A content analysis of research published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching from 1985 through 1989

To determine if actual practice was consistent with commonly recommended research methods and procedures, this study examined 130 studies reported over a 5-year period in three volumes of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST). The results were consistent with similar previous analyses (Shaver & Norton, 1980a, 1980b; Wallen & Fraenkel, 1988a) and indicate that appropriate generalizations beyond the confines of the reported studies may be impossible for most (64%) of the JRST studies surveyed. The findings also show that replication studies, which could be employed to offset deficiencies in generalizability, were not commonly encountered (3%) in these 130 reports. In addition, the study results indicate that many researchers (48%) do not properly restrict their conclusions based on the limits imposed by the accessible populations and samples used; nor do they typically provide possible alternative explanations for the outcomes obtained (76%). These findings prompt the following recommendations: 1. A greater awareness and use of replication as a check on generalizability should be encouraged by the science education community. 2. Clearly defined populations (target and accessible) and fully described samples warrant increased attention as report components from authors, reviewers, and editorial board members of JRST. 3. In light of the difficulties inherent in effecting random selection in educational settings, a greater emphasis should be placed on recognizing the limits that the underlying assumptions of inferential statistics place on research conclusions. The results of this study indicate that the methodological quality of published science education research should remain a concern for both practitioners and readers.     

Investigations of Temperament at Three to Seven Years: The Children''s Behavior Questionnaire

This article reviews evidence on the reliability and validity of the Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ), and presents CBQ data on the structure of temperament in childhood. The CBQ is a caregiver report measure designed to provide a detailed assessment of temperament in children 3 to 7 years of age. Individual differences are assessed on 15 primary temperament characteristics: Positive Anticipation, Smiling/Laughter, High Intensity Pleasure, Activity Level, Impulsivity, Shyness, Discomfort, Fear, Anger/Frustration, Sadness, Soothability, Inhibitory Control, Attentional Focusing, Low Intensity Pleasure, and Perceptual Sensitivity. Factor analyses of CBQ scales reliably recover a three-factor solution indicating three broad dimensions of temperament: Extraversion/Surgency, Negative Affectivity, and Effortful Control. This three-factor solution also appears to be reliably recovered in ratings of children in other cultures (e.g., China and Japan). Evidence for convergent validity derives from confirmation of hypothesized relations between temperament and socialization-relevant traits. In addition, parental agreement on CBQ ratings is substantial. The CBQ scales demonstrate adequate internal consistency, and may be used in studies requiring a highly differentiated yet integrated measure of temperament for children in this age range.     

Behavioral momentum in academics: Using embedded high‐p sequences to increase academic productivity

The use of high‐probability (high‐p) request sequences has enjoyed support in the applied behavioral literature as a method to increase compliance. Based on the theory of behavioral momentum, high‐probability sequences increase the rate of responding, and subsequent rate of reinforcement, within a response class. This increase in density of reinforcement results in increased responding for the response class as a whole. Early research in this area had focused mainly on compliance issues for individuals with developmental disabilities. However, more recently the utility of high‐p sequences has been examined within the context of academics. The purpose of these two experiments was to examine the use of high‐p sequences with two academic tasks—letter‐writing and mathematics problem completion. The results of these studies suggest that high‐p sequences can be used to increase academic productivity. Moreover, the addition of experimenter‐delivered reinforcers to existing high‐p sequences enhances overall behavioral persistence. Theoretical and applied implications of persistence and behavioral momentum are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 789–801, 2004.     

Can training improve marker accuracy at detecting contract cheating? A multi-disciplinary pre-post study

Contract cheating occurs when students outsource assessed work. In this study, we asked experienced markers from four disciplines to detect contract cheating in a set of 20 discipline-specific assignments. We then conducted a training workshop to improve their detection accuracy, and afterwards asked them to detect contract cheating in 20 new assignments. We analysed the data in terms of sensitivity (the rate at which markers spotted contract cheating) and specificity (the rate at which markers spotted real student work). Pre-workshop marker sensitivity was 58% and specificity was 83%. Post-workshop marker sensitivity was 82% and specificity was 87%. The increase in sensitivity was statistically significant, but the increase in specificity was not. These results indicate that markers can often detect contract cheating when asked to do so, and that training may be helpful in improving their accuracy. We suggest that markers’ suspicions may be crucial in addressing contract cheating.     

Pictures,patience, and practicalities: lessons learned from using photovoice in applied communication contexts

The unforeseen trials of arts-based research may suppress creative and innovative explorations. Photovoice, a visual method of investigation employing participatory photography, presents a host of apprehensions. Yet, photovoice is both a valid and rich methodology that can greatly expand the reach and scope of applied communication research. In this essay, we – three applied communication researchers – discuss the complexities of photovoice, highlighting areas of consideration that interested researchers should contemplate before utilizing this methodology. Briefly exploring three of our research studies and their varying topics (i.e. long-term cancer survivors, domestic violence organizational advocacy, male body culture), we discuss three broad areas of difficulty in photovoice research: analysis, control, and exposure. Despite the unique obstacles that photovoice presents, we argue that it, along with other forms of arts-based research, are profitable and definitely worth the challenge.     

The legend of Texas Western: journalism and the epic sports spectacle that wasn’t

This essay interrogates journalistic accounts of Texas Western College’s 1966 college basketball championship, a game in which an all-Black team defeated an all-White team. The analysis traces the evolving portrayals of the game over 45 years. In 1966 American journalists did not emphasize the racial aspects of the game and it was largely forgotten. Twenty-five years later, however, journalists reconstructed the game as a racialized legend, and this account evolved into an epic American narrative. The author argues that the epic portrayals, although aesthetically appealing, reflect problems with accuracy, appropriation, and commercial exploitation. The latter factor led to the legend’s motion picture adaptation as part of a troublesome “White Savior” cinema genre.     

The teaching of literature in a Singapore secondary school: disciplinarity,curriculum coverage and the opportunity costs involved

Set against the backdrop of reinvigorating the study of literature and concerns about the adequate preparation of students for the world of work, this paper explores how a Singapore teacher presented a literary text in the classroom. Drawing on data from a large-scale representative sample of Singapore schools in instruction and assessment practices, we discuss some of the potential consequences of instructional choice-making from a disciplinary perspective. Our findings suggest, for example, that when teacher-dominated discourse and interpretations dominate, instructional flexibility and responsiveness are correspondingly limited and restricted. These courses of action, we contend, may occur contrary to teachers’ plans and expectations. The paper closes by making a call for further longitudinal research across multiple research sites into the nature of literature pedagogy that has a strong disciplinary focus.     

Threats to student evaluative judgement and their management

ABSTRACT

Students’ capacity for making evaluative judgements of their own work is widely acknowledged as central to their learning within programmes as well as being vital to their subsequent professional practice. In higher education literature, the act of evaluative judgement is usually portrayed as a process of deliberative, analytical reasoning requiring student agency and objectivity, typically scaffolded by points of reference such as explicit criteria, rubrics or exemplars. This article challenges this common portrayal of judgement by drawing attention to research from outside higher education on the role of unconscious factors in judgement and decision-making. Drawing from the field of heuristics and bias studies, the article outlines six unconscious factors that have the potential to distort students’ analytical judgement of their work. A recent challenge to the heuristics and bias approach that radically repositions the place of reasoning in judgement is also considered. Since these unconscious factors have received scant attention in higher education literature, the purpose of this article is to draw attention to them, to identify the challenges they pose to current understandings of evaluative judgement, and to outline their implications for enhancing assessment practice.