Student performance in teacher education in Norway: the impact of student,institutional and structural factors

Many education systems face a challenge in recruiting graduates as teachers. This is also the situation in Norway and the newest estimates tell us that we will lack 9000 teachers in 2020. The situation is made even worse by the high number of dropouts and low performance rates in teacher education. There are many factors which have an impact on study performance and progress. Some factors are at student level, some at institutional or programme level and others at structural level. In the present article, we will discuss how students attending two different teacher education programmes at a university college in Norway negotiate between their studies and the need to earn money and the consequences this has for their study performance. We focus on student-level factors and how the university college organises its campus programmes. The findings are based on a quantitative study among 401 student teachers.     

Using the Attribute Hierarchy Method to Identify and Interpret Cognitive Skills that Produce Group Differences

The purpose of this study is to describe how the attribute hierarchy method (AHM) can be used to evaluate differential group performance at the cognitive attribute level. The AHM is a psychometric method for classifying examinees' test item responses into a set of attribute-mastery patterns associated with different components in a cognitive model of task performance. Attribute probabilities, computed using a neural network, can be estimated on each attribute for each examinee thereby providing specific information about the examinee's attribute-mastery level. These probabilities can also be compared across groups. We describe a four-step procedure for estimating and interpreting group differences using the AHM. We also provide an example using student response data from a sample of algebra items on the SAT to illustrate our pattern recognition approach for studying group differences .     

Curriculum‐embedded performance assessment in higher education: maximum efficiency and minimum disruption

Increasingly, institutions of higher education are required to evaluate student progress and programme effectiveness through implementation of performance assessment practices. Faculty members frequently resist performance assessment because of concerns that assessment activities will increase workloads, reduce time for scholarly activities, eliminate professional autonomy, and reduce faculty work into component parts or discrete technical competences. This paper describes how curriculum‐embedded performance assessment can be used to evaluate student and programme effectiveness without placing an undue burden on faculty. Examples of the use of curriculum‐embedded performance assessment strategies in a graduate‐level educational psychology programme are provided.     

Exploring the Impact of Assessment on Medical Students’ Learning

Abstract

What and how students learn depend largely on how they think they will be assessed. This study aimed to explore medical students’ perception of the value of assessment and feedback on their learning, and how this relates to their examination performance. A mixed methods research design was adopted in which a questionnaire was developed and administered to the students to gain their perceptions of assessments. Perceptions were further explored in focus group discussions. Survey findings were correlated with students’ performance data and academic coordinators’ perceptions. Students’ perceptions of the level of difficulty of different assessments mirrored their performance in examinations, with an improvement observed in clinical assessments as students progressed through their degree. Students recognised that feedback is important to allow improvements and seek more timely, better quality and personalised feedback. Academic coordinators identified that some of the students’ suggestions are more realistic than others. Students had a positive attitude towards assessment, but emphasised the need for educators to highlight the relevance of assessment to clinical practice.     

基于Google Bigtable的海量数据存储探索

随着网络技术的快速发展,存储网络中的海量数据已经超越了传统关系型数据库的负载能力.如何存储海量数据,以及如何基于海量数据提供高效的数据查询的能力,使得程序的使用者能够得到及时的回应等诸多问题是Google等网络服务供应商们所亟需解决的挑战.为了解决这些问题,Google研发了Google文件系统(Google File System,GFS)、Bigtable以及很多其他相关的技术和算法.本文介绍了Google Bigtable的数据模型,并且详细解释了Bigtable是如何提供可扩展性,如何提供高效率的读和写操作,以及Bigtable是如何控制并发事务的.读者通过阅读可以更加深刻地理解Bigtable的技术架构.     

A walk on the human performance side—Part 2

In Part 2, the authors explore the work of the performance architect at the work/process/practice level. They include a Time and Motion Workflow Chart to capture the steps in a task during the observation phase of analysis and discuss how to interpret the findings. In Part 1 of a four‐part series, the authors described the work of the performance architect at the worker/individual/team level and shared the performance map, a visual and diagnostic model used to focus clients on performance issues.     

The visualization of spatial transformations in diagrams of molecular structures

Summaries

English

The investigation sets out to determine in absolute terms the average level of performance of English and Portuguese students in visualizing how diagrams of molecules should be drawn after performing a rotation, reflection or inversion on the molecule itself. A second aim was to determine the factor structure of these tasks. Both aims were investigated using tests comprising samples of items randomly selected from domains of items which operationally defined each task. The results showed that for the students in both countries, the average level of performance on each of these tests was far from satisfactory. The factor structure separated items corresponding to the rotations, reflections and inversions. Within the categories of items corresponding to rotations and reflections, the students from the two different countries give rise to different patterns of loadings for the three different types of rotations and three different types of reflection.     

