Automated summary evaluation with inbuilt rubric method: An alternative to constructed responses and multiple-choice tests assessments

Automated summary evaluation is proposed as an alternative to rubrics and multiple-choice tests in knowledge assessment. Inbuilt rubric is a recent Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) method that implements rubrics in an artificially-generated semantic space. It was compared with classical LSA’s cosine-based methods assessing knowledge in a within-subjects design regarding two validation sources: a comparison with the results of rubric scores and multiple-choice tests, and the sensitivity of predicting the academic level of the test-taker. Results showed a higher reliability for inbuilt rubric (from Pearson correlation coefficient .81 to .49) over the classical LSA method (from .61 to .34), and a higher sensitivity using binary logistic regressions and effect sizes to predict academic level. It is concluded that inbuilt rubric has a qualitatively higher reliability and validity than classical LSA methods in a way that is complementary to models based on semantic networks. Thus, it is concluded that new automated summary evaluation approaches such as the inbuilt rubric method can be practical in terms of reliability and efficiency, and, thus, they can offer an affordable and valuable form of knowledge assessment in different educational levels.     

Effective compiler error message enhancement for novice programming students

Programming is an essential skill that many computing students are expected to master. However, programming can be difficult to learn. Successfully interpreting compiler error messages (CEMs) is crucial for correcting errors and progressing toward success in programming. Yet these messages are often difficult to understand and pose a barrier to progress for many novices, with struggling students often exhibiting high frequencies of errors, particularly repeated errors. This paper presents a control/intervention study on the effectiveness of enhancing Java CEMs. Results show that the intervention group experienced reductions in the number of overall errors, errors per student, and several repeated error metrics. These results are important as the effectiveness of CEM enhancement has been recently debated. Further, generalizing these results should be possible at least in part, as the control group is shown to be comparable to those in several studies using Java and other languages.     

On Mathematical Visualization and the Place Where We Live

This paper is a case study of how a high school student, whom we call Karen, used a computer-based tool, the Contour Analyzer, to create graphs of height vs. distance and slope vs. distance for a flat board that she positioned with different slants and orientations. With the Contour Analyzer one can generate, on a computer screen, graphs representing functions of height and slope vs. distance corresponding to a line traced along the surface of a real object. Karen was interviewed for three one-hour sessions in an individual teaching experiment. In this paper, our focus is on how Karen came to recognize by visual inspection the mathematical behavior of the slope vs. distance function corresponding to contours traced on a flat board. Karen strove to organize her visual experience by distinguishing which aspects of the board are to be noticed and which ones are to be ignored, as well as by determining the point of view that one should adopt in order to see the variation of slope along an object. We have found it inspiring to use Winnicott's (1971) ideas about transitional objects to examine the role of the graphing instrument for Karen. This theoretical background helped us to articulate a perspective on mathematical visualization that goes beyond the dualism between internal and external representations frequently assumed in the literature, and focuses on the lived-in space that Karen experienced which encompassed at once physical attributes of the tool and human possibilities of action.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Facilitating Grounded Online Interactions in Video-Case-Based Teacher Professional Development

The use of interactive video cases for teacher professional development is an emergent medium inspired by case study methods used extensively in law, management, and medicine, and by the advent of multimedia technology available to support online discussions. This paper focuses on Web-based grounded discussions—in which the participants base their contributions on specific events portrayed in the case—and the role facilitators play in these online interactions. This paper analyzes the online exchange of messages in one school district that participated in a video-case-based program of teacher professional development and derives principles that will help facilitators lead grounded online interactions.     

The Evolutionary Thought of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Science & Education - The name Lamarck is very well known in the teaching of biology, being associated with an early effort to explain evolution. Nevertheless, when evolution is taught in the...     

School drop out in Bangladesh: Insights using panel data

This paper examines the relative strength of different factors associated with school drop out using data collected between 2007 and 2009 in Bangladesh. A sample of 9046 children, aged 4–15, was selected across six districts for a household survey focusing on children's school access and experiences. Two groups of children were identified: those who were enrolled in school in both 2007 and 2009 and those who dropped out by 2009. Using a multivariate logit model, results show age and gender, together with financial constraints, such as lack of income and school expenditure, as the top predictors of school drop out. Two other important predictors are lack of parental support for children's school work and school absenteeism. This paper identifies some possible interventions that could reduce school drop out. These include campaigns to reduce late entry and overage enrolment, reductions in direct costs of schooling, and more support for low achieving children to compensate for lack of educational support at home.     

Tour de France,Giro, Vuelta,and classic European races show a unique progression of road cycling speed in the last 20 years

Abstract

Road cycling ranks among the most intense endurance exercises. Previous studies and mathematical models describing road cycling have not analysed performances per se. We describe the evolution of road cycling performance over the past 116 years. We studied the top ten cyclists' mean speeds in eight famous classic races and three European Grand Tours, using a previously published multi-exponential model that highlights the different progression periods of an event during the century. In addition, we measured an indicator of difficulty for the Tour de France by calculating the climbing index (i.e. the total altitude climbed over total distance). The eleven races' mean speed increased progressively from 23.13 km · h^?1 in 1892 to 41.19 ± 2.03 km · h^?1 in 2008. Road cycling development, like other quantifiable disciplines, fits a piecewise progression pattern that follows three periods: before, between, and after the two World Wars. However, a fourth period begins after 1993, providing a speed progression of 6.38% from the third one. The Tour de France's climbing index also provided insight into a recent paradoxical relationship with speeds: when the climbing index increased, the winner's speed also increased. Our results show a major improvement (6.38%) in road cycling performance in the last 20 years and question the role of extra-physiological parameters in this recent progression.