Multiple-Choice Models: The Distractors Are Also Part of the Item

This paper describes an item response model for multiple-choice items and illustrates its application in item analysis. The model provides parametric and graphical summaries of the performance of each alternative associated with a multiple-choice item; the summaries describe each alternative's relationship to the proficiency being measured. The interpretation of the parameters of the multiple-choice model and the use of the model in item analysis are illustrated using data obtained from a pilot test of mathematics achievement items. The use of such item analysis for the detection of flawed items, for item design and development, and for test construction is discussed.     

Motivating Young Native American Students to Pursue STEM Learning Through a Culturally Relevant Science Program

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Data indicate that females and ethnic/race minority groups are underrepresented in the science and engineering workforce calling for innovative...     

Tradition versus Technology: Careers Fairs in the 21st Century

The traditional methods ofgraduate recruitment do not adequately meet theneeds of the changing profile of students andgraduates. As industry becomesinternationalised, the needs of employers arealso changing. Graduate recruitment is inresponse to short term needs and varying levelsof experience are required. A case study methodwas used in Dublin Institute of Technology toevaluate the effectiveness of a virtual careersfair in providing greater access to jobopportunities for students and graduates.Access by employers to potential employees wasalso measured. Findings showed that whileaccess improved, other issues requiringattention emerged.     

Profiles of child sexual abuse cases in Ireland: an archival study

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to profile subgroups of CSA cases referred for assessment at two national CSA assessment centers in Ireland. METHOD: Historical and clinical data for 150 CSA cases were drawn from records of two Dublin-based national specialist sexual abuse assessment and therapeutic centers. Three main comparisons were made involving: (1) 113 confirmed CSA cases and 37 unconfirmed CSA cases, (2) 55 confirmed CSA cases that displayed clinically significant behavior problems, and the 56 confirmed CSA cases without significant adjustment difficulties, and (3) 19 confirmed CSA cases in which violence was a central feature, and 79 confirmed cases in which violence was not a central feature. RESULTS: There were three main findings. (1) More unconfirmed cases were male; had single or separated parents; and a father with a criminal history. As a group, the confirmed cases were largely youngsters who had been abused by male adults or adolescents outside their nuclear family and who subsequently were well supported by one or two parents. (2) Poorly adjusted CSA victims had a history of coercive violent abuse while better adjusted children were victims of nonviolent abuse. (3) Victims of violent CSA were more likely to have experienced penetrative abuse and to display more externalizing behavior problems. CONCLUSIONS: Confirmed and unconfirmed CSA cases, well and poorly adjusted CSA cases, and victims of violent and nonviolent CSA referred for assessment at two national CSA assessment centers in Ireland had distinctive clinical profiles.     

PEDro: a physiotherapy evidence database

PEDro is produced by the Centre for Evidence-Based Physiotherapy (CEBP), located in Sydney, Australia. PEDro is intended to be used to gain "rapid access to bibliographic details and abstracts of randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in physiotherapy." This column will provide some background information on the database, as well as cover the basics of searching its content.     

Is attending lectures still relevant in engineering education?

A case study was conducted on a group of undergraduate chemical engineering students to assess the relevance of attending lectures from a student perspective and to understand why these students attend and do not attend lectures with a view to developing approaches to teaching, which are of greater interest and benefit to student learning. The students were surveyed by means of a questionnaire-type survey, which collected both quantitative and qualitative data from them. The majority of students stated that lectures are still very beneficial to their learning and are not an out-of-date mode of education. The major reasons for lecture non-attendance were time priority and curriculum overload issues with other scholarly activities and poor quality teaching. The students provided a number of suggestions to improve lectures and lecture attendance, including the incorporation of active learning in lectures, linking lectures to assessment and adding extra value to what is already in the notes.     

Overview of assessment for deaf and hard of hearing students

Historically assessing deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) students has been a daunting challenge. Although significant strides have been made, there continues to be a dearth of research and literature specifically addressing the endemic challenges multidisciplinary teams encounter when assessing D/HH students. This article delineates a historical overview, purpose of assessment, student-centered approaches, limitations and challenges, and appropriate protocols for assessing D/HH students.     

Development and initial validation of the institutional child abuse processes and coping inventory among a sample of Irish adult survivors of institutional abuse

ObjectiveTo develop a psychometric instrument to evaluate psychological processes associated with institutional abuse and coping strategies used to deal with such abuse.MethodsAs part of a comprehensive assessment protocol, an inventory containing theoretically derived multi-item rational scales which assessed institutional abuse-related psychological processes and coping strategies were administered to 247 Irish adult survivors of institutional child abuse. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to derive 6-factor scales, the reliability and validity of which were assessed.ResultsFactor scales to assess the following constructs were developed (1) traumatization, (2) re-enactment, (3) spiritual disengagement, (4) positive coping, (5) coping by complying, and (6) avoidant coping. There were varying degrees of support for the validity of the scales with most support for the traumatization and re-enactment scales.ConclusionsThe Institutional Child Abuse Processes and Coping Inventory (ICAPCI), particularly its traumatization and re-enactment scales, may be used in future research on adult survivors of institutional child abuse because they are currently the only scales that have been developed with this population to provide reliable and valid assessments of these constructs.Practice implicationsThe ICAPCI may be used, cautiously, to assess adult survivors of institutional child abuse.