Students’ use of a rubric for research theses

A rubric for research theses was developed, based on the manual of the American Psychological Association, to be used as an assessment tool for teachers and students. The aim was to make students aware of what is expected, get familiar with criteria, and interpret teacher and peer feedback. In two studies, it was examined whether students use and value these functions. In the first study, a rubric was provided to 105 Educational Sciences students working on their bachelor’s thesis. Questionnaire data indicated that students did value the rubric for the intended functions, although rubric use was not related to ability. In a panel interview, teachers stated that the number of proficiency levels should be increased to be able to distinguish between good and excellent students adequately, and that a criterion concerning student’s role during supervision should be added. Therefore, in the second study, 11 teachers were interviewed about their motives to give high grades and about the supervision process. This lead to an extra criterion concerning student’s role during supervision and an additional proficiency level to assess excellent performance. It is argued that an adequate course organisation is conditional for the rubric’s effectiveness.     

The effects of changeover delays of fixed or variable duration on concurrent variable-interval performance in pigeons

The effects of changeover delays of fixed or variable duration on concurrent variable-interval performance in pigeons were investigated in a series of three experiments. Experiment 1 compared the effects of a fixed, variable, or variable signaled changeover delay on interchangeover times and responding during and after the changeover delay. The duration of the changeover delays was systematically varied in Experiment 2, and the relative reinforcement frequencies were manipulated in Experiment 3. Interchangeover times were found to be shorter when changeover delays of variable duration were compared with those of fixed duration. Changeover delays of fixed duration produced higher response rates during the changeover delay than after the changeover delay had elapsed; changeover delays of variable duration produced such differences to a lesser extent. It was concluded that the changeover delay in concurrent variable-interval schedules of reinforcement functionally acts as a delay period to the next opportunity for reinforcement, possibly serving as a conditioned reinforcer for the behavior preceding it (the interchangeover time) and as a discriminative stimulus for the behavior in its presence (response rates during the delay).     

Primary school pupils’ performances in understanding historical time

This study focuses on the development of the understanding of historical time of pupils in primary school. We present a developmental model with three stages: emergent, initial and continued understanding of historical time. Based on this model, we constructed an instrument to measure how pupils aged 6–12 perform. The participants were 1457 pupils from 7 Dutch primary schools. The analysis of the data showed that in all three stages pupils in higher grades significantly outperformed pupils in lower grades and that pupils’ performances were influenced by the variables gender and parents’ education. In all grades, there seemed to be room for improvement, especially in the lower grades (ages 6–9) where pupils have hardly had any teaching on the understanding of historical time. However, in the higher grades as well (ages 10–12), pupils could improve on the level of continued understanding of historical time.     

Spatial matching and nonmatching in male and female Wistar rats: Effects of delay-interval duration

Male and female Wistar rats were trained in a delayed matching-to-position procedure in which one of the two levers (sample) was presented. Pressing this lever resulted in its retraction and began a delay interval of random variable duration, which terminated with the occurrence of the first nose poke in the pellet retrieval unit after the delay interval had expired. Both levers were then inserted into the chamber, and food became available when the subject pressed the lever that had previously been pressed (matching response). When the subject failed to make a matching response, time out (5 sec) was presented. In the next experimental condition, nonmatching was reinforced. Males and females required an equal number of trials to attain 80% accuracy during three consecutive sessions under matching and nonmatching conditions. Response accuracy decreased as the delay interval increased, during both conditions. Differences between the sexes were not observed, suggesting that memory functions in male and female rats may only differ when other behavioral differences between the sexes are allowed to interfere with the assessment of memory functioning.     

