A comparison of the approaches of generalizability theory and item response theory in estimating the reliability of test scores for testlet-composed tests

Previous assessments of the reliability of test scores for testlet-composed tests have indicated that item-based estimation methods overestimate reliability. This study was designed to address issues related to the extent to which item-based estimation methods overestimate the reliability of test scores composed of testlets and to compare several estimation methods for different measurement models using simulation techniques. Three types of estimation approach were conceptualized for generalizability theory (GT) and item response theory (IRT): item score approach (ISA), testlet score approach (TSA), and item-nested-testlet approach (INTA). The magnitudes of overestimation when applying item-based methods ranged from 0.02 to 0.06 and were related to the degrees of dependence among within-testlet items. Reliability estimates from TSA were lower than those from INTA due to the loss of information with IRT approaches. However, this could not be applied in GT. Specified methods in IRT produced higher reliability estimates than those in GT using the same approach. Relatively smaller magnitudes of error in reliability estimates were observed for ISA and for methods in IRT. Thus, it seems reasonable to use TSA as well as INTA for both GT and IRT. However, if there is a relatively large dependence among within-testlet items, INTA should be considered for IRT due to nonnegligible loss of information.     

An Open Government Maturity Model for social media-based public engagement

Social media has opened up unprecedented new possibilities of engaging the public in government work. In response to the Open Government Directive, U.S. federal agencies developed their open government plan and launched numerous social media-based public engagement initiatives. However, we find that many of these initiatives do not deliver the intended outcomes due to various organizational, technological, and financial challenges. We propose an Open Government Maturity Model based on our field studies with U.S. federal healthcare administration agencies. This model is specifically developed to assess and guide open government initiatives which focus on transparent, interactive, participatory, collaborative public engagement that are largely enabled by emerging technologies such as social media. The model consists of five maturity levels: initial conditions (Level 1), data transparency (Level 2), open participation (Level 3), open collaboration (Level 4), and ubiquitous engagement (Level 5). We argue that there is a logical sequence for increasing social media-based public engagement and agencies should focus on achieving one maturity level at a time. The Open Government Maturity Model helps government agencies implement their open government initiatives effectively by building organizational and technological capabilities in an orderly manner. We discuss challenges and best practices for each maturity level and conclude by presenting recommendations.     

The Relation Between Breakfast Skipping and School Performance in Adolescents

Breakfast skipping is common in adolescents, but research on the effects of breakfast skipping on school performance is scarce. This current cross‐sectional survey study of 605 adolescents aged 11–18 years investigated whether adolescents who habitually skip breakfast have lower end‐of‐term grades than adolescents who eat breakfast daily. Additionally, the roles of sleep behavior, namely chronotype, and attention were explored. Results showed that breakfast skippers performed lower at school than breakfast eaters. The findings were similar for younger and older adolescents and for boys and girls. Adolescents with an evening chronotype were more likely to skip breakfast, but chronotype was unrelated to school performance. Furthermore, attention problems partially mediated the relation between breakfast skipping and school performance. This large‐scale study emphasizes the importance of breakfast as a determinant for school performance. The results give reason to investigate the mechanisms underlying the relation between skipping breakfast, attention, and school performance in more detail.     

Online activities of urban Malaysian adolescents: report of a pilot study

The literacy practices of many communities today show new ways of meaning making in the contemporary, technological and digital culture. A number of Malaysian adolescents belong to this culture. This pilot study reports the preliminary findings of a larger study aimed at describing the online activities of Malaysian adolescents. Fifty‐four participants from an urban secondary school in Penang took part in this study. One finding showed that the percentages of language use on the Internet were: 80.6 per cent in English, 10.6 per cent in Bahasa Malaysia and 8.8 per cent in Chinese. In addition, the study also revealed some common websites that these adolescents frequented. The findings point to the need to investigate the extent of these online literacy practices beyond school among the adolescent population in Malaysia and to look into the implications for ESL education.     

Affordances of Computational Models for English Learners in Science Instruction: Conceptual Foundation and Initial Inquiry

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Computational models are increasingly being used in K-12 science classrooms to engage students in developing and testing explanations of phenomena....     

Learning design to support student-AI collaboration: perspectives of leading teachers for AI in education

Education and Information Technologies - Preparing students to collaborate with AI remains a challenging goal. As AI technologies are new to K-12 schools, there is a lack of studies that inform how...     

‘I do not think I actually do it well’: a discourse analysis of Australian senior secondary teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes towards implementation of differentiated instruction

Differentiated instruction is a proactive teaching model and philosophy with demonstrated potential to cater for diverse learners and create inclusive classrooms. There is little research, however, into the implementation of this approach in the senior secondary classroom. Teachers’ implementation of differentiated instruction has been shown to be linked to teacher attitudes and self-efficacy in other settings. This study investigated the impact of teachers’ self-efficacy and attitudes towards the implementation of differentiated instruction in the senior secondary context across two Australian states with a total of five participating teachers. The A (Affective) B (Behaviour) C (Cognitive) model was employed to define teacher attitudes from interviews concerning differentiated instruction. Findings indicated that teacher knowledge was a major factor influencing differentiation, in addition to attitude and self-efficacy. The discourse analysis demonstrated that teachers held a greater knowledge of differentiation strategies than the concepts that underpin the differentiated instruction framework. Additionally, time constraints and feelings of failure in implementing differentiation strategies impacted teacher attitudes. Teacher knowledge, attitude and self-efficacy were interrelated and impacted on teachers’ implementation of differentiated instruction in the senior secondary classroom. Implications for professional development to address student needs through differentiated instruction in the inclusive senior secondary classroom teacher are discussed.     

Help me help myself: examining an electronic mental health self-monitoring system in college students

Higher Education - The high prevalence of mental illness in college students results in adverse consequences that have led to developing prevention programs, with the potential of self-monitoring...     

A Phenomenological Study of Malaysian Counsellors’ Experiences in Managing Countertransference

International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling - Processing and managing countertransference are part of the responsibilities of counsellors to fulfil their ethical obligation. The...     

Computer science concept inventories: past and future

Concept Inventories (CIs) are assessments designed to measure student learning of core concepts. CIs have become well known for their major impact on pedagogical techniques in other sciences, especially physics. Presently, there are no widely used, validated CIs for computer science. However, considerable groundwork has been performed in the form of identifying core concepts, analyzing student misconceptions, and developing CI assessment questions. Although much of the work has been focused on CS1 and a CI has been developed for digital logic, some preliminary work on CIs is underway for other courses. This literature review examines CI work in other STEM disciplines, discusses the preliminary development of CIs in computer science, and outlines related research in computer science education that contributes to CI development.