Controlling Bias in Both Constructed Response and Multiple‐Choice Items When Analyzed With the Dichotomous Rasch Model

Even though guessing biases difficulty estimates as a function of item difficulty in the dichotomous Rasch model, assessment programs with tests which include multiple‐choice items often construct scales using this model. Research has shown that when all items are multiple‐choice, this bias can largely be eliminated. However, many assessments have a combination of multiple‐choice and constructed response items. Using vertically scaled numeracy assessments from a large‐scale assessment program, this article shows that eliminating the bias on estimates of the multiple‐choice items also impacts on the difficulty estimates of the constructed response items. This implies that the original estimates of the constructed response items were biased by the guessing on the multiple‐choice items. This bias has implications for both defining difficulties in item banks for use in adaptive testing composed of both multiple‐choice and constructed response items, and for the construction of proficiency scales.     

Research on Trying to Improve the Quality of Information Elicited from Vulnerable Witnesses

This article notes that very little research has previously been published on how best to assist vulnerable witnesses to provide information relevant to crime investigations. It then provides commentary on four of the articles in this Special Issue. These four articles constitute a major contribution to knowledge on this difficult to research topic.     

Raising Learner Awareness of Language Learning Strategies in Situations of Limited Resources

This paper introduces LSLS, an interactive learning environment to raise learner awareness of language learning strategies. Strategies of potential interest to a student are suggested based on (i) the students learning style; and (ii) similarities between new strategies and strategies already used by the individual. LSLS is intended primarily for use in contexts where resources are limited. An initial study suggests that learners will find many of the strategy recommendations useful.     

Student-centered instruction and academic achievement: linking mechanisms of educational inequality to schools’ instructional strategy

Research in the sociology of education argues that the educational system provides different learning opportunities for students with different socioeconomic backgrounds and that this circumstance makes the educational process an important institutional context for the reproduction of educational inequality. Using combined survey and register data for more than 56,000 students in 825 schools, this article conducts the first empirical test of the argument that instructional strategies which emphasize student responsibility and activity, also referred to as student-centered instruction, increase educational inequality. We analyze whether the impact of student-centered instructional strategies on academic achievement differs for students with different socioeconomic backgrounds. Results suggest that a student-centered instructional strategy has a negative impact on academic achievement in general, and for students with low parental education in particular. Our findings support the argument that the instructional strategy of schools is an important mechanism in generating educational inequality through the stratification of learning opportunities.     

Perceptions of the sport psychologist by female university athletes.

In this study we explored the existence of a favourable attitude towards sport psychologists by female athletes in relation to other sport-oriented and mental health professionals. Ninety female student athletes made judgements of similarity between 11 practitioner terms using the triad method. A rank-order task was also completed, where the 11 professionals were ranked on three expertise variables in sporting, mental and physical issues. The results were analysed using (1) the metric scaling procedure of correspondence analysis, (2) cultural consensus analysis and (3) PROperty FITting analysis. A two-dimensional solution provided the best interpretation of the similarity judgements. The correspondence analysis configuration positioned the sport psychologist centrally between a sport-oriented pair and the cluster of mental health professionals. Participants reported adequate consensus on all three expertise variables, which is consistent with the assumptions of Cultural Consensus Theory. Consistent with earlier research, the three variables were salient in the participants' similarity judgements of sport and mental health professionals. Our results suggest the existence of a more favourable perception of the sport psychologist and a distancing from a direct association with mental health practitioners. However, the centrality of the term may indicate a more cloudy distinction as to where the sport psychologist exists in relation to other professionals.     

Successful Scholarly Communication at a Small University: Integration of Education,Services, and an Institutional Repository at Valparaiso University

Beginning in 2011, the Christopher Center Library Services (CCLS) unit at Valparaiso University (VU) started implementing new scholarly communication services utilizing two different components: (1) the education and training of library staff in scholarly communication trends and issues; and (2) the implementation of ValpoScholar, VU's institutional repository (IR) and its associated services. These components allowed for new skills to be developed, new services to be delivered, and the library's digital collections to grow with minimal impact to existing services. This model may provide a framework for other small institutions interested in adding scholarly communication services to their existing library services.     

