A Comparison of Two Alternate Scaling Approaches Employed for Task Analyses in Credentialing Examination Development

Credentialing examination developers rely on task (job) analyses for establishing inventories of task and knowledge areas in which competency is required for safe and successful practice in target occupations. There are many ways in which task‐related information may be gathered from practitioner ratings, each with its own advantage and limitation. Two of the myriad alternative task analysis rating approaches are compared in situ: one establishing relative task saliency through a single scale of rated importance and another employing a composite of several independent scales. Outcomes regarding tasks ranked by two practitioner groups are compared. A relatively high degree of association is observed between tasks ranked through each approach, yielding comparable, though not identical examination blueprints.     

Same-Form Retest Effects on Credentialing Examinations

Examinees who take high-stakes assessments are usually given an opportunity to repeat the test if they are unsuccessful on their initial attempt. To prevent examinees from obtaining unfair score increases by memorizing the content of specific test items, testing agencies usually assign a different test form to repeat examinees. The use of multiple forms is expensive and can present psychometric challenges, particularly for low-volume credentialing programs; thus, it is important to determine if unwarranted score gains actually occur. Prior studies provide strong evidence that the same-form advantage is pronounced for aptitude tests. However, the sparse research within the context of achievement and credentialing testing suggests that the same-form advantage is minimal. For the present experiment, 541 examinees who failed a national certification test were randomly assigned to receive either the same test or a different (parallel) test on their second attempt. Although the same-form group had shorter response times on the second administration, score gains for the two groups were indistinguishable. We discuss factors that may limit the generalizability of these findings to other assessment contexts.     

Examining Contextual Effects in a Practice Analysis: An Application of Dual Scaling

Practice analyses are routinely used in support of the development of occupational and professional certification and licensure examinations. These analyses usually survey incumbents to obtain importance ratings of (1) specific tasks and (2) knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) statements deemed by subject matter experts as essential to safe and effective practice. Several researchers have made important criticisms of traditional practice analysis procedures, particularly the lack of attention to contextual constructs and the resulting problematic interpretation of mean importance ratings. The present study provides a framework for assessing the impact of context in practice analysis studies. It focuses on a practice analysis of a health profession that sought to enhance the meaning of incumbents' importance ratings by embedding the statements in the context of patient acuities. Results indicate that incumbents' importance ratings varied as a function of patient acuity. Dual scaling analysis was used to obtain a multidimensional visual representation of the associations between importance ratings and contextual content. The implications of the contextual component of the study design for future practice analysis studies are discussed as well as possible applications of this approach to professions in education.     

Rejoinder: A Further Discussion of Job Analysis and Use of KSAs in Developing Licensure and Certification Examinations: A Response to LaDuca

In his commentary to our paper on the use of knowledge, skill, and ability statements in developing credentialing examinations ( Wang, Schnipke, & Witt, 2005 ), Dr. LaDuca set forth his concerns while commending our paper for providing helpful insights into the importance of careful delineation of KSAs. We believe that there is little substantive disagreement between our position and Dr. LaDuca's. Based on the counterarguments offered in his commentary, we believe that some misunderstanding occurred regarding our main point. Our response here further clarifies our main point to address Dr. LaDuca's criticisms. Additional explanations are provided to indicate that our paper is intended to address job analysis issues over a broader and diverse array of professions/occupations/fields, and our perspective is not limited to the context of credentialing physicians. We recommend that, for such professions/occupations/fields for which task inventory constitutes an appropriate approach to job analysis, the use of KSAs should be considered to establish a linkage between the credentialing examination and the job tasks.     

国际贸易实务课程跨校修读学分教学的实践研究

辽宁省跨校修读学分项目始于2014年,其目的是打破传统教学模式的局限,更好地为学生提供优质教育资源。文章以辽宁科技大学和沈阳工业大学合作项目“国际贸易实务”课程为例,对跨校修读教学现状进行分析,探究提升学生学习效果的路径,为后续项目的成功实施提供建议。     

以实践为核心的仪器分析课程改革

理论与实践脱节是影响仪器分析课程教学效果的主要原因。以实践为核心,通过优化课程教学内容,更新多种教学方法,对仪器分析课程进行了改革。     

On the Superior Statistical Properties of Frequency Scales in Job Analyses

This study compared the statistical properties of four job analysis task survey response scale types: criticality, difficulty in learning, importance, and frequency. We used nine job analysis studies spanning two fields, medical imaging and allied health professionals, to compare the job analysis scales in terms of variability and interrater agreement. Results showed that frequency scales using absolute anchors had greater between-task variability and higher interrater agreement for all nine studies. This may have occurred due to what has been described by past research as self-presentation bias. In this case, an aggregate base percentage of respondents always responded that tasks in their domain are highly critical, highly important, and easy to learn. These results showed that frequency scales with absolute anchors yielded data with better statistical performance than other more subjective scales. These properties do not answer the question of whether a scale matches an exam's purpose, which is the most important consideration for job analyses. They do, however, suggest that, if statistics are a primary deciding factor, strong consideration should be given to using frequency scales with absolute anchors.     

