Teaching principles of inference with ANOVA

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is a test of mean differences, but the reference to variances in the name is often overlooked. Classroom activities are presented to illustrate how ANOVA works with emphasis on how to think critically about inferential reasoning.     

Writing Characteristics of Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder: A Meta‐Analysis

Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) frequently experience significant difficulty mastering basic academic skills. This meta‐analysis focuses on one specific potential area of learning difficulties for these students: namely, writing. To identify the extent and depth of the potential writing challenges faced by students with ADHD, we conducted a meta‐analysis comparing the writing performance of grade 1 to 12 students with ADHD to their normally achieving peers. We located 44 papers, yielding 45 studies with 87 effect sizes. The average weighted effect sizes showed that students with ADHD obtained lower scores than their normally achieving peers for writing quality (–0.78), output (–0.64), number of genre elements (–0.69), vocabulary (–0.76), spelling (–0.80), and handwriting (–0.62). Contrary to expectations, moderator analyses found that neither study quality nor the source from which ADHD students were drawn (i.e., school/community vs. clinic/hospital) accounted for variability above sampling error alone.     

Exploring Developmental Appropriateness of Multitouch Tables in Prekindergarten: A Video Analysis

This study explored how developmentally appropriate practices influenced the affordances of a multitouch surface in an early childhood classroom. Children, ages 4 to 5 years old, were videotaped while engaged in a storymaking application on a multitouch table. As a result of the study, we found that some challenges with the functionality undermined children's autonomous control. The researchers observed numerous instances of issues with control of the medium, including height of the table, sensitivity to multiple types of touch, and limited instructions and prompts. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Examining the Treatment Validation Consultation Model

The present article explores the utility and feasibility of treatment validation consultation (TVC). Although evidence exists for behavioral consultation, few findings have been reported for TVC. TVC is based on core components of behavioral consultation, but has several unique characteristics. In this article, TVC is situated within the behavioral consultation literature; one case study is used to demonstrate TVC’s utility and feasibility; and considerations for future TVC research are explored.     

Exploring elementary students’ perceptions of disabilities using children's literature

The portrayal of characters in children's literature can be a very powerful influence on young children. Teachers have a responsibility to expose children to characters of all types, including those with disabilities. The goal of this study was to explore how third and fourth grade students responded to characters with disabilities in children's books. We read a total of 12 books that included characters with disabilities to students in two third‐grade and one fourth‐grade class at three elementary schools. We video‐recorded discussions about the books and identified the following four themes, all of which related to influences on students’ responses to the character with a disability: (a) societal messages, (b) academic responses, (c) teacher influence and (d) portrayal of disability. We recommend that teachers carefully select books featuring characters with disabilities based on the way the disability is portrayed in the book, and, after the read‐aloud, use questioning strategies that encourage students to make thoughtful, deep comments rather than giving ‘expected’ responses.     

A Process for Reviewing and Evaluating Generated Test Items

Testing organization needs large numbers of high‐quality items due to the proliferation of alternative test administration methods and modern test designs. But the current demand for items far exceeds the supply. Test items, as they are currently written, evoke a process that is both time‐consuming and expensive because each item is written, edited, and reviewed by a subject‐matter expert. One promising approach that may address this challenge is with automatic item generation. Automatic item generation combines cognitive and psychometric modeling practices to guide the production of items that are generated with the aid of computer technology. The purpose of this study is to describe and illustrate a process that can be used to review and evaluate the quality of the generated item by focusing on the content and logic specified within the item generation procedure. We illustrate our process using an item development example from mathematics drawn from the Common Core State Standards and from surgical education drawn from the health sciences domain.