Collateral Information for Equating in Small Samples: A Preliminary Investigation

This article describes a preliminary investigation of an empirical Bayes (EB) procedure for using collateral information to improve equating of scores on test forms taken by small numbers of examinees. Resampling studies were done on two different forms of the same test. In each study, EB and non-EB versions of two equating methods—chained linear and chained mean—were applied to repeated small samples drawn from a large data set collected for a common-item equating. The criterion equating was the chained linear equating in the large data set. Equatings of other forms of the same test provided the collateral information. New-form sample size was varied from 10 to 200; reference-form sample size was constant at 200. One of the two new forms did not differ greatly in difficulty from its reference form, as was the case for the equatings used as collateral information. For this form, the EB procedure improved the accuracy of equating with new-form samples of 50 or fewer. The other new form was much more difficult than its reference form; for this form, the EB procedure made the equating less accurate.     

The effects of the use of a school self-evaluation instrument

School quality care has become important in many Western countries. A number of self-evaluation instruments have been developed in response. The goal of these instruments is improving the quality of education. One such system, ZEBO, was developed for performing quality assessment in Dutch primary schools. The use of this self-evaluation instrument was studied in 79 primary schools in The Netherlands over a period of 5 years. The results of the multilevel analyses with repeated measures show that the use of the self-evaluation results had no effect on pupil achievement scores (so far). However, it did have other effects, for example, an impact on the professional development of teachers.     

Socioscientific Issues as a Vehicle for Promoting Character and Values for Global Citizens

Our guiding presupposition in this study was that socioscientific issues (SSI) instruction, given the humanistic features that comprise this type of instruction, could play a role as a vehicle for cultivating character and values as global citizens. Our main objective was to observe how and to what extent SSI instruction might contribute to this. In order to achieve this aim, we implemented a SSI program on genetic modification technology for 132 ninth-grade students over 3–4 weeks and identified its educational effects using a mixed method approach. Data sources included student responses to questionnaire items that measure the students' character and values, records of student discussions, and semi-structured interviews with the students and their teachers. Results indicated that the students became more sensitive to moral and ethical aspects of scientific and technological development and compassionate to diverse people who are either alienated by the benefits of advanced technology or who are vulnerable to the dangers of its unintended effects. In addition, the students felt more responsible for the future resolution of the genetic SSI. However, the students struggled to demonstrate willingness and efficacy to participate within broader communities that entailed action toward SSI resolution.     

Representational Classroom Practices that Contribute to Students’ Conceptual and Representational Understanding of Chemical Bonding

Understanding bonding is fundamental to success in chemistry. A number of alternative conceptions related to chemical bonding have been reported in the literature. Research suggests that many alternative conceptions held by chemistry students result from previous teaching; if teachers are explicit in the use of representations and explain their content-specific forms and functions, this might be avoided. The development of an understanding of and ability to use multiple representations is crucial to students’ understanding of chemical bonding. This paper draws on data from a larger study involving two Year 11 chemistry classes (n = 27, n = 22). It explores the contribution of explicit instruction about multiple representations to students’ understanding and representation of chemical bonding. The instructional strategies were documented using audio-recordings and the teacher-researcher’s reflection journal. Pre-test–post-test comparisons showed an improvement in conceptual understanding and representational competence. Analysis of the students’ texts provided further evidence of the students’ ability to use multiple representations to explain macroscopic phenomena on the molecular level. The findings suggest that explicit instruction about representational form and function contributes to the enhancement of representational competence and conceptual understanding of bonding in chemistry. However, the scaffolding strategies employed by the teacher play an important role in the learning process. This research has implications for professional development enhancing teachers’ approaches to these aspects of instruction around chemical bonding.     

Differential effects of learning games on mathematics proficiency

This study examined the effects of a learning game, [The Math App] on the mathematics proficiency of middle school students. For the study, researchers recruited 306 students, Grades 6–8, from two schools in rural southwest Virginia. Over a nine-week period, [The Math App] was deployed as an intervention for investigation. Students were assigned to game intervention treatment, and paper-and-pencil control conditions. For the game intervention condition, students learned fractions concepts by playing [The Math App]. In the analysis, students’ mathematical proficiency levels prior to the intervention were taken into account. Results indicate that students in the game intervention group showed higher mathematics proficiency than those in the paper-and-pencil group. Particularly, the significantly higher performances of intervention groups were noted among 7th graders and inclusion groups. The empirically derived results of the reported study could contribute to the field of educational video game research, which has not reached a consensus on the effects of games on students’ mathematics performance in classroom settings.     

