Factorial Validity of Student Ratings of Instruction

This study tested the Systematic Distortion Hypothesis by examining the factorial validity of student ratings of university teaching. Factorial validity is defined as the degree to which covariance among judged traits resembles the actual or true covariation of observable behaviors underlying these traits. Although many studies have examined the factorial validity of ratings, results are inconsistent. The present study used a more complete methodology to address some of the limitations of previous studies. Student ratings of teaching and measurements of actual teaching behaviors were obtained for 32 instructors. Student ratings were compared to frequency counts of actual teaching behaviors obtained from videotape and to students’ similarity judgments of teacher characteristics. It was found, first, that the structure of student ratings showed a moderately strong relation to the structure of actual behaviors, and a somewhat stronger relation to the structure of conceptual associations; and second, that the effects of systematic distortion were more pronounced for low-inference student ratings than for high-inference ratings.     

The Salamanca Statement and sign language education for deaf learners 25 years on

ABSTRACT

The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education proposed a policy shift from special education to inclusive education models that require schools to serve all children. However, alongside this shift was a recognition that sign language access for deaf learners is essential for meeting the right to education and that this access cannot always be provided in mainstream settings. The Statement was written during an apex in bilingual education for deaf students in certain countries, and the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), joined by Swedish and Danish government and deaf advocacy organisation delegates, successfully lobbied for inclusion of Section 21. This section makes three claims regarding the importance of policy-level recognition of differences among learners, the right of deaf learners to education in a national sign language, and the suggested greater suitability of deaf schools or congregated programmes for many deaf learners. The Salamanca Statement, like Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and related General Comments, makes universalising claims within a rights-based framework; however, the competing claims of deaf advocacy organisations have posed a challenge and corrective to such statements since deaf learners are often excluded in inclusive classrooms.     

Families Created by the New Reproductive Technologies: Quality of Parenting and Social and Emotional Development of the Children

The creation of families by means of the new reproductive technologies has raised important questions about the psychological consequences for children, particularly where gamete donation has been used in the child's conception. Findings are presented of a study of family relationships and the social and emotional development of children in families created as a result of the 2 most widely used reproductive technologies, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and donor insemination (DI), in comparison with control groups of families with a naturally conceived child and adoptive families. The quality of parenting was assessed using a standardized interview with the mother, and mothers and fathers completed questionnaire measures of stress associated with parenting, marital satisfaction, and emotional state. Data on children's psychiatric state were also obtained by standardized interview with the mother, and by questionnaires completed by the mothers and the children's teachers. The children were administered the Separation Anxiety Test, the Family Relations Test, and the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance. The results showed that the quality of parenting in families with a child conceived by assisted conception is superior to that shown by families with a naturally conceived child. No group differences were found for any of the measures of children's emotions, behavior, or relationships with parents. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the role of genetic ties in family functioning and child development.     

Intergenerational transmission of social anxiety: the role of social referencing processes in infancy

Responses to an unfamiliar adult were examined in infants of mothers with social phobia ( N = 79) and infants of nonanxious comparison mothers ( N = 77) at 10 and 14 months in a social referencing paradigm. On each occasion, a female stranger first interacted with the mother and then approached and interacted with the infant. Over time, infants of mothers with social phobia showed increasing avoidance of the stranger, particularly when they were behaviorally inhibited. In boys, maternal social phobia was associated with increasing fearful responses. Infant avoidance was predicted by expressed maternal anxiety and low levels of encouragement to interact with the stranger. The findings are discussed in relation to theories concerning the intergenerational transmission of social anxiety.     

An Analogy‐Based Computer Tutor for Remediating Physics Misconceptions

We describe a computer tutor designed to help students understand physics concepts. The tutor uses a teaching strategy called “bridging analogies” that previous research has demonstrated to be successful in one‐on‐one tutoring. The strategy is designed to remedy misconceptions by appealing to existing correct intuitions, and extending these intuitions by encouraging analogical thinking. Students were videotaped while using the program and were encouraged to think aloud. The strategy was successful in changing beliefs for some students. We outline suggestions for improving the tutor using artificial intelligence technology.     

For the World in Which They Will Be Living

To examine the antecedents of perceptions of grading fairness, approximately 600 college students were surveyed about the prevalence and desirability of 1) teaching practices that assisted students to prepare for examinations, and 2) common test scoring manipulations used to transform poor scores into acceptable ones (e.g., curving low scores upward). Students also described the fairness of the grading they had experienced. Regression analysis revealed that grading fairness was predicted best by exposure to the teaching practices rather than the scoring practices. Results are discussed in terms of the possible effects of these teaching and grading practices on grade inflation.     

Effects of teacher clarity and student anxiety on student outcomes

A laboratory experiment was carried out with 120 undergraduate students to examine a possible aptitude–treatment interaction between teacher clarity and student test anxiety in relation to two outcome measures, namely student achievement and student motivation, with student intelligence statistically controlled. Students completed measures of intelligence and test anxiety and were randomly assigned to high teacher clarity or low teacher clarity conditions, defined by the presence or absence of specific teaching behaviours in a videotaped lecture with content held constant across conditions. Measures of motivation and self-efficacy for learning the material were completed immediately post-treatment, then one week later participants completed an achievement test based on the material contained in the lecture and assigned homework. Results revealed significant beneficial main effects for high vs. low teacher clarity for both achievement and motivation measures, but no aptitude–treatment interaction between teacher clarity and student test anxiety.     

Media Production

Michael Murray's The Videotape Book: A Basic Guide to Portable TV Production (New York: Taplinger, 1975—$9.95),

Rudy Bretz's Handbook for Producing Educational and Public-Access Programs for Cable Television (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Educational Technology Publications, 1976— price not given, paper)

Paul Yerbic's Les Animations Simples Pour la Vidéo Éducative (Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique, Les Cahiers de Direct, 19 Avenue de Messine, 75008 Paris, France—25 French francs, paper)

Marlin Skiles' Music Scoring for TV & Motion Pictures (Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: TAB Books, 1976—$12.95)

Arthur Wimer and Dale Brix's Workbook for Radio and TV News Editing and Writing (Dubuque, Iowa: Wm C. Brown, 1975—$7.95, paper).

Judith L. Burken's Introduction to Reporting (Dubuque, Iowa: C. Brown, 1976—price not given, paper).