Teachers' ratings vs standardized tests: An empirical investigation of agreement between two indices of achievement

The degree of correlation between teachers' ratings of vocabulary, comprehension, mathematics, and verbal intelligence with scores from the Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) plus the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) was assessed with 120 boys and 110 girls aged 8.6 to 10.5 years in three southeastern suburban state schools in Melbourne. Teachers' ratings of students' general attitude also were collected. While results indicated that significant correlations did exist between data from the two sets of measures, these accounted for only small amounts of the total variance, suggesting that two almost discrete domains of information were being tapped. The need for reconciliation between these two domains is discussed and the presence of sex bias in teachers' ratings is raised for further study.     

混合整数线性模型中方差因子Bayes估计实证分析

采用卫星在不同的历元时所得到的实际载波相位测量数据,得出载波相位在混合整数线性模型中的方差因子的Bayes估计结果,并根据其结果的大小,说明Bayes估计方法的可行性。     

An empirical investigation of students' behavioural intentions to use the online learning course websites

With the development of the Internet in the era of knowledge‐driven economy, e‐learning is experiencing rapid growth. The online learning course websites are drawing more attention as well. This research combines the innovation diffusion theory and the technology acceptance model, and adds two research variables, perceived system quality and computer self‐efficacy to propose a new hybrid technology acceptance model to study students' behavioural intentions to use the online learning course websites. This research finds that compatibility, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived system quality and computer self‐efficacy were critical factors for students' behavioural intentions to use the online learning course websites. By explaining students' behavioural intentions from a user's perspective, the findings of this research help to develop more user‐friendly websites and also provide insight into the best way to promote new e‐learning tools for students.     

手机禁忌语使用研究——大学生手机禁忌语使用态度调查

禁忌语是语言的一部分,它因语言的发展而产生。对禁忌语的研究不仅在语言学上而且在文化上都有重大意义。语言禁忌反映的是社会禁忌。对于禁忌语使用的态度反映及影响着禁忌语的现状及发展变化。     

Teaching Experience and Educational Psychologists' Credibility with Teachers: An empirical investigation

The extent to which educational psychologists' credibility with teachers relies on their own teaching experience is an issue that has been hotly debated in the profession for more than 30 years. It is widely perceived as a key reason for retaining qualified teaching experience as a requirement for training as an educational psychologist (EP). The studies reported in this paper investigate whether teachers know that educational psychologists have been teachers (a logical pre-requisite to affording them high credibility on this basis). The studies also examine the regard in which EPs are held by teachers who know, and teachers who do not know, that EPs have been teachers. Results indicate that teaching experience cannot be regarded as necessary to EPs' credibility with teachers. However, a positive relationship between teaching experience and credibility with teachers, among primary school teachers, raises questions about ways of broadening EPs' pre-course experience.     

An empirical investigation of entrepreneurship intensity in Iranian state universities

The purpose of this study is to propose a framework to evaluate the entrepreneurship intensity (EI) of Iranian state universities. In order to determine EI, a hybrid multi-method framework consisting of Delphi, Analytic Network Process (ANP), and VIKOR is proposed. The Delphi method is used to localize and reduce the number of criteria extracted from a deep literature review, according to the social and economic conditions of Iranian state universities by using an expert panel, including sixty-eight country-wide academicians and practitioners. After that, a group approach to ANP was utilized as an evaluation method to derive the weights of each criterion. Next, the evaluation data were gathered through a questionnaire, and, finally, the compromise ranking of universities was calculated using the VIKOR method. Moreover, this study applies weight-variance analysis (WVA) to suggest improvement actions. The paper proposes an evaluation framework for determining the performance of entrepreneurship development initiatives in universities. By using this framework, twenty-two Iranian state universities are evaluated in terms of their EI, and the results are discussed.     

School psychological services: An empirical comparison of two models

In this study, the traditional diagnostic model of school psychological services was compared with the emerging consultant service model. The study was conducted in an effort to determine the effectiveness of each model in working with teachers in the elementary grades. The two delivery systems were evaluated by comparing them on two variables: (a) the number of school days that elapse from the time of referral until the teacher receives feedback, and (b) the effectiveness of the recommendations as measured by brief questionnaires. The results revealed that the consultant model with its de-emphasis on the administration of time-consuming tests resulted in more immediate feedback for teachers. Responses to the follow-up questionnaires revealed that the consultant service model was as effective, if not more effective, in the teachers' perceptions, when comparing the effectiveness of the recommended intervention strategies. Although the data are more favorable for the consultant service model, they are not conclusive. Since each model meets some teachers' needs, a merging of these two approaches seems more justifiable than abandoning one model in favor of the other.     

An empirical investigation of actual cheating in a large sample of undergraduates

Cheating behavior of university students enrolled in an upper-division mass-lecture business course was investigated in a two-semester study. It was found that slightly over 3% of the students plagerized/copied a library research assignment. The findings indicate the need for more empirical studies of what studentsdo—as opposed to what theysay they do—when it comes to academic dishonesty in undergraduate education. Such an approach holds the greatest promise for pinpointing just how widespread cheating really is in the lecture halls and classrooms of academe.     

Improving interpersonal relations in the college classroom: An empirical investigation

The effect of small interpersonal discussion groups on student interpersonal relations was examined. A Group Psychology class with small interpersonal groups was compared to two other similar-level psychology classes with more traditional formats. One of these controls (a placebo group) had small, academically oriented discussion groups, and the other (a standard control group) was a medium-sized lecture class. TotalN was 258. The quality of within-class interpersonal relations for the experimental group exceeded that of the controls on all dependent variables. These effects, however, did not extend to behavior outside the class. This finding was supported by the results of a two-year follow-up (N=74).     

