Rates and Predictors of Counseling Center Use Among College Students of Color

A comparison of institutional enrollment data and counseling center service utilization data at 66 universities showed that neither ethnic minority students nor European American students under‐ or overutilized counseling services (Study 1). Data from Study 2 examining students in the general campus bodies at 45 institutions indicated that utilization of counseling center services for students of various ethnicities was predicted by the ethnic composition of the counseling center staff. Among students of color, utilization of campus counseling services was predicted by greater psychological distress, less family support, and a history of previous psychological problems.     

STUDENTS’ SOURCES OF MOTIVATION FOR PARTICIPATING IN SCIENCE FAIRS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY WITHIN THE CANADA-WIDE SCIENCE FAIR 2008

Science fairs have been for many years a popular school activity in North America. They are a venue for the popularization of science and consequently an important encouragement for the pursuit of careers in science or engineering. However, little is known about students?? perceived motives for participating in local or national science fairs and about the way in which their involvement mediates their interest in science learning and scientific careers. The present study investigates the motivational factors associated with the high school students?? decision to participate in the 2008 Canada-Wide Science Fair, a thoroughly selected and highly motivated group. Our study examines 5 sources of motivation: (1) interest in science content, (2) sense of self-efficacy, (3) assurance of achievement through rewards or gratifications, (4) the social aspect of participating and (5) working strategies to gain scientific knowledge and methods. The understanding of the anticipated benefits participants seek through their involvement in science fairs may have the potential to help science teachers adapt instruction to appeal to a broader range of students in schools, thus nourishing the emergence of more interest in science.     

Formulation of the DETECT Population Parameter and Evaluation of DETECT Estimator Bias

The development of the DETECT procedure marked an important advancement in nonparametric dimensionality analysis. DETECT is the first nonparametric technique to estimate the number of dimensions in a data set, estimate an effect size for multidimensionality, and identify which dimension is predominantly measured by each item. The efficacy of DETECT critically depends on accurate, minimally biased estimation of the expected conditional covariances of all the item pairs. However, the amount of bias in the DETECT estimator has been studied only in a few simulated unidimensional data sets. This is because the value of the DETECT population parameter is known to be zero for this case and has been unknown for cases when multidimensionality is present. In this article, integral formulas for the DETECT population parameter are derived for the most commonly used parametric multidimensional item response theory model, the Reckase and McKinley model. These formulas are then used to evaluate the bias in DETECT by positing a multidimensional model, simulating data from the model using a very large sample size (to eliminate random error), calculating the large-sample DETECT statistic, and finally calculating the DETECT population parameter to compare with the large-sample statistic. A wide variety of two- and three-dimensional models, including both simple structure and approximate simple structure, were investigated. The results indicated that DETECT does exhibit statistical bias in the large-sample estimation of the item-pair conditional covariances; but, for the simulated tests that had 20 or more items, the bias was small enough to result in the large-sample DETECT almost always correctly partitioning the items and the DETECT effect size estimator exhibiting negligible bias.     

Covariation in conditioned response strength between stimuli trained in compound

Conditioned lick suppression by water-deprived rats was used to elaborate on recent evidence that the attenuated conditioned response elicited by an overshadowed stimulus may be enhanced by extinction of the overshadowing stimulus with which it had been trained in simultaneous compound. Using a modified serial stimulus arrangement in which a light coexisted with the last half of a tone that terminated with footshock, it was found in Experiment 1 that the tone overshadowed the light. Extinction of the tone-shock association resulted in a virtually complete recovery of the response to the overshadowed light. Using this serial overshadowing procedure, the possibility that the strength of a conditioned response to an element trained in compound covaries as a function of the strength of the response to the other element was tested in Experiment 2. Following overshadowing training similar to that of Experiment 1, independent reinforcement of the overshadowed light, that is, associative inflation, was found to have no deleterious effect on the response to the overshadowing tone. This suggests that the effects of postconditioning extinction and inflation of one element do not have symmetrical effects upon responding to the other element. The results of Experiment 2 were replicated in Experiment 3 using a simultaneous compound stimulus as opposed to the serial compound of the previous studies. These results are discussed in terms of various associative and cognitive models of learning and performance.     