Effects of training self-assessment and using assessment standards on retrospective and prospective monitoring of problem solving

Both retrospective and prospective monitoring are considered important for self-regulated learning of problem-solving skills. Retrospective monitoring (or self-assessment; SA) refers to students' assessments of how well they performed on a problem just completed. Prospective monitoring (or Judgments of Learning; JOLs) refers to students' judgments about how well they will perform on a (similar) problem on a future test. We investigated whether secondary education students' SA accuracy could be improved by training (Experiment 1 and 2), or by providing assessment standards (Experiment 2), and whether this would also affect the accuracy of JOLs. Accurate assessment of past performance might provide a good cue for judging future performance. Both Experiment 1 and 2 showed no effect of training on SA or JOL accuracy, but SA and JOLs were positively correlated with each other and negatively with effort. Providing standards did improve SA and JOL accuracy on identical problems, and performance on all problems.     

List of Reviewers 2014

Postlethwaite, T. N. (1971). Item Scores as Feedback to Curriculum Planners. Scand. J. educ. Res. 15, 3, 123‐136. Data for Sweden from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) mathematics study are analysed in terms of the shift in level of performance from seventh grade to ninth grade on twenty mathematics items. In turn, the level of performance for Swedish seventh and ninth graders is compared with the average level of performance for all 13‐year‐olds in the IEA study. Relative gains and losses from seventh to ninth grade are related to the Swedish Länplan. Another more general approach is used whereby each Swedish ninth grade item performance is predicted from the average 13‐year‐old performance of all countries, taking into account the Swedish lag at age 13. In this way, it can be seen if Swedish children catch up. It is assumed that such information can and will be used by curriculum planners in reforming curricula.     

A critical analysis of problems with the LBOTE category on the NAPLaN test

The National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLaN) is an annual literacy and numeracy test for all Australian students, and results from the test are disaggregated into a number of categories including language background other than English (LBOTE). For this and other categories, results on each section of the test are aggregated into state, territory and national means and standard deviations enabling comparison of performance. The NAPLaN data indicate that since the test began, in 2008, at a national level there is little difference between the results of LBOTE and non-LBOTE students on all domains of the test. This is a national result, and there is greater variation at state and territory level. However, these results defy a logic which might suggest that the LBOTE category will reflect the influence of English as a second language on test performance, rather suggesting that a second language background is not associated with test performance. In this paper, I will interrogate the variation in the LBOTE category, using data provided by the Queensland state education department, focusing on year 9 students who participated in the 2010 test. Using multiple regression and focusing on variables which are specifically related to language background, I will show that within the LBOTE category there is a wide variation of performance, and the LBOTE data are in fact hiding some of our most disadvantaged students. I will suggest alternative ways in which language learners could be identified to better empower policy and pedagogical responses to student needs.     

从行业竞争力到个体竞争力——图书馆核心竞争力的提升和培养

在分析图书馆核心竞争力含义的基础上,论述了图书馆核心竞争力的演变历程,认为图书馆不仅作为一个整体具有行业竞争力,而且作为个体的图书馆,同样也可以形成各具特色的核心竞争力。同时指出未来图书馆的核心竞争力将是知识组织、知识服务与知识教育的更高层次,并就如何提升图书馆核心竞争力进行了探讨。     

The Future Is Now: First Ideas on How Human Performance Improvement Is Going to Change

Digitization will change our world at a speed and to an extent never experienced before. This will have a huge impact on how we must think about performance improvement and on how we do our job as performance improvement professionals. This article highlights some of the developments and their impact on performance and raises open questions. Finally, it drafts a framework meant to systematically guide our thinking about the changes we will face.     

Computer-Assisted Rubric Evaluation: Enhancing Outcomes and Assessment Quality

This case study examines the use of computer-assisted grading rubrics using Blackboard’s ? Rubric Evaluation Report to compare expected performance for each criterion of an assignment to the students’ level of achievement. Several studies have reported on the innovative and effective delivery of how learning management systems (LMS) can deliver real-time (immediate data delivery) antecedents that inform students of performance requirements (Atkinson & Lim, 2013; Goomas, in press). The impetus, then, is to perform an analysis on each criterion of the assignment in order to determine how closely student performance matched the requirements of the rubric. Used as an analytical tool, the instructor was able to direct students to particular learning activities and to adjust teaching tactics in order to meet or exceed the rubric requirements.     

