Cultivating sustained teachers’ professional learning within a centralised education system

This study investigates how sustained professional learning for teachers within a centralised system was cultivated. Specifically, the sustained professional learning was initiated by officers from the headquarters (HQ) and involved interested teachers across schools in Singapore. Qualitative instruments were used to collect and analyse the data in examining the partnerships perceived by the participants. The enablers responsible to bring about sustained professional learning are proposed. A contribution of this study is to clarify how resources in the HQ and its schools can be bridged. Deliberate bridging of resources is critical particularly at the initial stage of the partnerships. This bridging is made possible through dedicated appointed champions. The appointed champions are passionate about the educational innovations and are willing to invest their time to understand the teachers’ needs. This paper argues that the enablers can offer opportunities for lateral networks to be forged within a hierarchical system.     

An Examination of Resilience Processes in Context: The Case of Tasha

This research examined resilience processes in context through a narrative case study of Tasha, a young African-American woman who grew up in a poverty-ridden area of a mid-sized city in the Southeast. Personal and external data are analyzed and interpreted in terms of contextually defined themes of adversity (i.e., intersectionality of social identities, lack of attachment to her primary caregiver, and teenage pregnancy); adaptation (i.e., high school graduation, career goal-setting, commitment to her children, and “street” competence); and, protective processes (i.e., individual attributes, natural mentors, and extended family support). The importance of external sources of support and Tasha as an active agent in her development is highlighted. Research and practical implications are discussed.     

The relationship between epistemological beliefs,learning conceptions,and approaches to study: a cross-cultural structural model?

Recent research has shown interest in studying the relationship between epistemological beliefs and numerous aspects of learning. A new question interests us: Is this kind of relationship homogeneous across cultures? This study focuses on the relationship between epistemological beliefs, learning conceptions, and approaches to study. A sample of Chinese (n = 299) and Flemish (n = 324) first-year university students in Beijing, China and Flanders were involved in the study. A structural equation model (SEM) relating the three concepts was applied to the sample data, largely confirming the theoretical assumptions. The results validated the postulation that epistemological beliefs predict students' conceptions of learning, which in turn are related to specific approaches to study. Multiple group analysis using SEM was applied and the structural weights model was confirmed across the two cultural groups. Mean level variations of the three main concepts were detected between the Chinese and Flemish groups. The results identified in the study offer valuable contributions to a deeper understanding of the interplay between epistemological beliefs and student learning from a cross-cultural perspective. Implications for learning and instruction are discussed.     

Beyond item analysis: Connecting student behaviour and performance using e-assessment logs

Traditional item analyses such as classical test theory (CTT) use exam-taker responses to assessment items to approximate their difficulty and discrimination. The increased adoption by educational institutions of electronic assessment platforms (EAPs) provides new avenues for assessment analytics by capturing detailed logs of an exam-taker's journey through their exam. This paper explores how logs created by EAPs can be employed alongside exam-taker responses and CTT to gain deeper insights into exam items. In particular, we propose an approach for deriving features from exam logs for approximating item difficulty and discrimination based on exam-taker behaviour during an exam. Items for which difficulty and discrimination differ significantly between CTT analysis and our approach are flagged through outlier detection for independent academic review. We demonstrate our approach by analysing de-identified exam logs and responses to assessment items of 463 medical students enrolled in a first-year biomedical sciences course. The analysis shows that the number of times an exam-taker visits an item before selecting a final response is a strong indicator of an item's difficulty and discrimination. Scrutiny by the course instructor of the seven items identified as outliers suggests our log-based analysis can provide insights beyond what is captured by traditional item analyses.

Practitioner notes

What is already known about this topic

• Traditional item analysis is based on exam-taker responses to the items using mathematical and statistical models from classical test theory (CTT). The difficulty and discrimination indices thus calculated can be used to determine the effectiveness of each item and consequently the reliability of the entire exam.

What this paper adds

• Data extracted from exam logs can be used to identify exam-taker behaviours which complement classical test theory in approximating the difficulty and discrimination of an item and identifying items that may require instructor review.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• Identifying the behaviours of successful exam-takers may allow us to develop effective exam-taking strategies and personal recommendations for students.
• Analysing exam logs may also provide an additional tool for identifying struggling students and items in need of revision.