact, be conflated and that an insistence on definitional clarity could lead to a mischaracterization of cognitive structures. In this response I argue that clarity in the definition of theoretical constructs does not imply exclusion of views about learning from the study of personal epistemology. Furthermore, given the history of this area of research, failing to more clearly define our constructs makes real theoretical progress difficult.     

Informing Design Research: Learning From Teachers' Designs of Social Infrastructure

The design research methodology as it has currently developed centers on the creation of existence proofs, an important first step. What is needed then are the next steps of expanding the methodology to address the design problems of practical implementation prior to the steps involved in scaling up these designs. This article contributes to such an expansion through developing a systematic approach to learning from teachers' enactments of educational models. Design research focused on practical implementations by teachers can create knowledge regarding critical change processes, thus helping to create a theory of trajectories of change, or “implementation paths” (Bielaczyc & Collins, 2006a Bielaczyc, K. and Collins, A. 2006a. Implementation paths: Supporting the trajectory teachers traverse in implementing technology-based learning environments in classroom practice. Journal of Educational Technology, 46(2): 8–14.  [Google Scholar] Collins, Joseph, & Bielaczyc, 2004 Collins, A., Joseph, D. and Bielaczyc, K. 2004. Design research: Theoretical and methodological issues. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13: 15–42. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Here I propose using the Social Infrastructure Framework (Bielaczyc, 2006 Bielaczyc, K. 2006. Designing social infrastructure: Critical issues in creating learning environments with technology. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 15: 301–329. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to analyze the design of classroom social structures by developers and teachers in order to better understand their implications for constructing implementation paths. The analytic technique is exemplified through a case study involving a particular team of teachers who worked over the course of several years to adopt a knowledge-building communities approach (Bereiter, 2002 Bereiter, C. 2002. Education and mind in the knowledge age, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Scardamalia, 2002 Scardamalia, M. 2002. “Collective cognitive responsibility for the advancement of knowledge”. In Liberal education in the knowledge society, Edited by: Smith, B. 67–98. Chicago, IL: Open Court.  [Google Scholar]; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1991 Scardamalia, M. and Bereiter, C. 1991. Higher levels of agency for children in knowledge building: A challenge for the design of new knowledge media. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 1: 37–68. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] 1994). The results are used to discuss implications for the methodology of design research.     

Equivalent Structural Equation Models: A Challenge and Responsibility

Relevant aspects of the example provided by Raykov and Marcoulides (2001) Raykov, T. and Marcoulides, G. A. 2001. Can there be infinitely many models equivalent to a given covariance structure model?. Structural Equation Modeling, 8: 142–149. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] are emphasized, specifically the distinctiveness of infinitely many members of its sequence of equivalent structural equation models. This emphasis appears to be needed in light of recent statements by Markus (2002) Markus, K. A. 2002. Statistical equivalence, semantic equivalence, eliminative induction and the Raykov–Marcoulides proof of infinite equivalence. Structural Equation Modeling, 9: 503–522. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], whose intended counterexamples do not present a disconfirmation of any of the developments of Raykov and Marcoulides (2001) Raykov, T. and Marcoulides, G. A. 2001. Can there be infinitely many models equivalent to a given covariance structure model?. Structural Equation Modeling, 8: 142–149. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Issues pertaining to differentiation between equivalent models are also discussed.     

Who Knows What? Maintaining Multiple Perspectives During Reading

Recent findings (Keysar, 1994 Keysar, B. 1994. The illusory transparency of intention: Linguistic perspective taking in text.. Cognitive Psychology, 26: 165–208. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Weingartner & Klin, 2005 Weingartner, K. M. and Klin, C. M. 2005. Perspective taking during reading: An on-line investigation of the illusory transparency of intention.. Memory & Cognition, 33: 48–58. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) have shown that readers are not always accurate at taking a story character's perspective. When readers evaluated a character's understanding of a written message, they mistakenly took into account information that was inaccessible to that character. The results from the three experiments reported here demonstrate that this “illusory transparency of intention” is not dependent on the message readers' communicative role: Even when the message was composed for one character but read by another, readers assumed that the message was understood as it was intended. The results are discussed in the context of two theoretical accounts for these perspective-taking errors: the “knowledge projection hypothesis,” which appeals to readers’ expectations about cooperative behavior during communication, and “construal,” which attributes the illusory transparency of intention to a general cognitive bias that occurs during the perception of ambiguous stimuli.     

Assessing levels of student understanding in pre-service teachers using a two-cycle SOLO model

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study concerning the development of higher-order conceptual understanding of Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) among physical education pre-service teachers. The development of such understandings has been seen as problematic among pre-service teachers (Randall, 2003 Randall, L. 2003. Preservice teachers' understanding of teaching games for understanding approach to content delivery. Avante, 9(1): 49–61.  [Google Scholar]). An analysis of the responses given in a high- stakes examination of 165 pre-service physical education teachers was used to investigate varying levels of understanding in TGfU pedagogy. This paper reports specific examples of student responses in a written high-stakes examination and justifies how a two-cycle structure of the observed learning outcome (SOLO) model can discriminate between the demonstrations of surface and deep conceptual understandings.     

