Validating NSSE Against Student Outcomes: Are They Related?

While there exist many examples of institutional use of the results of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), there is a relative paucity of research explicitly linking student outcomes to responses on the survey. A major Doctoral-Extensive institution in the Southeast recently conducted a large-scale implementation of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). We have linked multiple years of NSSE responses to several student outcomes: freshman retention, GPA, pursuit of graduate education, and employment outcome upon commencement/degree conferral. Our research finds minimal explanatory power in the NSSE benchmarks for these outcomes. A statistically derived model from the individual NSSE items shows greater promise, although there are difficulties in replicating the model for previous student cohorts.

Do teachers’ own learning behaviors influence their classroom goal orientation and control ideology?

This study explored the relationship between teachers’ own learning behaviors and their teaching practices. Experienced teachers taking graduate courses responded to an instrument measuring their self-regulated learning as students and their teaching practices as indicated by how they conveyed the purpose of engaging in academic work (i.e., goal orientation) and their approach toward discipline (i.e., control ideology). The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that teachers own self-regulated learning behaviors influence the extent to which teachers convey a mastery goal orientation, which in turn leads to a more humanistic control ideology. Implications for teacher education programs are discussed.     

Similarity grouping of Australian universities

The Unified National System of Australian Universities was created out of universities, institutes of technology and colleges of advanced education. In this study similarity clustering of universities within this system is attempted based on two data sets: one based on evaluative ratings and the other on quantitative performance indicators. With the exception of three traditional universities that tended to cluster together across data sets no consistent clustering emerged. Within data sets there was no tendency for the emergent clusters to reflect the origins of the institutions in any consistent manner. It is suggested that the Unified National System has not reduced diversity.     

The Validity of National Curriculum Assessment

This paper reviews the validity of National Curriculum assessment in England. It works with the concept of 'consequential validity' (Messick, 1989) which incorporates both conventional 'reliability'issues and the use to which any assessment is put. The review uses the eight stage 'threats to validity'model developed by Crooks, Kane and Cohen (1996). The complexity of National Curriculum assessment makes evaluation difficult. These assessments are used for a variety of purposes so that the 'consequential'aspects are compounded. National Curriculum assessment also involves both Teacher Assessment and tests – each of which has strengths and limitations in relation to validity. The main finding is that the validity of National Curriculum assessment hinges on the balance between Teacher Assessment and testing. Between them they can meet Crooks et al.' s requirements of a valid assessment system. The current emphasis on the use of test results for school accountability and as a measure of national standards has undermined Teacher Assessment to a point at which the validity of the system is in question.     

Apprenticeship in literacy

A four-level taxonomy is proposed for categorizing the ways in which literacy is defined operationally in education. The four levels—performative, functional, informational, epistemic—are distinguished in terms of conceptualizations of the relationships between writing and speaking and between writing and thinking. This taxonomy is then used to examine the results of recent research on early literacy development. Two major findings emerge: (a) the universal predisposition among children to develop actively an understanding of the forms and functions of written language and (b) differences between cultural groups in the ways literacy activities are organized. It is argued that an emphasis should be placed on the highest level of literacy in the school curriculum and that this should be the case forall children and at all ages.     

Motivation coaching training for instructional coaches: a pilot study of motivational interviewing skills training

In our paper we describe a newly developed teacher coaching model that provides training on motivational interviewing (MI) to improve instructional coaches’ effectiveness with classroom teachers. Participants were 38 coaches who completed a three-day coaching training. At pre- and post-test, the participants completed role plays with an actor who played the role of a new teacher. Then, these sessions were coded for MI-consistent behavior. The results of our study revealed that the majority of the coaching conversations were inconsistent with effective MI. At baseline, conversations were primarily characterized by questions (60%) followed by attempts to persuade without permission (20%). Following training, coaches did not change their conversational style. Because an MI-inconsistent conversation style is associated with decreased self-efficacy and motivation for change, the findings suggest a need to help coaches develop interactions that are more consistent with best practices of MI.     

Learning science through dialogic inquiry: Is it beneficial for English-as-additional-language students?

While the effectiveness of teaching that emphasizes dialogue and inquiry has been well documented with respect to English-as-mother-tongue children, it remains an empirical question as to whether this approach is equally useful when the student body includes a substantial number of English-as-additional-language (EAL) students. Through a longitudinal study of one class in an elementary school in California, we address this question in the context of a science unit that evolved over 4 years in response to the dramatic increase of EAL students in the school. Both the quantitative and qualitative analyses carried out on the data strongly suggest that dialogic inquiry can be effective for EAL students as well as for their mainstream peers when the teacher also systematically and strategically integrates literacy with science instruction and strikes a balance between hands-on and text-mediated investigations.