Evaluation of a Resource Discovery Service: FindIt@Bham

In autumn 2012, the University of Birmingham launched FindIt@Bham, a Primo-based Resource Discovery Service, after a series of focus groups with students and staff to help determine its initial configuration and customization. This article presents the results from a large-scale online survey and focus groups that were conducted to poll users’ attitudes to the service over twelve months later, adding to a small body of research on user satisfaction with established resource discovery services. From the survey the overall level of appreciation was high with 71.13% rating FindIt@Bham to be “Good” or “Very Good.” The level of appreciation was compared across undergraduates, postgraduates (taught and research), and academic staff which revealed that undergraduates are the group of users most happy with the service with academic staff being least satisfied. The reasons for this discrepancy are considered, along with users’ behavior and a discussion of their perceptions of individual functional areas. The survey results led to focus group activities tailored to extract deeper information on system usage and satisfaction. From these combined activities, future customizations and developments to FindIt@Bham such as tuning of result relevancy, improved online help, and additional functionality can be prioritized.     

Foot force production and asymmetries in elite rowers

The rowing stroke is a leg-driven action, in which forces developed by the lower limbs provide a large proportion of power delivered to the oars. In terms of both performance and injury, it is important to initiate each stroke with powerful and symmetrical loading of the foot stretchers. The aims of this study were to assess the reliability of foot force measured by footplates developed for the Concept2 indoor ergometer and to examine the magnitude and symmetry of bilateral foot forces in different groups of rowers. Five heavyweight female scullers, six heavyweight female sweep rowers, and six lightweight male (LWM) rowers performed an incremental step test on the Concept2 ergometer. Vertical, horizontal, and resultant forces were recorded bilaterally, and asymmetries were quantified using the absolute symmetry index. Foot force was measured with high consistency (coefficient of multiple determination>0.976 ± 0.010). Relative resultant, vertical, and horizontal forces were largest in LWM rowers, whilst average foot forces significantly increased across stroke rates for all three groups of rowers. Asymmetries ranged from 5.3% for average resultant force to 28.9% for timing of peak vertical force. Asymmetries were not sensitive to stroke rate or rowing group, however, large inter-subject variability in asymmetries was evident.     

Constructive,collaborative, contextual,and self‐directed learning in surface anatomy education

Anatomy education often consists of a combination of lectures and laboratory sessions, the latter frequently including surface anatomy. Studying surface anatomy enables students to elaborate on their knowledge of the cadaver's static anatomy by enabling the visualization of structures, especially those of the musculoskeletal system, move and function in a living human being. A recent development in teaching methods for surface anatomy is body painting, which several studies suggest increases both student motivation and knowledge acquisition. This article focuses on a teaching approach and is a translational contribution to existing literature. In line with best evidence medical education, the aim of this article is twofold: to briefly inform teachers about constructivist learning theory and elaborate on the principles of constructive, collaborative, contextual, and self‐directed learning; and to provide teachers with an example of how to implement these learning principles to change the approach to teaching surface anatomy. Student evaluations of this new approach demonstrate that the application of these learning principles leads to higher student satisfaction. However, research suggests that even better results could be achieved by further adjustments in the application of contextual and self‐directed learning principles. Successful implementation and guidance of peer physical examination is crucial for the described approach, but research shows that other options, like using life models, seem to work equally well. Future research on surface anatomy should focus on increasing the students' ability to apply anatomical knowledge and defining the setting in which certain teaching methods and approaches have a positive effect. Anat Sci Educ 6: 114–124. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

Purposeful play during learning centre time: from curriculum to practice

This article explores the correspondence between the vision of play articulated in Singapore’s national kindergarten curriculum framework and the play-related pedagogies enacted by teachers on the ground, particularly during Learning Centre Time (LCT). Influenced by neo-liberal ways of thinking, the curriculum states that purposeful play is a medium to achieve intended learning outcomes. The study is part of a longitudinal project where 108 Kindergarten 1 classrooms were videotaped during a full ‘typical day’ (3–4 h). While learning centres were set up in all classrooms, only 36 LCT episodes were identified. Certain learning centre types (literacy, arts) were more common than others (numeracy, science), and time spent by teachers in the different centres varied widely. Children were allowed limited freedom of choice while playing in learning centres, and some were even required to complete assignments. While teachers tended to adopt facilitative roles, quality of instructional support provided to children was low. We conclude that pedagogical practices during LCT in the observed classrooms do not adequately reflect the curriculum’s vision of purposeful play. This theory/practice gap might be due to curriculum expectations, teacher-related factors (beliefs, lack of preparation) and parental pressures. Implications, limitations and lines for future research are discussed.