Student opinion of the value of student evaluations

This is an empirical investigation of student attitudes towards evaluation of instruction questionnaires. A 13-item attitude questionnaire was administered to 440 students in the Schools of Law and Engineering at Tel-Aviv University. Results indicated that students generally considered evaluation of instruction of value and were willing to participate in subsequent evaluations. They felt their evaluations were significant in influencing faculty promotion and selection; however, they were uncertain of their effect on improving the level of instruction. Criteria relevant for evaluation were the course work-load and instructor's grading policy; the instructor's academic status or talent for entertaining was of little importance. Students' academic expectations or self-definition made little significant difference either in attitude toward evaluations or in choice of rating criteria. However, students with high academic expectations were less ready to make evaluations, were unsure whether evaluation was part of the students' domain, and granted greater weight to the instructor's rank - all of which could indicate their identification with the norms of the academic world.     

Language ability and verbal and nonverbal executive functioning in deaf students communicating in spoken English

The internal use of language during problem solving is considered to play a key role in executive functioning. This role provides a means for self-reflection and self-questioning during the formation of rules and plans and a capacity to control and monitor behavior during problem-solving activity. Given that increasingly sophisticated language is required for effective executive functioning as an individual matures, it is likely that students with poor language abilities will have difficulties performing complex problem-solving tasks. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between language ability and verbal and nonverbal executive functioning in a group of deaf students who communicate using spoken English, as measured by their performance on two standardized tests of executive function: the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) 20 Questions Test and the D-KEFS Tower Test. Expressive language ability accounted for more than 40% of variability in performance on the D-KEFS 20 Questions Test. There was no significant relationship between language ability and performance on the D-KEFS Tower Test. There was no relationship between language ability and familiarity with the specific problem-solving strategies of both D-KEFS Tests. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Intuitive nonexamples: the case of triangles

In this paper we examine the possibility of differentiating between two types of nonexamples. The first type, intuitive nonexamples, consists of nonexamples which are intuitively accepted as such. That is, children immediately identify them as nonexamples. The second type, non-intuitive nonexamples, consists of nonexamples that bear a significant similarity to valid examples of the concept, and consequently are more often mistakenly identified as examples. We describe and discuss these notions and present a study regarding kindergarten children’s grasp of nonexamples of triangles.

“As Long As You Are Willing To Wait”: Access and Equity in Universities for Students With Disabilities

The demand by people with disabilities to university education has been growing in recent years. A pilot study of five universities reviews their equity profiles and on‐the‐ground practices in relation to students with disabilities. Particular attention is paid to departments of Social Work which are postulated to contain the conditions under which disability issues in education might be recognised. The research suggests that there are major resource problems in meeting needs, exacerbated by bureaucratic conflict in government, and a limited willingness by resource‐pressed universities to plan effectively the recruitment and support of students with disabilities. Greatest progress has occurred where student action is most sustained and senior staff have a personal commitment to change     

Confidence versus Performance as an Indicator of the Presence of Alternative Conceptions and Inadequate Problem‐Solving Skills in Mechanics

This study investigated the use of performance–confidence relationships to signal the presence of alternative conceptions and inadequate problem‐solving skills in mechanics. A group of 33 students entering physics at a South African university participated in the project. The test instrument consisted of 20 items derived from existing standardised tests from literature, each of which was followed by a self‐reported measure of confidence of students in the correctness of their answers. Data collected for this study included students’ responses to multiple‐choice questions and open‐ended explanations for their chosen answers. Fixed response physics and confidence data were logarithmically transformed according to the Rasch model to linear measures of performance and confidence. The free response explanations were carefully analysed for accuracy of conceptual understanding. Comparison of these results with raw score data and transformed measures of performance and confidence allowed a re‐evaluation of the model developed by Hasan, Bagayoko, and Kelley in 1999 for the detection of alternative conceptions in mechanics. Application of this model to raw score data leads to inaccurate conclusions. However, application of the Hasan hypothesis to transformed measures of performance and confidence resulted in the accurate identification of items plagued by alternative conceptions. This approach also holds promise for the differentiation between over‐confidence due to alternative conceptions or due to inadequate problem‐solving skills. It could become a valuable tool for instructional design in mechanics.     

Destination unknown: An exploratory study of full-time faculty off the tenure track

The source of data in this study is the 1989 National Survey of Faculty by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.     

Exploring children's perceptions of forgiveness at the interpersonal and political levels: emerging evidence in Cyprus

This small-scale study reports the findings from an investigation into non-verbal communication. It primarily seeks to analyse whether 9 and 13 year-olds can encode and decode non-verbal communication in the context of classroom behaviour management. This research showed that, in contrast to previous published research, there were no distinct differences between the ages, genders, or task types. One key finding was the frequency with which pupils misinterpreted the facial expression of anger, irrespective of the familiarity of the face, although accuracy of emotional interpretation improved with time. From observations, female staff consistently used more complementary non-verbal communication than conflicting, compared with the male staff.     

Developmental Dynamics of Emotion and Cognition Processes in Preschoolers

Dynamic relations during the preschool years across processes of control and understanding in the domains of emotion and cognition were examined. Participants were 263 children (42% non‐White) and their mothers who were seen first when the children were 3 years old and again when they were 4. Results indicated dynamic dependence among the processes studied. Specifically, change in cognitive processes of control and understanding were dependent upon initial levels of the other processes. Changes in emotion control and understanding were not predicted by earlier performance in the other processes. Findings are discussed with regard to the constructs of control and understanding and the developmental interrelations among emotion and cognitive processes.     

Growth and predictors of change in English language learners' reading comprehension

This study modelled reading comprehension trajectories in Grades 4 to 6 English language learners (ELLs = 400), with different home language backgrounds, and in English monolinguals (EL1s = 153), and examined an augmented Simple View of Reading model. The contribution of Grade 1 (early) and Grade 4 (late) cognitive, language and word‐level reading to Grade 6 reading comprehension was examined. The reading comprehension trajectory was non‐linear in ELLs but linear in EL1s. Syntax predicted consistently rate of growth in reading comprehension. ELLs consistently underperformed EL1s on reading comprehension. Word‐level reading and all components of language (vocabulary, syntax and listening comprehension) remained stable predictors of Grade 6 reading comprehension. Grade 1 phonological awareness, naming speed and working memory predicted reading comprehension in Grade 6, as did Grade 4 phonological short‐term memory. Results support an augmented Simple View of Reading that includes cognitive, word‐level and language components, and underscore the importance of considering developmental changes in the constructs.