Generic Cognitive Abilities in Higher Education: An international analysis of skills sought by stakeholders

The paper summarises, in a table, various stakeholder surveys and factor analyses which attempt to delineate 'generic'/'core'/'key' skills. There is very substantial agreement, amongst stakeholders and across countries, that communication skills are the most frequently mentioned generic ability. However, in respect of other skills, there seems to be more variation in skills requirements of employers across Europe than within the UK or within the USA. There is some evidence of similarities to the UK for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Differences between countries in relative rankings of employers' skills requirements do not seem to relate consistently to organisational cultural features, and may have more to do with different uses of terminology and categorisation. The stakeholder surveys take transferability as unproblematic, but the philosophical discourses lead to no overall consensus about the transferability of skills. However, the philosophers ignore the empirical evidence.     

奥林匹克运动的初创--第一届现代奥林匹克运动会台前幕后

现代奥林匹克运动走过一个多世纪的坎坷历程,终于于2004年重返故里,引发了人们无限的怀念与遐想。怀着这份心情,让我们重新找寻一下往日那些依稀而沧桑的记忆。一、顾拜旦的良苦用心皮埃尔·德·顾拜旦认为:“只有在全世界的共同参与下,现代奥林匹克运动才能开创成功的发展道路”。1891年,美国竞赛者参加完巴黎比赛,随即在许多报刊、杂志、文章及演说中引起一系列热烈的反响,从此更加深了顾拜旦对上述观点的确信无疑。他声称:“如果德国考古学家能挖掘出古代奥林匹亚遗迹,法国将重建奥林匹亚辉煌。”1892年,顾拜旦在巴黎大学演讲时,进一步重…     

The Relationship Between Approaches to Learning and Reflection Upon Practice

This study examined the association between students' approaches to learning and stages of reflective thinking. The revised version of the Study Process Questionnaire was used to measure deep and surface approaches to learning and the Reflection Questionnaire was used to distinguish four stages of reflective and nonreflective thinking. Both questionnaires were completed by 402 undergraduates from all years of study from a health science faculty in a university in Hong Kong. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test possible associations. The results showed that only the habitual action scale correlated significantly to surface approach to learning. Understanding, reflection and critical reflection correlated with deep approach but had no correlation to surface approach. Understanding, reflection and critical reflection correspond to the use of a deep approach with increasing levels of meaningful personal assimilation. These findings provide evidence of close association between approaches to learning and stages of reflection upon practice. The results also provide evidence for the convergent validity of both questionnaires.     

A Comparison of Doctoral Graduates in Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology

In a nationwide study of graduates of doctoral programs in counselor education and counseling psychology, researchers found similarities between the two groups in educational and work history, current employment, professional activities, and future goals.     

OPTIMAL NUMBER OF OPTIONS: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ASSUMPTION OF PROPORTIONALITY

One assumption common to all models for determining the optimal number of options per item (e. g., Lord, 1977) is that total testing time is proportional to the number of items and the number of options per item. Therefore, under this assumption given a fixed testing time, the test can be shortened or lengthened by deleting or adding a proportional number of options. The present study examines the validity of this assumption in three tests which were administered with 2, 3, 4, and 5 options per item. The number of items attempted in the first 10 and 15 minutes of the testing session and the time needed to complete the tests were recorded. Thus, the rate of performance for both fixed time and fixed test length was analyzed. A strong and consistently negative relationship between rate of performance and the number of options was detected in all tests. Thus, the empirical results did not support the assumption of proportionality. Furthermore, the data indicated that the method by which options are deleted can play a role in this context. A more realistic assumption of generalized proportionality, proposed by Grier (1976), was supported by the results from a Mathematical Reasoning test, but was only partially supported for a Vocabulary and a Reading Comprehension test.     

ESTIMATING THE RELIABILITY OF MULTIPLE TRUE-FALSE TESTS

This study was designed to examine the level of dependence within multiple true-false (MTF) test item clusters by computing sets of item intercorrelations with data from a test composed of both MTF and multiple choice (MC) items. It was posited that internal analysis reliability estimates for MTF tests would be spurious due to elevated MTF within-cluster intercorrelations. Results showed that, on the average, MTF within-cluster dependence was no greater than that found between MTF items from different clusters, between MC items, or between MC and MTF items. But item for item, there was greater dependence between items within the same cluster than between items of different clusters.     

THE CONCURRENT VALIDITY OF STANDARDIZED ACHIEVEMENT TESTS BY CONTENT AREA USING TEACHERS' RATINGS AS CRITERIA

To assess the concurrent validity of standardized achievement tests using teachers' ratings (and rankings) of pupils' academic achievement as criteria, 42 teachers evaluated each of their students (n = 1,032) in each of five major curricular areas prior to the administration of a battery of standardized achievement tests. The teachers were directed to rate each student's proficiency disregarding attendance, attitude, deportment, and so on. Within-class correlation coefficients were computed to eliminate rater leniency bias. The standardized achievement tests were found to have substantial concurrent validity in reading, math, language arts, science, and social studies. The normalized teacher ranks yielded significantly higher validity coefficients than did the ratings, although the magnitude of the difference was small. The concurrent validity coefficients for language arts, reading, and math were significantly higher than those in science and social studies.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Books Reviewed in this Article: Statistics For Biologists. School Census and Resource Pack. Statistics Concepts and Controversies. A Question in Dispute. The Design of Experiments: Statistical principles of practical application.     

The Great Therapists Program: Computerized Learning of Counseling Theories

The authors examine the effectiveness and subjective enjoyment of a computer-assisted instruction program to teach neophyte counselors classic methods of psychotherapy. Software was developed that called for beginning counseling students to simulate dialogue with a client via the computer's keyboard. Students were able to compare their responses with those of classic therapists. Provisions for a printed record of the session were made. Questionnaires, knowledge tests, and students' choices of counseling styles provided investigators with feedback on learning and level of positive response to the teaching method. As with most computer-assisted instruction studies, no evidence supporting increases in learning was obtained; however, free responses and ratings indicated that the students positively evaluated the program as a learning experience.     

FURTHER RESULTS ON THE STANDARD ERRORS OF ESTIMATE ASSOCIATED WITH ITEM-EXAMINEE SAMPLING PROCEDURES

Defining one observation as the score received by one examinee on one item, the results of this investigation suggest that, for a given test length, item-examinee sampling procedures having the same number of observation have, for all practical purposes, the same standard error in estimating μ but different standard errors in estimating σ. Additionally, the variance of the item difficulty indices (proportion answering the item correctly) was found to be a significant factor in accounting for differences in standard errors of estimating μ between normative distributions differing primarily in degree of skewness.