The Role of Referent Indicators in Tests of Measurement Invariance

Confirmatory factor analytic tests of measurement invariance (MI) require a referent indicator (RI) for model identification. Although the assumption that the RI is perfectly invariant across groups is acknowledged as problematic, the literature provides relatively little guidance for researchers to identify the conditions under which the practice is appropriate. Using simulated data, this study examined the effects of RI selection on both scale- and item-level MI tests. Results indicated that while inappropriate RI selection has little effect on the accuracy of conclusions drawn from scale-level tests of metric invariance, poor RI choice can produce very misleading results for item-level tests. As a result, group comparisons under conditions of partial invariance are highly susceptible to problems associated with poor RI choice.     

An application of the knowledge management maturity model: the case of credit unions

The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of knowledge management (KM) maturity of credit unions. The application of a maturity model to 15 credit unions in North America revealed that an overall level of KM maturity is at an early stage of development, but there are signs of future improvement. Credit unions operate in a highly competitive, knowledge-intensive financial industry and experience various pressures to increase their efficiency, which they can achieve through the implementation of KM solutions. Despite the absence of official KM strategies, KM projects were introduced locally in order to fill particular knowledge gaps. The availability of IT infrastructure and the implementation of KM-related technologies alone are insufficient to ensure universal success of organizational KM activities. Credit union managers periodically access and use academic research in their decision making. At the same time, they prefer accessing scholarly knowledge in translated form from books, practitioner magazines, and consultants. It was concluded that organizations competing in the knowledge-intensive sector have an inner need for KM solutions.     

Associations and indirect effects between LEGO® construction and mathematics performance

There is a known association between LEGO® construction ability and mathematics achievement, yet the mechanisms which drive this association are largely unknown. This study investigated the spatial mechanisms underlying this association, and whether this differs for concrete versus digital construction. Between January 2020 and July 2021, children aged 7–9 years (N = 358, 189 female, ethnicity not recorded) completed spatial and mathematics tasks, and either a concrete or digital Lego construction task. Mediation analyses examining direct and indirect pathways (through spatial skills) between Lego construction ability and mathematics explained 8.4% to 26.6% of variance in mathematics scores. Exploratory moderated mediation analyses revealed that only the indirect path through mental rotation differed between Lego conditions. Findings are discussed in relation to theories of spatial-numerical associations and the potential of Lego training for mathematics improvement.     

High-Quality Formative Writing Assessment for Middle School Students in Tier 2 Literacy Interventions

Increased expectations for writing performance have created a need for formative writing assessments that will help middle school teachers better understand adolescents’ grade-appropriate writing skills and monitor the progress of students with or at risk for writing disabilities. In this practice piece, we first explain research-based recommendations for high-quality writing prompts that are interesting to students, provide clear directions, and ensure accessibility and fairness. Then, we use lessons learned from working with adolescents in Tier 2 literacy intervention classes to demonstrate how teachers can apply the recommendations to identify or develop prompts that will encourage students to write responses. In addition, we explain how analytic rubrics may be used to evaluate responses as a means of informing instruction and further refining the prompts.     

Lights,camera, active! appreciation of active learning predicts positive attitudes towards lecture capture

Higher Education - Much has been written about instructor attitudes towards lecture capture, particularly concerning political issues such as opt-out policies and the use of recordings by...     

Asynchronous Online Instruction Leads to Learning Gaps When Compared to a Flipped Classroom

With the gradual shift to online education models that has taken place in recent decades, research has sought to understand the nuances of student performance in an online model in comparison to more traditional in-person modalities. However, the effects of instructional modality have been difficult to determine given the many variables that exist in course design between these methods. In this study, we attempt to determine the efficacy of asynchronous online instruction by comparing two nearly equivalent courses. The first course was a flipped classroom, a recent and well-studied hybrid model of instruction. The second was an asynchronous fully online course that contained all the same instructional elements as the in-person course but lacked any student or instructor interaction. Student performance was tracked at both a highly-selective private institution and an open-enrollment public institution. Results show that students’ performance drops in an asynchronous online course compared to an equivalent in-person experience. Several potential hypotheses are put forth to explain a change in performance that can potentially shape the design of online instruction.

     

Assessing Caregiver Stress and Coping at Time of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis

Early Childhood Education Journal - Research and practice emphasize the importance of family involvement in early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, in order to...     

Using a Table of Specifications to improve teacher-constructed traditional tests: an experimental design

We investigated if instruction on a Table of Specifications (TOS) would influence the quality of classroom test construction. Results should prove informative for educational researchers, teacher educators, and practising teachers interested in evidenced-based strategies that may improve assessment-related practices. Fifty-three college undergraduates were randomly assigned to an experimental (exposed to the TOS strategy) and a comparison condition (no specific strategy support) and given materials for an instructional unit to use to construct a classroom test. Results of a multivariate analysis of covariance suggested that students exposed to the TOS strategy constructed a test with higher test content evidence but not response process evidence scores. Furthermore, we found that treatment participants were able to accurately complete the TOS tool and choose items that reflected the subject matter specified in the TOS tool. However, they experienced difficulty selecting items at the cognitive level specified in the TOS tool.