The road to nowhere begins with where we are: Rethinking the future of American education

The purpose of this essay is two-fold: to explain briefly the central features and functions of the present system and to suggest why it has become so resistant to meaningful systemic reform; and to articulate several general principles of transformation that must undergird a new vision of education in the 21st century. Our programmatic hope is that others will engage in the kind of serious, ongoing dialogue necessary to open our minds and hearts to both the possibilities and difficulties accompanying any serious effort at systemic reform in American education.     

The development and validation of the Attitudinal Learning Inventory (ALI): a measure of attitudinal learning and instruction

In this paper, we present the development and validation of a new measure of attitudinal learning—the Attitudinal Learning Inventory (ALI). While specific scales are available for measuring attitudes, they largely focus on established attitudes, not the impact of instruction on those attitudes. We developed the inventory with two explicit objectives: (1) to measure a broad range of attitude constructs representing a holistic view of attitudinal learning and instruction; and (2) to facilitate the measurement of attitudinal learning that can be useful for educational researchers beyond traditional metrics. The ALI was developed and validated across two samples of a total of 1009 participants with diverse demographics. The ALI comprises 15 scale items and exhibited good psychometric properties and conformed to the theoretical four-dimensional structure of attitudinal learning: cognitive, affective, behavioral, and social. The ALI was also shown to correlate with behavioral metrics of class engagement. Future uses of the new measure are discussed. Participants were taken from entirely online populations, and while demographically diverse, implementation of the scale with face-to-face instruction, in varied settings, and across different groups of learners is needed to provide additional evidence of its intended generalizability and consider possible biases.     

Modeling Diagnostic Assessments with Bayesian Networks

This paper defines Bayesian network models and examines their applications to IRT-based cognitive diagnostic modeling. These models are especially suited to building inference engines designed to be synchronous with the finer grained student models that arise in skills diagnostic assessment. Aspects of the theory and use of Bayesian network models are reviewed, as they affect applications to diagnostic assessment. The paper discusses how Bayesian network models are set up with expert information, improved and calibrated from data, and deployed as evidence-based inference engines. Aimed at a general educational measurement audience, the paper illustrates the flexibility and capabilities of Bayesian networks through a series of concrete examples, and without extensive technical detail. Examples are provided of proficiency spaces with direct dependencies among proficiency nodes, and of customized evidence models for complex tasks. This paper is intended to motivate educational measurement practitioners to learn more about Bayesian networks from the research literature, to acquire readily available Bayesian network software, to perform studies with real and simulated data sets, and to look for opportunities in educational settings that may benefit from diagnostic assessment fueled by Bayesian network modeling.     

Generalization of visual matching and delayed matching by a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus)

Only a limited number of species have been found capable of generalized matching-to-sample (MTS) after exposure to relatively few training exemplars. We trained a juvenile, experimentally naive California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) in MTS, using a pair of three-dimensional objects as samples. Successful matching to a criterion of 90% correct or better over 2 successive sessions was attained in 12 sessions (269 trials and 70 errors). Two subsequent “partial” transfer tests, in which each of the two training objects was paired with a novel test object, and four additional transfer tests, all with novel objects, were presented following training. An 80% performance criterion over 2 successive sessions was reached, or closely approximated, in from 2 to 4 transfer sessions for all transfer tests; errors to criterion tended to be reduced across the successive novel transfer tests and were as few as five during the final two tests; and performance on the first 48 trials of the last two novel transfers was not significantly different from a near-ceiling level baseline performance measure. Neophobic responses of the sea lion to new objects precluded an unbiased evaluation of immediate (Trial 1) transfer. The sea lion’s short-term memory for sample objects was also measured. Matching performance was maintained at a level of 78% correct responses or better for delays through to 45 sec after removal of the sample object. At a 58-sec delay, the longest tested, performance declined to 69% correct responses. These retention levels are only somewhat below levels reported for dolphins and nonhuman primates tested on visual delayed MTS, but they are above levels typically reported for pigeon subjects.