Survey of attitudes toward statistics: Factor structure and factorial invariance for women and men

White undergraduate students enrolled in introductory statistics courses completed the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS). Student responses were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis to determine the validity of several alternative models of the structure of attitudes toward statistics. A four‐factor structure composed of Affect, Cognitive Competence, Value, and Difficulty provided the best model fit. Responses of women and men to the SATS were then examined to explore scale invariance across gender. Invariance tests of factor structure, factor‐variable correlations, factor correlations, and variable uniquenesses showed that the four‐factor model fit well for both female and male responses. Only two significant differences in model fit were found: the Value variance was greater for women and the correlation between Affect and Value was greater for men. Generally, the study provided evidence for the appropriateness of a four‐factor structure of the SATS.     

Opening windows on teaching and learning: transformative and emancipatory learning precipitated by experimenting with visual documentation of student learning

Emancipatory learning can occur through critical reflection grounded in theory. This study describes an action research project in which the author engaged in retrospective structured analysis of an incident involving visual documentation of student learning. It was experienced by a struggling novice teacher educator, who at the time of the incident had neither the theoretical nor structured framework from which to process the experience. Using the transformation theory of adult learning as the basis from which to create a reflection model, the action research examined assumptions about filters and meaning schemes through which insights emerged about a changed paradigm, with implications for other teacher educators about reflective practice.     

Competency-based training and beyond: action research and reflective practice in vocational education and training

This article [1] analyses data from a national research project evaluating the contribution of competency-based training (CBT) to outcomes in vocational education and training (VET) in Australia. In the light of this analysis, it is argued that practitioners have an important and developing role as practitioner-researchers in industry settings, engaging in reflective practice and, indeed, in forms of action research. Moreover, it is argued that CBT provides opportunities for practitioners to develop and incorporate different models of education and training, often alongside the ‘standard’ CBT model for the benefit of trainees and the enterprises in which they work. Some implications for VET policy, practice and practitioner education are explored.     

The heart of educational data infrastructures = Conscious humanity and scientific responsibility,not infinite data and limitless experimentation

Education and education research are experiencing increased digitization and datafication, partly thanks to the rise in popularity of massively open online courses (MOOCs). The infrastructures that collect, store and analyse the resulting big data have received critical scrutiny from sociological, epistemological, ethical and analytical perspectives. These critiques tend to highlight concerns and/or warnings about the lack of the infrastructures' and builders' understanding of various nontechnical aspects of big data research (eg seeing data as neutral rather than as products of social processes). These critiques have primarily come from outside of the builder community, rendering the conversation largely one-sided and devoid of the voices of the builders themselves. The purpose of this paper is to re-balance the conversation by reporting the results of interviews with 11 data infrastructure builders in higher education institutions. The interviews reveal that builders engage deeply with the issues the critiques outline, not only thinking about them, but also developing practices to address them. The paper focuses the findings on three themes: designing a productive science, navigating ubiquitous ethics and achieving real human impact. Researchers, policymakers and infrastructure builders can use these accounts to better understand the building process and experience.     

战胜考试压力!

期末考试马上就要到了,你的心开始砰砰乱跳,心情变得焦躁,甚至连呼吸都有些急促。一看就知道,你得了"考前焦虑症"。该怎么办呢?不妨试试下面五条战胜考试压力的贴心策略吧!     

Appraising research on personalized learning: Definitions,theoretical alignment,advancements, and future directions

Abstract

This article introduces a special issue comprising research on efforts to personalize learning in different academic subjects. We first consider the emergence of personalized learning (PL) and the myriad of definitions that describe its essential features. Thereafter, we introduce the articles in the special issue by examining their alignment to extant theories of learning, the instructional design features that personalize the learning experience based on a learner characteristic, and the relationships between PL design and outcomes achieved in an educational context. Based on observations of contemporary PL research, we identify key issues to be addressed by the field and recommendations for future researchers to undertake to advance a PL theory. Chief among issues with PL are the role of technology, the agency of the learner, and the absence of a consistent theoretical grounding to motivate PL design choices. Future directions that would advance PL include the adoption of a theory of change in PL design, a design-based research approach to refine PL initiatives, more intensive and iterative research in authentic classroom contexts, and a greater focus on student input into and ownership of the PL experience.     

The design process for PLATO®

Conclusion The final product, PLATOMath Problem Solving, was the result of many months of design, iteration, learner trials, and hard work. Each activity has enough depth to promote exploration, but enough coaching to provide structure and establish a strategic-level dialog with the learner. The result is courseware that truly promotes strategic approaches to math problem solving. For more information, visit us atwww.plato.com. You might also be interested in the following : Hall, E. P., Gott, S. P., & Pokorny, R. A. (1995). Aprocedural guide to cognitive task analysis: The PARI methodology. Report AL/HR-TR-1995-0108. Brooks Air Force Base, TX: Human Resources Directorate. Foshay, R., & Kirkley, J. (1998).Principles for teaching problem solving. Technical Paper #4. Bloomington, MN: PLATO Learning, Inc.