Philosophy,neuroscience and pre-service teachers’ beliefs in neuromyths: A call for remedial action

Hitherto, the contribution of philosophers to Neuroscience and Education has tended to be less than enthusiastic, though there are some notable exceptions. Meanwhile, the pervasive influence of neuromyths on education policy, curriculum design and pedagogy in schools is well documented. Indeed, philosophers have sometimes used the prevalence of neuromyths in education to bolster their opposition to neuroscience in teacher education courses. By contrast, this article views the presence of neuromyths in education as a call for remedial action, including philosophical action. The empirical basis of this article is a survey, conducted over a period of three years, involving a total of 1144 first-year pre-service student teachers, which revealed alarming levels of belief in five common neuromyths related to children and learning. This study also attempted to probe the origins of these mistaken beliefs and why they gain traction. The findings suggest an urgent need in teacher education to address the problem of neuromyths, not simply because they are mistaken, they often misdirect valuable resources and mislabel children. The article calls for a compulsory unit on neuroscience and education in all courses of teacher education. Moreover, teaching neuroscience in education cannot be left to specialist neuroscientists, philosophers must be involved.     

Quest for building world-class universities in South Korea: outcomes and consequences

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of the Korean government’s policies for building world class universities (WCUs) and their implications for Korean higher education institutions. Primarily through an extensive literature review, but also through a discussion of field interviews and the experiences of one of the authors as a public official in education policy making, this study examines the Korean government’s policies to establish WCUs, as well as the outcomes and consequences of these policies. Using the framework suggested by Salmi (The challenge of establishing world-class universities. The World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009), the study seeks to answer the following research questions: (a) What policies has the Korean government implemented to build WCUs since the late 1990s? (b) How has the government’s quest to build WCUs transformed the Korean higher education system? Specifically, how have HEIs in Korea responded to the policies implemented? (c) What issues and challenges has the Korean higher education system confronted in its quest to build WCUs?     

Translating between representations in a social context: a study of undergraduate science students’ representational fluency

Interacting with and translating across multiple representations is an essential characteristic of expertise and representational fluency. In this study, we explored the effect of interacting with and translating between representations in a computer simulation or in a paper-based assignment on scientific accuracy of undergraduate science students’ explanations regarding the underlying mechanisms of action potential. The study proposed that a simulation designed with scaffolded inquiry and with multiple dynamically linked representations fosters students to use greater scientific accuracy in speaking about a complex scientific phenomenon as well as to work with this complex knowledge in higher cognitive domains. Student explanations were analysed for use of accurate scientific language as they worked with the instructional tool as well as under test conditions. We also investigated the cognitive domain that students worked within as they created explanations of the phenomenon under study. The proportion of elaborations that occurred in higher-level cognitive domains such as applying, analysing, evaluating and synthesising was used to denote representational fluency. The rationale for this approach is discussed. Findings suggest that the simulation prompted students towards operating in higher cognitive domains in order to construct new knowledge and therefore promoted representational fluency. It also suggests that translating between representations in a simulation in a collaborative social setting contributes towards students’ use of accurate scientific language. Students’ perceptions expressed during the interviews confirmed the findings.     

Generalization of the Lord‐Wingersky Algorithm to Computing the Distribution of Summed Test Scores Based on Real‐Number Item Scores

With known item response theory (IRT) item parameters, Lord and Wingersky provided a recursive algorithm for computing the conditional frequency distribution of number‐correct test scores, given proficiency. This article presents a generalized algorithm for computing the conditional distribution of summed test scores involving real‐number item scores. The generalized algorithm is distinct from the Lord‐Wingersky algorithm in that it explicitly incorporates the task of figuring out all possible unique real‐number test scores in each recursion. Some applications of the generalized recursive algorithm, such as IRT test score reliability estimation and IRT proficiency estimation based on summed test scores, are illustrated with a short test by varying scoring schemes for its items.     

Combining Best-Practice and Experimental Approaches: Redundancy,Images, and Misperceptions in Multimedia Learning

This experiment combined controlled experimental design with a best-practice approach (i.e., real course content, subjective evaluations) to clarify the role of verbal redundancy, confirm the multimodal impact of images and narration, and highlight discrepancies between actual and perceived understanding. The authors presented 1 of 3 computer-based lecture conditions: audio, redundant (audio with redundant text), or complementary (audio with nonredundant text and images). Audio and redundant conditions produced similar actual understanding, whereas the complementary condition produced greatest actual understanding. Redundant condition learners perceived their understanding as greater than their actual understanding. Findings encourage multimedia research to balance controlled experiments with a best-practice approach to better understand effective multimedia design.