The Development of a Discussion Rubric for Online Courses: Standardizing Expectations of Graduate Students in Online Scholarly Discussions

This paper reports on the design and evaluation of a rubric for assessing discussions in online graduate level education courses. The aims of the research were twofold. The first goal was to develop a discussion rubric that provides guidance to graduate students participating in online courses that are heavily discussion based. The second goal was to evaluate the efficacy of the rubric in student comfort with the expectations for the course and the quality of the discussions. Qualitative and quantitative course evaluations from four sections of an online graduate course are utilized to report on the effectiveness of the rubric upon implementation. Student average grades also show a statistically significant increase with the implementation of the rubric.     

Girls and Women,Sport, and Self-Confidence

This article explores research examining girls' and women's self-confidence in sport and physical activity. The article begins by addressing how self-confidence has been conceptualized and how researchers have measured it. A theoretical groundwork is presented by comparing three models that link confidence to achievement: Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, Harter's competence motivation theory, and Eccles (Parsons) et al.'s expectancy-value model. Next, research examining variables that have been hypothesized to influence female self-confidence, as well as a discussion of gender differences, is presented. Finally, enhancement strategies and future research directions are offered. It is suggested that researchers examine the impact of specific socializing influences when studying girls' and women's self-confidence and also that they undertake more model testing instead of examining variables in isolation.     

FACULTY ATTITUDES TOWARD THE MIXED‐AGE COLLEGE CLASSROOM

With the number of nontraditional students on college campuses continuing to increase, college educators need to become aware of issues regarding the mixed‐age classroom. Part of this awareness should be an understanding of how faculty perceive different‐aged students and their mixed‐age classroom experiences. Through telephone interviews with approximately 100 faculty, we investigate attitudes about the professor‐student relationship, views toward teaching in a mixed‐age classroom, and beliefs about both older and younger students.     

Child abuse and neglect and intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration: A prospective investigation

This paper describes the extent to which abused and neglected children report intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and perpetration when followed up into middle adulthood. Using data from a prospective cohort design study, children (ages 0–11) with documented histories of physical and sexual abuse and/or neglect (n = 497) were matched with children without such histories (n = 395) and assessed in adulthood (M_age = 39.5). Prevalence, number, and variety of four types of IPV (psychological abuse, physical violence, sexual violence, and injury) were measured. Over 80% of both groups – childhood abuse and neglect (CAN) and controls – reported some form of IPV victimization during the past year (most commonly psychological abuse) and about 75% of both groups reported perpetration of IPV toward their partner. Controlling for age, sex, and race, overall CAN [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.60, 95% CI [1.03, 2.49]], physical abuse (AOR = 2.52, 95% CI [1.17, 5.40]), and neglect (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI [1.04, 2.59]) predicted increased risk for being victimized by a partner via physical injury. CAN and neglect also predicted being victimized by a greater number and variety of IPV acts. CAN and control groups did not differ in reports of perpetration of IPV, although neglect predicted greater likelihood of perpetrating physical injury to a partner, compared to controls. Abused/neglected females were more likely to report being injured by their partner, whereas maltreated males did not. This study found that child maltreatment increases risk for the most serious form of IPV involving physical injury. Increased attention should be paid to IPV (victimization and perpetration) in individuals with histories of neglect.     

Leader noticing of facilitation in videocases of mathematics professional development

In this article, we report on Researching Mathematics Leader Learning (RMLL), a project designed to support leaders in learning how to facilitate robust opportunities for teachers’ mathematical learning. Our two-phase research design allowed us to construct a set of videocase seminars, enact the seminar design with leaders, analyze these data, refine our seminar design, and implement a second set of seminars with a new group of leaders. We drew on the noticing literature to examine leaders’ pedagogical reasoning as they discussed videocases of professional development. In this article, we demonstrate how changes in our framework for leader development and the resulting changes in the prompts and tasks shaped leader noticing in three ways: (a) accounting for the mathematical work of the facilitator and teachers in the videocase; (b) linking the mathematical work to goals for teacher learning; and (c) reasoning around the facilitator’s work in advancing those learning goals. Analysis indicates that in Phase II, leader discussions were more focused on the mathematical and pedagogical work needed to advance teacher learning. Based on our research and development work with over 70 leaders, we offer a set of design principles for leader professional development.     

MEASURING EFFICACY SOURCES: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE SOURCES OF TEACHER EFFICACY QUESTIONNAIRE (STEQ) FOR CHINESE TEACHERS

The aim of the current study is to develop and validate an instrument to measure the four sources of teacher efficacy among Chinese primary school teachers. A 26‐item Sources of Teacher Efficacy Questionnaire (STEQ) was proposed with four subscales: mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, and physiological arousal. The results supported the hypothesized four‐factor structure of the STEQ. Scores from all the four factors of the STEQ had strong significant correlations with the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), which showed the criterion‐related validity of the STEQ. Further, scores of all four sources significantly predicted teacher efficacy scores, among which social persuasion was the strongest predictor. This study contributes to the self‐efficacy literature by providing researchers with an instrument for examining the various facets of teacher efficacy. The findings can inform school principals and teacher educators, enabling them to facilitate a school culture and teaching environment that cultivates a greater sense of teacher efficacy and, in turn, better teaching performance.     

Assessment of critical thinking ability in medical students

In this study conducted with 80 first‐year students in a graduate medical course at the Australian National University, Canberra, students’ critical thinking skills were assessed using the Watson‐Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (Forms A and B) in a test‐retest design. Results suggested that overall subjects retained consistent patterns of ability in critical thinking over the year. Subjects aged 30 years and over were more likely to perform better on the tests than subjects aged under 30. However, there was a significantly lower group mean on Form B than on Form A. Subjects with an above‐mean score on Form A, or subjects aged 30 years and over, were more likely to be associated with a reduced score on Form B than were subjects with a below‐mean score on Form A, or aged less than 30 years. In motivational terms, it is suggested that subjects who had more highly developed critical thinking skills, and older subjects, conducted a more realistic effort/reward analysis before the administration of Form B, and were less willing to put effort into a test that was not an assessable component of their medical school curriculum, than were other students. For the design of assessment items in higher education, this would suggest that assessment weightings need to reflect accurately the size of the reward, or possible outcome, of completing those assessments if students are to work to their ability.     

What is technology? Development and evaluation of a simple instrument for measuring children's conceptions of technology

Technology is important to all aspects of our lives, so helping students develop an accurate understanding of technology should be an educational goal at the K-12 level. Assessments are important tools in reaching this goal. We developed an instrument to measure the technology conceptions of children ages 8–11, the ‘What is Technology’ (WT) instrument. We gathered evidence for the validity of using the WT instrument to measure children's conceptions of technology, including changes due to an intervention, and we describe those changes. We used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to establish scales, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with new samples of subjects to confirm our hypothesised model of children's conceptions. For further evidence, we analyzed and coded the written responses children gave to open-ended questions asking them to explain their understanding of technology, then calculated correlations between these codes and the CFA-confirmed scale measures. We found that children tend to think of technology as artifacts that are powered by electrical energy; however, after instruction most children's conceptions become more consistent with definitions given in educational standards. The instrument is shown to be valid and reliable for its intended use, to assess preadolescent children's conceptions of technology, and evaluate the impact of an intervention.