Leveraging local resources and contexts for inclusive computer science classrooms: Reflections from experienced high school teachers implementing electronic textiles

ABSTRACT

Background and context

Promoting open-ended projects presents new opportunities and challenges for inclusive teaching in CS classrooms. While efforts have been made to develop inclusive curricula, little research has focused on ways teachers apply curricula in their classrooms to promote inclusion.     

Students' Perceptions of Study Modes

This paper reports on a survey of how Australian undergraduate students perceive the benefits of broad study modes: face‐to‐face classes, web‐based study, and print‐based study. Two benefit types were identified through factor analysis: engagement and functionality. Respondents rated face‐to‐face classes highest on engagement and print‐based study highest on functionality. However, they distinguished only marginally between the engagement and functionality benefits of print‐based and web‐based study. Two variables associated with differences in students’ perceptions of study modes were attendance mode and student tenure. The findings raise questions about the learning and marketing rationales for offering web‐based delivery of educational programmes at the expense of both the traditional face‐to‐face experience and the traditional “distance” experience in Australia using print materials.     

Cultural Issues in Evaluation Studies of Middle Eastern Higher Education

Middle Eastern candidates for higher degrees often set out with proposals which include a significant element of evaluation of aspects of higher education. These may raise cultural issues. Fourth generation evaluation procedures take the cultural context seriously. This is likely to throw up potentially important issues for candidates and their supervisors. This paper illustrates these matters in the current context of Middle Eastern higher education. It discusses the role of evaluation studies in this field, together with issues which candidates and their supervisors may confront when carrying out such research studies there. National cultures may be approached as sites of cultural contestation. Some forms of evaluation research have a role to play in this     

The effectiveness of machine score-ability ratings in predicting automated scoring performance

ABSTRACT

This study sought to provide a framework for evaluating machine score-ability of items using a new score-ability rating scale, and to determine the extent to which ratings were predictive of observed automated scoring performance. The study listed and described a set of factors that are thought to influence machine score-ability; these factors informed the score-ability rating applied by expert raters. Five Reading items, six Science items, and 10 Math items were examined. Experts in automated scoring served as reviewers, providing independent ratings of score-ability before engine calibration. Following the rating, engines were calibrated and their performances were evaluated using common industry criteria. Three derived criteria from the engine evaluations were computed: the score-ability value in the rating scale based on the empirical results, the number of industry evaluation criteria met by the engine, the approval status of the engine based on the number of criteria met. The results indicated that the score-ability ratings were moderately correlated with Science score-ability, the ratings were weakly correlated with Math score-ability, and were not correlated with Reading score-ability.     

ADULT AGE DIFFERENCES IN VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

Both working memory (WM) and existing vocabulary knowledge are used when the meaning of a new word is deciphered in context. Age-related WM deficits and vocabulary strengths suggest that younger and older adults rely on these factors differently. Participants gave definitions for rare, novel words that appeared in short passages. Three measures of each individual difference factor (WM and vocabulary) were administered. Older adults gave more complete definitions for the novel words, had higher vocabulary knowledge test scores, but reduced WM scores compared to younger adults. As predicted, existing vocabulary knowledge contributed more to extracting word meaning from context than did WM for the older adults only.     

Family Turbulence and Child Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: Moderation of Effects by Race

This study examined the impact of residential instability and family structure transitions on the development of internalizing and externalizing problems from age 2 through 10.5. Child's race was examined as a moderator. Caregiver reports of internalizing and externalizing behaviors were obtained on 665 children at ages 5 and 10.5. Early-childhood residential and family structure transitions predicted elevated internalizing and externalizing problems at ages 5 and 10.5, but only for Caucasian children. These findings suggest that residential and family structure instability during early childhood independently contribute to children's later emotional and behavioral development, but vary as a function of the child's race. Community organizations (e.g., Women, Infant, and Children) can connect turbulent families with resources to attenuate effects of residential and family structure instability.