Analysis of self-regulated learning processing using statistical models for count data

Researchers often use measures of the frequency of self-regulated learning (SRL; Zimmerman, American Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 166–183, 2000) processing as a predictor of learning gains. These frequency data, which are really counts of SRL processing events, are often non-normally distributed, and the accurate analysis of these data requires the use of specialized statistical models. In this study, we demonstrate how to implement and interpret count statistical models in path and latent profile analyses to investigate the role of SRL as a mediator of the relation between pretest and posttest conceptual understanding. Our findings from a sample of 170 college students using a computer to learn about the circulatory system show that SRL does mediate the aforementioned relation, and that count models are a more accurate representation of SRL processing data than standard analysis models based on ordinary least squares estimation. The results of our path analyses revealed which specific SRL processes were related to learning, above and beyond the effect of prior knowledge. Our latent profile analysis revealed two groups of participants, indicative of Brophy’s (2004) model of schematic and aschematic learners. We conclude with implications and future directions for basic and applied SRL research.     

How Prepared Are MSW Graduates for Doctoral Research? Views of PhD Research Faculty

ABSTRACT

This national survey of PhD faculty assessed the research preparation of entering doctoral social work students on a wide range of research knowledge and related skills. The prior literature shows that PhD programs repeat much BSW and MSW research course content. This study shows that the trend continues and has perhaps widened. PhD research faculty report that the typical entering PhD student displayed solid conceptual, ethics, and writing skills but lesser preparation for conducting quantitative and qualitative research, including methods related to understanding evidence-based practice. The research expectations of responding PhD faculty were low, reflecting limited retention and little production of research among typical entering doctoral students. These findings raise the issue of how effectively the social work profession prepares students for research and for future PhD education.     

Student formation in higher education: teachers’ approaches matter

Teaching in higher education encompasses more than merely helping students develop knowledge and skills. It entails engaging students in their own formation as persons, professionals and citizens. From this perspective, this article investigates how approaches to teaching academic writing contribute to formation. By analysing a case from initial teacher education in Norway, we identify and examine one teacher educator’s beliefs about writing and his approaches to teaching writing. Theoretical framework rests on six discourses of writing developed by Roz Ivani? and on the formative possibilities and constraints embedded in these different literacy discourses. Thus, we provide students’ experien-ces with this teacher’s approaches and discuss what formation his approaches seem to have initiated. The findings point to the need for more critical reflection on the formative impact of teaching approaches in higher education more generally.     

The influence of context-reinforcer associations on instrumental performance

In each of two experiments, rats were trained to press the lever in a Skinner box, food reinforcement being available on a variable-interval 60-sec schedule (VI 60). There followed an “exposure phase” for which the levers were removed from the boxes, and then a final test with the levers replaced to assess the effects of the intervening treatment on instrumental responding. Experiment 1 showed that simple exposure to the box reduced the vigor of instrumental performance in comparison with a condition in which food was made available during the exposure phase. Animals which received no exposure treatment also showed a relatively high rate of response. Experiment 2 demonstrated that an exposure treatment in which the occurrence of food is signaled by a light stimulus also leads to a decline in instrumental responding. These results are held to support the notion that associations between the context and the reinforcer serve to energize appetitive instrumental behavior.     

Device Comparability of Tablets and Computers for Assessment Purposes

The definition of what it means to take a test online continues to evolve with the inclusion of a broader range of item types and a wide array of devices used by students to access test content. To assure the validity and reliability of test scores for all students, device comparability research should be conducted to evaluate the impact of testing device on student test performance. The current study looked at the comparability of test scores across tablets and computers for high school students in three commonly assessed content areas and for a variety of different item types. Results indicate no statistically significant differences across device type for any content area or item type. Student survey results suggest that students may have a preference for taking tests on devices with which they have more experience, but that even limited exposure to tablets in this study increased positive responses for testing on tablets.     

Thinking about the future because of the past: young children's knowledge about the causes of worry and preventative decisions

Two studies investigated 3- to 6-year-olds' and adults' (N= 128) knowledge about emotions and behaviors caused by thinking about the future because of the past. Participants listened to stories featuring characters that experienced negative events, and then, many days later, felt worried or changed their behaviors upon seeing an entity associated with the prior harm. Results revealed a significant increase between 3 and 5 years in the frequency that participants explained characters' reactions as caused by anticipating the reoccurrence of a negative past event. Across age, females more often marked future events as uncertain, as well as predicted that people in ambiguous risk situations would feel worried due to past-to-future connections.     

Consistently inconsistent: An examination of the variability in the identification of emotional disturbance

The federal definition of emotional disturbance (ED) has been heavily criticized as vaguely defined and poorly operationalized yet there has not been a formal analysis of the reliability of the ED criteria. This study examined the reliability of the federal criteria for a special education designation of ED. A total of 179 school psychologists reviewed a mock special education report, made an eligibility determination, and provided information about their eligibility decision. In all, 56 participants found the student met ED eligibility criteria using 16 different combinations of the five criteria. Krippendorff’s α, a statistic preferred for content analysis, was calculated as a measure of criterion reliability. Results indicated extremely poor reliability (α = 0.2011). These findings demonstrate the importance of redefining the existing criteria.