MasterCAM软件在零件设计与数控加工中的应用

目前,国内外有很多优秀的CAD/CAM软件,而不同的软件各有其特点。合理地选用CAD/CAM软件,可以大幅度提高机械设计和加工的工作质量和效率。通过曲面加工实例阐述了用MasterCAM进行机械设计和加工的主要功能。     

浅析如何打造高绩效的团队

目前很多中国企业具有一流的硬件设施，但中国企业的竞争力不强，最主要的问题不是战略问题，而是高绩效团队短缺的问题。高绩效的团队是企业的脊梁。是企业的核心人才库，是企业创新源泉。大量的案例和事实证明，企业的成功不是取决于某个人，整体团队的水平起到了80％的作用。一个企业团队的优秀程度，决定着企业的未来。 本文从不同绩效团队的表现切入论题，首先重点分析团队执行力的塑造。主要分析执行力不强的原因，提出要培养执行力，必须解决团队政策朝令夕改，制度本身不合理，流程过于繁琐等问题。然后分析团队如何有效的沟通。论述了建立团队共同愿景、正式沟通网络和如何发挥非正式团体的正向作用，总结了怎样技巧性的进行团队批评。接下来分析团队冲突的原因，根据托马斯一基尔曼模型，论述团队冲突采用竞争、回避、迁就、妥协和合作五种处理方式，每种处理方式的行为特征和心态描述，指出解决冲突的方法和技巧。最后提出依据团队的发展阶段。结合各阶段的特征，打造高绩效的团队应采取的管理策略。 本文力求在系统、深入的团队分析基础上，从团队建设的重点环节提出应采取的策略，希望能为打造高绩效的团队提供有益的参考。     

On teaching cognitive strategies: The influence of accessibility of conceptual knowledge

Cognitive performance can be improved through the explicit instruction of strategies that produce good performance. While such instruction will generally promote improved performance immediately following instruction, an important issue that still needs to be addressed is how to get students to maintain use of the strategies when they are left to their own devices. This article considers how variations in the ability to access knowledge relevant to the specific materials might affect strategy use, students' perceptions of these strategies, and, as a consequence, strategy maintenance.     

Learning and expertise in support for parents of children at risk: a cultural-historical analysis of partnership practices

A key predictor of young people’s future outcomes is their level of academic achievement whilst at school. In England this is most commonly measured by achievement in GCSEs. However, not all pupils will have taken the same set of GCSE examinations as, for example, they may make different subject choices. For this reason, GCSE performance is often aggregated into a simple measure such as ‘mean GCSE grade’ before being used in statistical models. This paper investigates the merits of using an alternative method, based upon the relatively new technique of Generalised Boosting Models, which does not require for GCSE results in different subjects to be aggregated together. The importance of this research is that by evaluating the predictive performance of such a method we can ascertain how much useful information is lost in the process of GCSE aggregation. The results show that traditional predictions based upon simple aggregated measures of GCSE attainment are fairly similar to those based upon the more complex approach. This provides some confidence that, for the majority of outcomes, only a small amount of predictive information will be lost through the use of aggregated measures of GCSE performance.     

The Effect of Team‐Based Learning on Student Attitudes and Satisfaction

We examined student attitudes toward a team‐based learning method known as the readiness assurance process encompassing team exams to model how student satisfaction is initially shaped and subsequently changed over time as a function of scholastic performance and perceived development of professional skills (PS). We found that students were generally positively disposed toward the learning method and recognized its benefits in terms of developing teamwork skills. A regression analysis of student responses to an instrument distributed directly after each of four quizzes given over the course of a semester leads to the inferences that satisfaction with the method depends minimally upon the immediate feedback provided by student performance on a quiz and more critically upon student perceptions of how it has enhanced their PS. There is also shown to be a strong carryover effect in satisfaction with the method in successive uses. The results suggest that student attitudes are shaped by multiple, high‐level goals, and not just scholastic performance. The study also evidences the need to study learning interventions over multiple uses rather than through a one‐shot design.     

What's in a Name? A Comparison of Instructional Systems Design,Organization Development,and Human Performance Technology/Improvement and Their Contributions to Performance Improvement

What are the similarities and differences between instructional systems design, organization development, and human performance technology/improvement (HPT/HPI)? This article defines these fields and highlights how they contribute to the performance improvement domain. With Rossett's view of HPT as a “perspective, or habit of mind, that inclines us towards data, analysis, systems, alignment and partnerships” (A. Rossett, personal communication, October 28, 2012), HPT/HPI will be presented as the overarching framework for selecting and measuring instructional systems design or organization development interventions.