Double Dissociation Between Reading and Spelling Deficits

In two studies dissociations between reading and spelling skills were examined. Study 1 reports equally high prevalence rates for isolated deficits in reading (7%) or spelling (6%) in a representative sample (N = 2,029) of German-speaking elementary school children. In Study 2, children with isolated deficits were presented with the same words to read and spell. The double dissociation was replicated. Good readers/poor spellers named pseudohomophones as quickly as their corresponding words, and their phonological awareness skills were adequate, suggesting that their reading might be based on highly efficient decoding procedures. Poor readers/good spellers showed slow word naming and a clear slowing when reading pseudohomophones suggesting a reliance on intact orthographic representations in word reading. A deficit in rapid automatized naming in this group suggests problems in fast visual–verbal access. The profile of poor readers/poor spellers fits the double-deficit group in Wolf and Bowers's (1999) Wolf, M. and Bowers, P. G. 1999. The double-deficit hypothesis for the developmental dyslexias. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91: 415–438. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] dyslexia theory.     

THREE STRATEGIES FOR DELIVERING CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION IN GERIATRICS TO GENERAL PRACTITIONERS

General practitioners (GPs) need advanced skills in geriatric assessment to be competent to treat the increasing number of elderly patients. Continuing medical education in geriatrics for GPs is heterogeneous, and not assessed for effectiveness. In this study we compared the educational effects of three geriatric post-graduate training methods on GPs. GPs in the health district of the Nijmegen University Medical Centre (The Netherlands) were offered a variety of training options in geriatric assessment: (1) a formal one-day teacher centered conference (TCC), (2) an interactive GP-centered day of workshops (GCW), and (3) participation in a project of knowledge translation, linked to a research project of geriatric intermediate care (GKT). Pre-post measures were taken of the attitudes of GPs towards the elderly (Aging Semantic Differential, 1969), attitudes towards geriatric patients (Maxwell & Sullivan, 1980 Maxwell, A. J. and Sullivan, N. 1980. Attitudes toward the geriatric patient among family practice residents. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2(8): 341–345.  [Google Scholar]; Rosencranz & McNevin, 1969 Rosencranz, H. A. and McNevin, T. E. 1969. A factor analysis of attitudes towards the aged. Gerontologist, 9: 55–59. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and geriatric competencies (Robinson, Barry, Renick, et al., 2001 Robinson, B. E., Barry, P. P., Renick, N., Bergen, M. R. and Stratos, G. A. 2001. Physician confidence and interest in learning more about common geriatric topics: A needs assessment. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 49: 963–967. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). After training, neither the attitudes towards the elderly nor geriatric patients changed in any of the three groups. The TCC did not show a significant change in perceived competencies, while the GCW and GKT group improved. A formal large group conference is ineffective in improving GPs' geriatric assessment skills, while small interactive workshops and participation in a project of knowledge translation are equally effective. None of the three training methods improved or worsened attitudes toward the elderly in general or the geriatric patients in particular.     

Unleashing Latent Ability: Implications of Stereotype Threat for College Admissions

Social-psychological research conducted over the past 15 years provides compelling evidence that pervasive psychological threats are present in common academic environments—especially threats that originate in negative intellectual stereotypes—and that these threats undermine the real-world academic performance of non-Asian ethnic minority students and of women in math and science. As a consequence, common measures of academic performance, including both grades and test scores, systematically underestimate the intellectual ability of ethnic minority students and of women in quantitative fields (Walton & Spencer, 2009 Walton, G. M. and Spencer, S. J. 2009. Latent ability: Grades and test scores systematically underestimate the intellectual ability of negatively stereotyped students. Psychological Science,, 20,: 1132–1139. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We review evidence for these psychological threats, discuss their implications for the meaning and interpretation of common performance measures used in important admissions decisions, and address their implications for the efforts of colleges and universities to create positive academic environments that allow all students to thrive.     

Reporting Monte Carlo Studies in Structural Equation Modeling

In structural equation modeling, Monte Carlo simulations have been used increasingly over the last two decades, as an inventory from the journal Structural Equation Modeling illustrates. Reaching out to a broad audience, this article provides guidelines for reporting Monte Carlo studies in that field. The framework of discourse is set by a number of steps to be taken in such research, matching outlines of experimental design by Paxton, Curran, Bollen, Kirby, and Chen (2001) Chen, F., Bollen, K. A., Paxton, P., Curran, P. J. and Kirby, J. 2001. Improper solutions in structural equation modeling: Causes, consequences, and strategies. Sociological Methods & Research, 29: 468–508. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] and Skrondal (2000) Skrondal, A. 2000. Design and analysis of Monte Carlo experiments: Attacking the conventional wisdom. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 35: 137–167. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Throughout the article, reference is made to exemplary publications and, occasionally, to imperfect reporting.