Using scaffolded rubrics to improve peer assessment in a MOOC writing course

This study explored the value of using a guided rubric to enable students participating in a massive open online course in writing to produce more reliable assessments of their fellow students’ writing. To test the assumption that training students to assess will improve their ability to provide quality feedback, a multivariate factorial analysis was used to determine differences in assessments made by students who received guidance on using a rating rubric and those who did not. Although results were mixed, on average students who were provided no guidance in scoring writing samples were less likely to successfully differentiate between novice, intermediate, and advanced writing samples than students who received rubric guidance. Rubric guidance was most beneficial for items that were subjective, technically complex, and likely to be unfamiliar to the student. Items addressing relatively simple and objective constructs were less likely to be improved by rubric guidance.     

Beyond authorship: attribution,contribution, collaboration,and credit

• As the number of authors on scientific publications increases, ordered lists of author names are proving inadequate for the purposes of attribution and credit.
• A multi‐stakeholder group has produced a contributor role taxonomy for use in scientific publications.
• Identifying specific contributions to published research will lead to appropriate credit, fewer author disputes, and fewer disincentives to collaboration and the sharing of data and code.

     

What it takes to do diversity education

Diversity education is a challenging task that requires specific knowledge and training. D. Scott Tharp outlines four dimensions of cultural competence that all faculty and staff should develop to effectively and authentically support student development of critical cultural consciousness within a safe, affirming environment.     

Museums: Impact and value

The role of museums and their place within society is no longer one which we can take for granted. Eschewing the notion of funding based on ‘public good’, successive iterations of public sector reform have progressively required museums to prove that they are worthy of public support. Notions of ‘worth’ have increasingly been tied to the achievement of government policy and enforced through making attainment of key policy directions a condition of funding agreements. Current government policy aimed at ‘building social capital’ in both the Britain and Australia expects museums to prove that they ‘make a difference’ in terms of long-term social impact. However, unease over the imbalance created by what many perceive to be an overly ‘instrumental’ approach to assessing the role of museums has generated growing criticism and a parallel conversation about ‘intrinsic value’. Impact and value—the twin peaks of current discourse about the role of museums in contemporary society—are the subject of a recent study carried out in Australia, which is described here.     

Teachers' Mini-Case Studies of Children's Mathematics

This article reports findings from a five-day summer institute conducted with 27 practicing primary-grade teachers. The institute was part of a year-long professional development project that supported teachers' thinking about children's arithmetical understanding. From Quicktime movies that contained excerpts of six children's interviews, pairs of teachers developed mini-cases about the children's arithmetical understanding. At the end of the institute, the teachers presented their mini-case studies to the group. Teachers developed two types of hypotheses: hypotheses about children's thinking and hypotheses about what it means for children to know and do mathematics. After providing examples to clarify the two types of hypotheses, we address the challenges we faced in developing multimedia inquiry-based environments that facilitated teachers' thinking about children's arithmetical thinking. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Developing Literacy in Inner-city Schools

This article examines the impact of a two-year multimedia computer-based program of structured learning and assessment introduced into fifteen primary schools in three London boroughs. The project was evaluated and the results are reported here. The evaluation had two purposes: to explore the actual effects of the programs during the time span of the project, and to understand the contexts in which they operated.     

“妈妈，我想和我的男友一起生活”

改革开放后．不知从哪一年起．国外一些青年“婚前同居”，或称“试婚”的事渐渐流传开亲。消息传米．有人愕然，有人叫绝。有人茫然不解．有人跃跃欲试。市文作者是一位母亲。她的女儿就是“婚前同居”的受害者，善良的母亲以其博爱情怀，以其一腔热血．向世人痛述“婚前同居”的七大害处．字字滴血。声声流泪。