Using New Technology to Improve Assessment

What are the areas of testing that will be most affected by new technology" Who is doing work on the cutting edge of these areas" What will be the ultimate effect of these innovations"     

Evaluating the TD model of classical conditioning

The temporal-difference (TD) algorithm from reinforcement learning provides a simple method for incrementally learning predictions of upcoming events. Applied to classical conditioning, TD models suppose that animals learn a real-time prediction of the unconditioned stimulus (US) on the basis of all available conditioned stimuli (CSs). In the TD model, similar to other error-correction models, learning is driven by prediction errors-the difference between the change in US prediction and the actual US. With the TD model, however, learning occurs continuously from moment to moment and is not artificially constrained to occur in trials. Accordingly, a key feature of any TD model is the assumption about the representation of a CS on a moment-to-moment basis. Here, we evaluate the performance of the TD model with a heretofore unexplored range of classical conditioning tasks. To do so, we consider three stimulus representations that vary in their degree of temporal generalization and evaluate how the representation influences the performance of the TD model on these conditioning tasks.     

Searching for ‘a third space’: a creative pathway towards international PhD students’ academic acculturation

Undertaking a PhD is a challenging endeavour. Pursuing a doctoral education in a ‘foreign’ context tends to increase the demands of this intellectual venture. The nature of research-based PhD programmes, often characterised by a lack of formal curricula where academic supervision lasts several years, may add another layer of complexity. Drawing upon an extended version of Urie Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological theory of human development, this paper attempts to offer a greater understanding of both academic and non-academic concerns confronting international PhD students with a view to highlighting their implications for institutional policy and practice. Underpinned by a visual metaphor approach, our research findings advocate embedding the use of ‘a third space’ as a creative pathway and strategy for maximising students’ chances of achieving a successful PhD academic acculturation journey.     

The Private Voice: Homeschooling,Hannah Arendt,and Political Education

What becomes of the political orientation of American education when children are educated in the home rather than in public schools? Homeschooling critics raise concerns over the larger consequences: political exit and even indoctrination. Drawing on a recent study of 62 interviews with 35 homeschooling families in 11 states in the USA, we offer a theoretical argument grounded in empirical observations and perceptions of homeschoolers themselves. Using the work of political theorist Hannah Arendt as a guide, we suggest that, contrary to critics’ claims of political exit over voice, homeschooling may provide the opportunity for some families to respond with a “private voice” that is politically robust because it is intentionally subversive to a (perceived) homogenous dominant culture. We thus argue that some homeschoolers offer an understanding of private life that is political without being “public,” and that they reconcile this irony by attempting to cultivate reflexive “thinking” in their children regarding questions of conformity, materialism, and plurality.     

Validity and Automad Scoring: It's Not Only the Scoring

What are the validity issues involved in automated scoring of tests? What is the nature of the interplay among construct definition, task design, examinee interface, tutorial, test development tools, and automated scoring and reporting?     

Those who ignore the past … : 12 'easy' lessons for the next millennium

Efforts to improve US schools through curriculum reform, attention to teaching and, the specifications of objectives and standards for education, have been recurrent themes during the past half-century. I offer a distillation of 12 'easy' lessons that can be learned from the careful examination of ideas and practices concerning the improvement of schools. I discuss each of these lessons with respect to their potentialities and their complexities, and try to provide a summary of what can be learned from US history which can guide efforts to make schools genuinely educative institutions. Whether those lessons will be learned and applied are consequences that I do not, and cannot, confidently address. However, my arguments may promote debate that might decrease the likelihood that the past will be repeated.