高校教学考评工作的理论依据与实践导向

教学考评是学校教学管理部门对教师教学过程和质量进行的考核与评价．其目的是对教师的教学过程实施质量监控。教学包括课堂教学和实践教学两部分．若要全面评价教师的教学水平与质量,则需要兼顾上述两个方面的效果与业绩。在教学考评过程中,引发纠纷的考评方式应取消,实施激励性的、年轻教师优惠原则的考评实践导向,则有利于为教师挖掘潜力、发挥各自的特长创设条件。     

导学案辅助教学实践

导学案编制的核心是"学生与学法",主线是"问题",编写时要做到主体性和基础性、差异性和层次性、开放性和创新性的统一。导学案中的"导"主要体现在教师引导学习流程、构建学习组织、指导学法和激发情绪。导学案中的"学"是指学生利用导学案课前自主学习、课中有效展示、课后有效反思。     

工业仿真模拟教学的实践性探索

概述了工业仿真技术,结合常熟理工学院化学与材料工程学院进行的工业仿真模拟教学实践,探索了仿真教学的实施、管理方式,同时对仿真模拟教学的效果进行了评价,并对教学中存在的不足提出了下一步的整改措施。经过教学实践发现,学生在仿真教学加现场参观的教学模式中动手能力和综合运用知识的能力得到很大提高,为今后踏上工作岗位打下了坚实的基础,而仿真教学也势必会成为现代教学不可缺少的手段。     

话语分析:如何为媒介社会语言实践提供说明?--兼评《话语与社会变迁》的传播学意义

当代英国语言学家诺曼?费尔克拉夫是西方传播学中批判的话语分析学派的著名代表人。他通过自己的著述和教学活动，为当代媒介等社会语言实践提供了独特的分析视角。本文侧重于他的《话语与社会变迁》的传播学意义的问题，讨论话语分析与媒介话语实践之间的关系。     

"教育实践"与"实践教育":成人教育学的观点

成人教育实践必须同时是成人实践的教育;实践性是其根本特性。这种实践,具有认识论与本体论之双重意指;而本体论是其根本。成人教育若要祛除功利化、工具理性至上和技术意识形态化的流弊,就须从本体论意义出发,赋予实践以本体论意义与价值,方能使成人教育得以和谐、全面发展。     

An NCME Instructional Module on Developing and Administering Practice Analysis Questionnaires

The purpose of a credentialing examination is to assure the public that individuals who work in an occupation or profession have met certain standards. To be consistent with this purpose, credentialing examinations must be job related, and this requirement is typically met by developing test plans based on an empirical job or practice analysis. The purpose of this module is to describe procedures for developing practice analysis surveys, with emphasis on task inventory questionnaires. Editorial guidelines for writing task statements are presented, followed by a discussion of issues related to the development of scales for rating tasks and job responsibilities. The module also offers guidelines for designing and formatting both mail-out and Internet-based questionnaires. It concludes with a brief overview of the types of data analyses useful for practice analysis questionnaires.     

面向职业能力培养的实训项目标准的研究与实践

本着以就业为导向,通过对国家职业标准和人才培养目标进行分析,围绕职业岗位（群）在基于工作过程中的职业能力要求,对学院主干专业基于工作过程的工学结合课程以若干实训子项目构成实训项目并形成标准进行开发研究,从而规范实训教学,实现由以知识传授为主的教学模式,转向知识、技能、素质并重,＂教、学、做＂一体化的突出职业能力培养的教学模式。     

教育实习网络支持平台可行性研究与需求分析

对南京晓庄学院小学教育专业教育实习网络支持平台的构建进行可行性研究和需求分析。通过采用访谈和问卷调查这两种需求获取的方法对大学管理者、大学教师、小学教师和师范生这几种身份群体进行需求调查,从而为教育实习网络支持平台的创建提供依据。     

开放教育《计算机电路基础》导学实践探索

遵循开放教育倡导的“以学为主,导学结合”的教学理念,结合《计算机电路基础》的教学实践,文章就如何根据学生素质基础并结合课程特点探究新的教学模式,利用多种教学方法和手段充分发挥教师的导学作用进行了探索。     

翻译研究的功能途径在应用型翻译实践和教学中的具体运用

翻译研究的功能途径一直是翻译界的学术热点,它强调根据不同的语言功能、文本类型、翻译目的、读者对象等采取不同的翻译策略,将翻译视为由目的驱动、以产品为导向的跨文化交流行为,对以信息的跨文化传递为目的的应用型翻译提供了切实可行的理论指导,并可具体运用于应用型翻译的实践和教学之中,帮助译者从分析原文语言及文本功能入手,预测译文功能,树立译前决策意识,采取灵活适当的翻译方法,以实现译本功能和保证跨文化交流的顺利进行。     

全员全程化职业指导模式的实践性思考

阐述了针对大学生的全员全程化职业指导的内容体系,论述了其模式的构建,在实施过程中分为三个阶段。第一阶段初步确立大学生人生目标和职业生涯规划;第二阶段进行多渠道职业指导,强化职业培训：第三阶段强调求职技巧和宣传就业政策,使学生成功就业。这一模式实施的保障是要树立新的职业指导理念、强化指导教师队伍建设、完善指导的政策。