Integrating Multiple Sources of Validity Evidence for an Assessment-Based Cognitive Model

An assessment of graphic literacy was developed by articulating and subsequently validating a skills-based cognitive model intended to substantiate the plausibility of score interpretations. Model validation involved use of multiple sources of evidence derived from large-scale field testing and cognitive labs studies. Data from large-scale field testing were evaluated using traditional psychometric methods. The psychometric analyses were augmented using eye tracking technology to perform gaze pattern and pupillometry analyses to gain better understanding of problem-solving strategies and cognitive load. Findings from the data sources were integrated to provide strong evidence supporting the model and score interpretations. Implications for using gaze pattern and pupillometry analyses to enhance learning and assessment are discussed.     

Voices and Choices: Critical Information/Media Literacy and Behrman’s Practices

ABSTRACT

Studies on information and media literacy focus on describing activities and frameworks individually, and most of the time, connect within the field of library science. However, other frameworks and practices can be used. This case study presents the application of Behrman’s Critical Literacy Practices to information and media literacy to engage students to think critically about information within their field of study. The purpose of this research is to model the information behavior of education students through the perspective of constructivist learning. The study used a qualitative method with six upper-level undergraduate education majors. Activities that comprise practices and theories in both education and library sciences are presented to form a continuous exposure to critical thinking. Factors that influenced how students perceived the validity of information came from personal, educational, and societal factors. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion about critical thinking skills in undergraduate students, presenting a model that describes how practices from other fields can be used and incorporated with information and media literacy.     

State of e-Learning Marketing: Results and Recommendations from a Nationwide Survey

Abstract

To better understand how librarians across the country market e-learning resources to faculty, a survey was distributed to academic librarians in the United States to gauge what marketing strategies were being used, how the marketing responsibilities were being divided, and what strategies were deemed successful. The survey’s results suggested that active, tailored marketing strategies which utilize the traditional liaison model tend to be the most successful. This study emphasizes the need for communication among librarians and includes recommendations for increasing the awareness of e-learning resources on your campus.     

Tomboys and girly-girls: embodied femininities in primary schools

This paper is about how 9–11-year-old children, particularly girls, co-construct tomboy and girly-girl identities as oppositional positions. The paper sits within a theoretical framework in which I understand individual and collective masculinities and femininities as ways of ‘doing man/woman’ or ‘doing boy/girl’ that are constructed within local communities of masculinity and femininity practice. Empirical data come from a one-year study of tomboy identities within two London primary schools. The paper explores the contrasting identities of tomboy and girly-girl, how they are constructed by the children, and how this changes as they approach puberty. The findings suggest that the oppositional construction of these identities makes it harder for girls to take up more flexible femininities, though it is possible to switch between tomboy and girly-girl identities at different times and places.     

Community-Engaged Teaching: A Project-Based Model

“Community engagement” provides a framework for curriculum development in environmental design residencies with elementary students.