Examining How Professional Roles and Test Development Experiences Impact Angoff Ratings

An important consideration in standard setting is recruiting a group of panelists with different experiences and backgrounds to serve on the standard-setting panel. This study uses data from 14 different Angoff standard settings from a variety of medical imaging credentialing programs to examine whether people with different professional roles and test development experiences tended to recommend higher or lower cut scores or were more or less accurate in their standard-setting judgments. Results suggested that there were not any statistically significant differences for different types of panelists in terms of the cut scores they recommended or the accuracy of their judgments. Discussion of what these results may mean for panelist selection and recruitment is provided.     

Corporal punishment and communication in father‐son dyads

This study was based on a communication‐oriented perspective of corporal punishment of children. The perspective posits that physically aggressive influence tactics would be associated with aggressive communication and a set of communication outcomes. The perceptions of 74 father‐son dyads were solicited to test these relationships. Results indicated that when there was lower argumentativeness and higher verbal aggressiveness in father‐son communication there was more corporal punishment as an influence tactic and that fathers and sons perceived the relationship as less favorable in terms of influence success, communication competence, affirming style, and credibility.     

Learner agency and the curriculum: a critical realist perspective

Abstract

Agency, understood as the capacity to act independently and to make one’s own choices, is considered central to children’s development. Thus, education, and hence education curricula, have a role in the development of learner agency. While curriculum development is a key focus for educational theory, research, policy, and classroom practice, the potential implications of curriculum content selections for learner agency remain underexplored. Theoretically, this paper engages with critical realism, explaining how it can provide theoretical foundation for a more comprehensive view of learner agency and, by implication, more balanced curricula. Empirically, the paper draws on the findings from a content analysis of the national curriculum documents of four countries with relatively high scores in international comparative tables, England, Australia, Hong-Kong, and Canada, to develop a new typology of primary curricula. Based on the extent of emphasis placed on knowledge versus skills, values, and attitudes, three types of curricula were identified: knowledge-based, skills-oriented, and learner-centred. Due to its significant theoretical and practical influence globally, we focus on the knowledge-based model and its likely impact on students’ agency. We conclude by highlighting the importance of making learner agency a key orientation of the curriculum and suggesting directions for future research.     

Improving Instructional Practices, Policies, and Student Outcomes for Early Childhood Language and Literacy Through Data-Driven Decision Making

Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, data-driven decision making has become one of the central foci in schools in their attempt to attain and maintain adequate levels of student academic performance. The importance of early childhood education is well established with language and literacy proficiency in the early years being viewed as a leading indicator in children’s educational development. It provides schools with the initial signs of progress towards academic achievement. In this article, a conceptual framework for improving instructional practice and student outcomes in early childhood language and literacy through data-driven decision making was described. Four questions served as the structure around which the conceptual framework was built. These questions include (1) Why do data need to be collected? (2) What kinds of data need to be collected? (3) How are the data collected? (4) How are the data used for making decisions? Responses to these questions serve as tenets for guiding the decision making process.     

Acquisition and extinction of differential responses to signals paired with shock or shock omission in goldfish: Evidence for truly discriminated avoidance learning

Goldfish trained to discriminate between signals paired with shock (S?) and signals paired with shock omission (S+) with a linear presentation procedure, originally learned (OL) to control the signal state of a shuttle box and showed a decided preference for the S+ signal. In Experiment 1, following OL, groups had one OL signal replaced (S+ or S?), both signals replaced (S+ and S?), or the OL signals reversed (S+ and S? reversed) and were then tested in a transfer training procedure. In transfer, groups with one signal replaced maintained discriminated performance at OL levels; the S+ replaced group was slightly superior to the S? replaced group on the first day of transfer. With both OL signals replaced, discrimination dropped to chance performance levels, whereas, with OL signal shock pairing reversed, discrimination performance dropped below chance levels. In Experiment 2, following OL, extinction procedures consisted of turning off the shocker (0% shock) or of shocking 100% or a random 25% of the trials. A fourth extinction procedure (R,) retained the trial start response-dependent shock-omission contingency, but shock differentiating the S+ and S? signals was eliminated entirely. Extinction of the S+/S? discrimination was measured both during extinction training per se and with reversal retraining of the S+/S? discrimination later. Groups for which the OL S+ was paired with shock during extinction extinguished on both measures, but groups for which the OL S? was paired with shock omission did not extinguish, especially as shown by the reversal test procedure. Theoretical implications and the implications for several conditioning procedures are discussed.     

Prediction of academic achievement with the McCarthy screening test and metropolitan readiness test

There is a need for accurate, efficient assessment of children's readiness, to provide information concerning strengths and weaknesses of children and to identify those children who may be at risk for school failure. This necessitates determining the relative usefulness of instruments in predicting later school achievement. This study examined the efficacy of the McCarthy Screening Test (MST) and Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) to predict academic readiness at the end of kindergarten and achievement at the end of first grade. Eighty-eight children were screened upon entering kindergarten, using the MST. As a measurement of academic readiness, the MRT was administered at the end of kindergarten, and the Scott and Foresman Achievement Test (SFAT) was administered at the end of first grade as a measure of achievement. Regression analyses indicated that the MST significantly predicted children's scores on the MRT and SFAT. Additionally, the MRT was a significant predictor of the SFAT.     

Netskills and the current state of beliefs and practices in student learning: an assessment and recommendations

This article analyses data from over 1000 student questionnaires dealing with how students currently use the web to support their learning. It discusses student understanding, needs, and expectations of the web and the overwhelming perception that the web now forms an integral part of their study and research practices. However, these practices require greater definition and refinement for and by the student. Evidence from some teaching staff is compared with that from students for validation purposes and has also revealed striking differences in perception and attitudes between the two groups. We identify specific needs on the part of most students in our survey who require greater guidance and study skills when using the web. These “Netskills” are described and recommendations are made concerning their acquisition and future development by students who are demanding that such skills become part of their own learning strategies.