An investigation of grapheme parsing and grapheme-phoneme knowledge in two children with dyslexia

The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between children’s knowledge of letter-sound rules (“grapheme-phoneme knowledge”) and their ability to identify separate graphemes (e.g., SH, OI) that comprise words (“grapheme parsing”). We used a single-case study approach with children with phonological dyslexia who were able to read words accurately via whole-word processes (“lexical reading”), but were not able to read using grapheme-phoneme knowledge (“non-lexical reading”). These children were able to correctly parse some graphemes without grapheme-phoneme knowledge for these graphemes. However, they were unable to correctly parse some graphemes for which they had grapheme-phoneme knowledge. This dissociation suggests that children may acquire grapheme-phoneme knowledge and phoneme parsing independently. We discuss the implications of these findings for cognitive models of word reading.     

方差分量模型参数估计问题研究

方差分量模型的随机效应的协方差为单位阵时<线性模型引论>已进行研究.把随机效应的协方差推广为正定阵进行研究.用最小范数二次无偏估计法给出方差分量的估计.     

An investigation of the Iowa tests of basic skills for sex bias: A developmental look

Results of the Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Mathematics Concepts subtests for third-, sixth-, and eighth-grade students who took Form 5 of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills in the 1976 school year were analyzed for sex bias. Statistical significance was found for each subtest for all of the grade levels. Follow-up analyses considered skill classification, sex-stereotypicalness, and item location of the items contributing to the statistical significance. No trends for these factors were found within each grade level for the four subtests considered. For all subtests, fewer items are identified at the third-grade level than for sixth or eighth grade, and these items, in general, favored boys. For the older students, when items are found to function differently for boys and girls, nearly half favor each sex. On the whole, little evidence for sex bias was found for the four subtests and three grade levels examined.     

同伴互评机制中学生书面反馈的语类结构分析

文章运用实证的方法对大学英语写作教学中同伴互评的书面反馈内容进行了为期十八周的实证研究。研究结果表明学生的书面反馈可以分为三步即:内容评价、文章修改意见、以及鼓励期望等内容。学生反馈中存在的问题主要表现在误评、漏评等方面。     

The relationships between research and decision making in education: An empirical investigation

Chapter 5 of DETYA’s volume The Impact of Educational Research (Selby-Smith 2000) begins with an examination of the peculiarity of decision making in the VET sector, followed by an examination of the idiosyncratic consequences for the function of research in the sector. Having established the distinctiveness of VET in relation to these two key factors (decision making and research), the chapter then proceeds to explore the linkages between them. The study on which the chapter is founded identified a complex research culture, in which overt forms of impact are difficult to detect, yet where, it is concluded, research nonetheless plays its part. The research which is likely to impact most heavily is that which is conducted around the practical issues with which VET must deal, preferably with a heavy on-site component, and which is carried out by researchers who are prepared to engage most fruitfully with the VET culture, ideally with a long lead time and maximum follow-up to the actual research phase.Chapter 5 contributes to the overall Impact volume in a variety of ways. First, it offers an insight into the enigmatic nature of educational research in general, and especially as it relates to the VET sector. Second, it makes it clear that educational sectors like VET are likely to be affected by research only when its application to their practical needs is clear and it is carried out by people who are committed to working with their realities. Third, there are broader lessons to be taken from the chapter, especially for university researchers who are imputed by the chapter to be among the least likely to effect research that impacts on practical policy and decision making. While unrelated to the main body of The Impact of Educational Research project, Chapter 5 contributes to the overall work through exposing the real world of research impact in what is very likely the least understood of the educational sectors.     

An observational investigation of two elementary-age autistic children during free-play

Two observational systems were employed to measure the behavior patterns of two elementary-age autistic children and their classroom peers during a free-play period. Results obtained from the total behavior repertoire system indicated that the subjects spent the majority of the free-play period manipulating various toys and objects. Data obtained from the social interaction system revealed that the subjects' encounters with peers typically were negative. Additionally, the subjects were observed to respond more frequently to vocal-verbal social behavior by peers, than they were to motor-gestural responses. The observational methodology employed and the results obtained were discussed in terms of their significance for the clinical treatment of autistic behavior, and the evaluation of such treatment.     

An investigation of two-way text messaging use with deaf students at the secondary level

Deaf and hard-of-hearing students are often delayed in developing their independent living skills because of parental restrictions on activities outside the home due to worries about their child's inability to communicate, their whereabouts, and their general safety. Recent accounts of the use of two-way text messagers suggests that, like electronic mail, distance communication problems that have long plagued deaf people may be ameliorated--by the use of such technology (M. R. Power & D. Power, 2004; S. S. Rhone & Cox News Service, 2002). This project was designed as an initial foray into investigating the use of two-way text messaging technology as a way of increasing the independence of deaf adolescents and reducing their parents' anxiety about their safety and responsibility. All the deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the deaf and hard-of-hearing programs at two urban high schools (ages 13-19), the staff of the deaf departments at these two schools, and the parents/guardians of the students participated in this study. Preuse surveys, postuse surveys, and monthly statistics on the number of times each pager was used enabled us to chart how often the participants used the technology. The data were used to identify concerns that parents have about student independence and safety, the extent to which deaf students engage in independent activities, and expectations surrounding how two-way text messaging use might increase independence and literacy skills. The data collected on this project to date confirm that two-way text messaging technology is indeed useful for deaf adolescents and helps alleviate some of the concerns that have kept them from developing independence as quickly or readily as their hearing peers. The potential policy implications for this research are discussed.