DETERMINING THE QUALITY OF COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT PROGRAMS: A SELF-EVALUATION PROCEDURE

As assessment methods are changing, the way to determine their quality needs to be changed accordingly. This article argues for the use Competence Assessment Programs (CAPs), combinations of traditional tests and new assessment methods which involve both formative and summative assessments. To assist schools in evaluating their CAPs, a self-evaluation procedure was developed, based on 12 quality criteria for CAPs developed in earlier studies. A self-evaluation was chosen as it is increasingly used as an alternative to external evaluation. The CAP self-evaluation is carried out by a group of functionaries from the same school and comprises individual self-evaluations and a group interview. The CAP is rated on the 12 quality criteria and a piece of evidence is asked for to support these ratings. In this study, three functionaries from eight schools (N = 24) evaluated their CAP using the self-evaluation procedure. Results show that the group interview was very important as different perspectives on the CAP are assembled here into an overall picture of the CAP's quality. Schools seem to use mainly personal experiences to support their ratings and need to be supported in the process of carrying out a self-evaluation.     

Students’ Learning Performance and Transitions in Different Learning Pathways to Higher Vocational Education

To improve students’ transitions between successive educational levels, continuing learning pathways are being designed and implemented in many countries. This study was carried out to examine the effects of the Green Lycea (GL) as critical cases of continuing learning pathways in vocational education in The Netherlands. The GL were compared with a traditional pathway (pre-vocational secondary education and secondary vocational education offered as separate programmes) in terms of students’ learning performance and transitions. GL students and comparable students following the regular pathway yielded the same mean final exam scores for four core subjects in the first phase of their educational programmes, despite the fact that GL students took this exam one year earlier than regular students because of the acceleration of the learning trajectory in the GL programme. Regarding the students’ transitions, the GL and the traditional pathway yielded comparable percentages of students who either did or did not obtain a pre-vocational secondary education diploma; For the GL, however, the percentage of students who proceeded in secondary vocational education was higher. To conclude, it seems to be possible to improve students’ transitions between successive educational levels (with their learning performance being an important precondition) through continuing learning pathways such as the GL. In this regard, GL design characteristics as described and examined in this study can be valuable ingredients for continuing learning pathways internationally as well.     

Exploring the role of assessment criteria during teachers’ collaborative judgement processes of students’ portfolios

Student portfolios are increasingly used for assessing student competences in higher education, but results about the construct validity of portfolio assessment are mixed. A prerequisite for construct validity is that the portfolio assessment is based on relevant portfolio content. Assessment criteria, are often used to enhance this condition. This study aims to identify whether assessment criteria can improve content, argumentation and communication during teacher moderation while judging student portfolios. Six teachers scored 32 student portfolios in dyads with and without assessment criteria. Their judgement processes were qualitatively analysed. Results indicated that the quality of their judgement processes was low, since teachers based their judgements mainly on their own personal opinion and less on evidence found in the portfolio. Teachers barely paid attention to quality checks and easily agreed with each other. When teachers used assessment criteria, the quality of their judgements slightly improved. They based their judgements more on relevant evidence, used less personal experiences and more often checked the quality of their judgement processes. It is concluded that the quality of teacher portfolio judgement is low, and that the use of assessment criteria can enhance its quality.     

The relationship between career competencies, career identity, motivation and quality of choice

In this article we focus on the effects of career education and guidance among students (ages 12–19) enrolled in prevocational and secondary vocational education in The Netherlands. Our study included 3,499 students and 166 teachers in 226 classes in 34 schools. The results showed that career competencies positively contributed to learning motivation, experienced quality of study choice, experienced fit of choice with learning tasks, and experienced fit of internship. Career identity positively contributed to career outcomes, and career dialogue contributed more than traditional interventions have with respect to career outcomes.     

Formative assessment in an online learning environment to support flexible on-the-job learning in complex professional domains

This article describes a blueprint for an online learning environment that is based on prominent instructional design and assessment theories for supporting learning in complex domains. The core of this environment consists of formative assessment tasks (i.e., assessment for learning) that center on professional situations. For each professional situation, three levels of situational complexity are defined, and within each of these three levels, tasks are offered that differ in the degree of support offered to the learner. This environment can support (beginning) professionals in complex domains in gaining insight into the available repertoire of behavior in professional situations, as well as into the quality and effectiveness of that behavior (assessment criteria), while simultaneously helping them to develop insight into the standards that their own behavior should (eventually) match.