Item Response Models for Multiple Attempts With Incomplete Data

Allowance for multiple chances to answer constructed response questions is a prevalent feature in computer‐based homework and exams. We consider the use of item response theory in the estimation of item characteristics and student ability when multiple attempts are allowed but no explicit penalty is deducted for extra tries. This is common practice in online formative assessments, where the number of attempts is often unlimited. In these environments, some students may not always answer‐until‐correct, but may rather terminate a response process after one or more incorrect tries. We contrast the cases of graded and sequential item response models, both unidimensional models which do not explicitly account for factors other than ability. These approaches differ not only in terms of log‐odds assumptions but, importantly, in terms of handling incomplete data. We explore the consequences of model misspecification through a simulation study and with four online homework data sets. Our results suggest that model selection is insensitive for complete data, but quite sensitive to whether missing responses are regarded as informative (of inability) or not (e.g., missing at random). Under realistic conditions, a sequential model with similar parametric degrees of freedom to a graded model can account for more response patterns and outperforms the latter in terms of model fit.     

A “Thinking Journey” to the Planets Using Scientific Visualization Technologies: Implications to Astronomy Education

We present a novel approach to teaching astronomy and planetary sciences, centered on visual images and simulations of planetary objects. The basic idea of the Thinking Journey concept is to take the students to other celestial objects as tourists, and to teach science through the observatio of various natural phenomena in these new environments. The power of scientific visualization, through still and dynamic images, makes such a journey an exciting learning experience. The introduction of new technologies (3D animations, virtual reality) greatly enhances the visualization capabilities the teacher can use, allowing him to simulate actual flights over the terrain of other planets and to study them as if observing from a spaceship in orbit. The present program focuses on the study of the Moon and of the planet Mars, by means of observation, interpretation, and comparison to planet Earth. Students learn to recognize geological and atmospheric processes, discuss astronomic phenomena, and discover that the same basic physical laws govern all objects in the solar system.     

Situational and Personal Causes of Student Cheating

The causes of students’ academic dishonesty behavior were explored using survey and experimental vignette methods. Participants were surveyed about their own cheating behavior, neutralizing attitudes, performance/mastery orientation and perceptions of peer attitudes and behavior. As predicted, neutralizing attitudes influenced cheating behavior directly, but also indirectly, increasing the effect of individual attitudes. Observing others cheating was strongly correlated with one’s own cheating behavior. These variables are also shown to have different effects on exam cheating and plagiarism and cases of giving and receiving unauthorized information. Correlations were tested using experimental vignette methods, which supported the claims made from survey data.     

When Classrooms Matter: implications of between‐classroom variability for educational policy in Israel

This study assesses several policy implications of within‐school, between‐classroom variability in pupil achievement. It diverges from current school effect studies by directly modelling pupil achievement in the Jerusalem public primary school system. This three‐level study includes pupils, classrooms and schools, thus allowing an appropriate estimate of the variations between these three levels. The findings show that between‐classroom variability is consistently greater than the estimated variation between schools. These findings contrast with traditional school‐level analyses that usually ignore within‐school variability. In the light of these findings we address three educational and policy issues. First, we probe into the moral consequences of between‐classroom, within‐school variability, specifically focusing on issues of choice and commitment. Second, we scrutinize the administrative policy of ‘social integration’ and reflect on some educational consequences that result from our findings. Third, we assess the Israeli version of ‘school league tables’ and discuss their usefulness as a means of resource allocation     

Losing is Not an Option! Women's Basketball in Israel and its Struggle for Equality (1985–2002)

The current paper sheds light on a process that has changed Israeli sport between the years 1981 and 2002. The paper traces, conceptually and historically, the multiphase nature and struggle for equality of the Israeli women's basketball team. Through examining interrelated processes, this paper illustrates that although women have gained some ground as far as visibility and awareness is concerned, it is far too early for a ‘victory lap’. The rapid increase in women's participation in sports in Israel over the last decades expresses the change in the status of women in sports itself and in many other social areas, but in parallel also exposes staunch thought patterns in regard to women's and men's involvement in sports.     

Patterns of Verbal Mediation During Problem Solving: A Sequential Analysis of Self-Explanation

The explanations that participants give themselves (self-explanations) while learning or solving problems have been shown to be positively associated with various performance measures. The major aim of this study was to identify patterns of self-explanation that distinguish between good and poor problem solvers. Thirty-two Grade 9 students were asked to solve 3 mixture problems—1 warm-up problem and 2 test problems—while thinking aloud. The problem-solving process was videotaped, protocols were transcribed, and 5 content categories were identified. Through a sequential analysis, patterns of self-explanation that differentiate between good and poor problem solvers were identified.     

Can we administer the scholarship of teaching? Lessons from outstanding professors in higher education

Boyer’s call for the study of the “scholarship of teaching” has rekindled interest in outstanding teaching in higher education. However, most studies of teaching quality and student experiences in higher education have paid little attention to intense, meaningful key experiences and were limited in answering the pertinent question: Can universities administer excellent instruction? The current paper attempts to answer this question by providing exploratory evidence of key experiences in higher education. It is based on evidence from a large qualitative study of such episodes, using retrospective accounts provided by adults who speak about their best educational experiences in higher education. The results are grouped under three major thematic headings. The first describes the centrality of personalized student–teacher relations. The second focuses on the ways in which identification and integrity provided students with models to emulate; and the third tells of excellence in the skills of teaching. These results point that the administration of the scholarship of teaching is an intricate endeavor.     

Feedback seeking in children and adolescents: associations with self-perceptions,attachment representations,and depression

Because the feedback children and adolescents receive is important to their development, 2 experimental studies were designed to examine children's (M = 12 years) and adolescents' (M = 17 years) active selection of the quality of feedback they wish to receive. In both studies evidence emerged that participants' self-perceptions influence their feedback seeking. Participants with positive self-perceptions sought more positive feedback than participants with negative self-perceptions and sought more positive feedback than expected by chance. Participants with negative self-perceptions lacked this tendency to seek positive feedback and sometimes sought less positive feedback than expected by chance. As expected, depression and attachment-related measures were also associated with participants' feedback seeking. Contributions of feedback-seeking patterns to stability and change in children's and adolescents' development are discussed.     

The impact of teaching in a one-to-one computing classroom on teachers’ work outside the classroom

ABSTRACT

One-to-one computing programmes – that is, when each student has a personal, portable computer to use while learning – have been studied extensively, mostly regarding their actual classroom implementation. In this quantitative study, the authors take a broader perspective, exploring the impact of teaching in one-to-one computing programmes on teachers’ beliefs regarding their job outside the classroom. Participants were middle school and high school teachers who had taught in both one-to-one and traditional classrooms – and hence could reflect upon the differences between the two settings. The methodology included questionnaires based on Danielson’s comprehensive Framework of Teaching. The results suggest more positive attitudes towards teaching in one-to-one programmes than in traditional classrooms in all domains tested; however, the one-to-one instruction applied portrays a rather shallow, instrumental use of the digital devices in a way that supports existing teaching practices and beliefs, rather than a transformative effect of such programmes on teaching.