A Meta-Analysis of the Factor Structure of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)

Abstract

The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) has been used extensively to measure teacher-student interactions and classroom quality. With a theoretical foundation rooted in the developmental theory of learning, CLASS has three primary domains—Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of the factor structure of CLASS using Cheung’s two-stage structural equation modeling (TSSEM) approach. After searching the literature, we obtained 26 correlation matrices of the 10 dimensions shared by multiple versions of CLASS. This meta-analysis supports the three-factor model initially proposed by CLASS developers. The finding of this meta-analysis provides important evidence pertinent to the CLASS factor structure and has significant implications regarding the interpretation and use of CLASS scores.     

Identifying science students at risk in the first year of higher education: the incremental value of non-cognitive variables in predicting early academic achievement

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Science students’ study success rates in the first year of higher education (FYHE) are problematic. Although a considerable amount of previous...     

Diversification and hybridization in firm knowledge bases in nanotechnologies

The paper investigates the linkages between the characteristics of technologies and the structure of a firms’ knowledge base. Nanotechnologies have been defined as converging technologies that operate at the nanoscale, and which require integration to fulfill their economic promises. Based on a worldwide database of nanofirms, the paper analyses the degree of convergence and the convergence mechanisms within firms. It argues that the degree of convergence in a firm's nano-knowledge base is relatively independent from the size of the firm's nano-knowledge base. However, while firms with small nano-knowledge bases tend to exploit convergence in each of their patents/publications, firms with large nano-knowledge bases tend to separate their nano-R&D activities in the different established fields and achieve diversity through the juxtaposition of the output of these independent activities.     

A Systematic Review on the Conceptualization and Operationalization of Students' Levels of Processing in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies

In educational research, there is a growing interest in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine students' levels of processing. As there is a growing interest in the use of fMRI, a systematic review was conducted to examine how deep and surface levels of processing are operationalized within the neuroscientific field. In addition, we investigated how this operationalization impacts on the conceptualization of levels of processing within fMRI research. A systematic search was conducted within the MEDLINE, PubMed, ERIC, and Web of Science databases, and 25 studies were identified for this review. With regard to the operationalization, the review indicates that levels of processing were examined under highly controlled conditions with decontextualized and simplified language stimuli. Analysis of these studies revealed that there is a lack of conceptual clarity as, in half of the cases, no theoretical framework was explicitly mentioned, and no clear definition was given regarding levels of processing.     

Learning from video modeling examples: does gender matter?

Online learning from video modeling examples, in which a human model demonstrates and explains how to perform a learning task, is an effective instructional method that is increasingly used nowadays. However, model characteristics such as gender tend to differ across videos, and the model-observer similarity hypothesis suggests that such characteristics may affect learning. Therefore, this study investigated whether the effectiveness of learning how to solve a probability calculation problem from video modeling examples would vary as a function of the model’s and observer’s gender. In a 2 (Model: Female/Male) × 2 (Observer: Female/Male) between-subject design, 167 secondary education students learned how to solve probability calculation problems by observing video modeling examples. Results showed no effects of Model or Observer gender on learning and near transfer. Male students reported higher self-efficacy than female students. Compared to a female model, observing a male model enhanced perceived competence more from pretest to posttest, irrespective of observers’ gender. Furthermore, learning from a male model was less effortful and more enjoyable for male students than for female students. These results suggest that gender of both model and observer can matter in terms of affective variables experienced during learning, and that instructional designers may want to consider this when creating (online) learning environments with video modeling examples.     

Using Tutors to Improve Educational Games: A Cognitive Game for Policy Argument

How might we balance assistance and penalties to intelligent tutors and educational games that increase learning and interest? We created two versions of an educational game for learning policy argumentation called Policy World. The game (only) version provided minimal feedback and penalized students for errors whereas the game+tutor version provided additional step-level teaching feedback and immediate error correction. A total of 105 university students played either the game or game+tutor version of Policy World in a randomized, controlled, two-group, between-subjects experiment, during which we measured students’ problem-solving abilities, interest in the game, self-reported competence, and pre- and posttest performance. The game+tutor version increased learning of policy analysis skills and self-reported competence. A path analysis supported the claim that greater assistance helped students to learn analysis better, which increased their feelings of competence, which increased their interest in the game. Log data of student behavior showed that debate performance improved only for students who had sufficiently mastered analysis. This study shows that we can design interesting and effective games to teach policy argumentation and how increasing tutoring and reducing penalties in educational games can increase learning without sacrificing interest.     

Stimulus-reinforcer interactions in Pavlovian conditioning of pigeons: Implications for selective associations

In a Pavlovian procedure, groups of pigeons were presented with a compound auditory-visual stimulus that terminated with either response-independent electric shock or food. In a subsequent test, the tone CS was dominant in aversive conditioning, reliably eliciting conditioned head raising and prancing. The red light CS was dominant in appetitive conditioning, reliably eliciting pecking. This result was replicated in a second experiment, in which trials were widely spaced. Pour additional groups of pigeons received pairings of the separate element CSs with the USs. Red light, but not tone, was an effective CS in appetitive conditioning, whereas tone, but not red light, was effective in aversive conditioning. There was no discriminative responding in zero-contingency control groups. Several theoretical accounts of these data are discussed.     

Regional inequality in reading performance: an exploration in Belgium

In the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment, the Flemish community of Belgium outscored its French community in reading, with low achievers accounting for a large proportion of the score gaps. In this study, between-community comparisons based on the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method showed that the Flemish community benefits largely from its policies and practices of giving schools relative autonomy in resource allocation, promoting good student conduct, and decreasing grade retention. Between-community comparisons using the Juhn-Murphy-Pierce decomposition method showed that compared to their Flemish peers in the same percentile, low achievers in the French community are hindered more by their relatively low grade level; disadvantageous school economic, social, and cultural composition; and negative school supportive climate while medium and high achievers benefit more from their advantageous school economic, social, and cultural composition; positive supportive climate; and high proportion of qualified teachers in schools.