Assessing Model Similarity in Structural Equation Modeling

Two models can be nonequivalent, but fit very similarly across a wide range of data sets. These near-equivalent models, like equivalent models, should be considered rival explanations for results of a study if they represent plausible explanations for the phenomenon of interest. Prior to conducting a study, researchers should evaluate plausible models that are alternatives to those hypothesized to evaluate whether they are near-equivalent or equivalent and, in so doing, address the adequacy of the study’s methodology. To assess the extent to which alternative models for a study are empirically distinguishable, we propose 5 indexes that quantify the degree of similarity in fit between 2 models across a specified universe of data sets. These indexes compare either the maximum likelihood fit function values or the residual covariance matrices of models. Illustrations are provided to support interpretations of these similarity indexes.     

College Students' Study Strategies as a Function of Testing: An Investigation into Metacognitive Self-Regulation

We conducted the present study to investigate whether college students adjust their study strategies to meet the cognitive demands of testing, a metacognitive self-regulatory skill. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two testing conditions. In one condition we told participants to study for a test that required deep-level cognitive processing and in the other to study for a test that required surface-level cognitive processing. Results suggested that college students adjust their study strategies so that they are in line with the cognitive processing demands of tests and that performance is mediated by the study strategies that are used.Margaret E. Ross is an Associate Professor of Educational Measurement and Statistics at Auburn University. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Kansas. Her research interests include the role assessment plays in influencing student learning strategies, assessment issues and policy, and educational program evaluation. Samuel B. Green is a Professor in the Educational Psychology Department at Arizona State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Measurement and Individual Differences Psychology from the University of Georgia. His research focuses on statistical procedures. Jill Salisbury-Glennon is an Associate Professor teaching Educational Psychology courses at Auburn University. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Pennsylvania. Research interests include college student self-regulation, metacognition, and motivation. Nona Tollefson recently passed away. She was a Professor of Psychology and Research in Education at the University of Kansas and held a Ph.D. from Purdue University. Her research focused on student assessment     

The Computer and the College Curriculum

Using a sample of 751 undergraduate students and 85 of their faculty, the author examined the extent of faculty-student differences in their priorities placed on eight learning goals. The findings show that students placed significantly more importance on career preparation, scientific reasoning, personal development, and art and cultural appreciation and that faculty placed significantly more importance on critical thinking and mastery of discipline content. Students and their faculty did not differ significantly on the priorities they placed on basic academic skills, citizenship, and values. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of curriculum development and an increasing belief that student development and learning are improved when curricula assess and incorporate students' goals and priorities.     

Time Scales and Academic Excellence

Abstract

While not representative of all students, those who demonstrate a sense of entitlement demand a great deal of instructors' time and energy. Our article places student entitlement in its social context, with specific attention to the prevalence of the consumer mentality, grade inflation, and the self-esteem of the student generation. We then outline several strategies for dealing with entitlement behavior. We suggest that greater clarity in standards and assessment, combined with specific requirements guiding teacher-student interactions and general efforts to resocialize students and faculty, will help to curb these behaviors.     

Impacts of Student Categorization of Their Online Discussion Contributions

A case study examined the collaborative experiences of students in an online business writing classroom. The purpose was to examine the same groups of students working on collaborative writing assignments in both a synchronous (real-time) and an asynchronous (non-real-time) discussion forum. This study focused on examining the amount, pattern, and focus of interactions, as well as assessing students' attitudes toward communicating in the two different environments.     

Arguments from Analogy and Beyond: The Persuasive Artistry of Local American Civic Life

This essay analyzes a local civic debate in which the purposive, referential, and deliberative structures of an argument by comparison are rendered inoperative. In so doing, it advances our understanding of the rhetoric of exemplarity, widens our conception of democratic political contention, and directs scholarly attention to local forums of civic life, where rhetorical motive often gives way to pure persuasion, reasoned debate commonly slips into everyday talk, democratic deliberation frequently verges on radical dissensus, and emotional investments routinely culminate in affective events.