Examiner scoring of ambiguous WISC-R responses

Fabricated test protocols were used to study how effectively examiners agree in scoring ambiguous WISC-R responses. Clinical and school psychologists (N = 62) and graduate students (N = 48) scored WISC-R Similarities, Comprehension, and Vocabulary responses obtained in a group administration procedure. From over 15,000 responses obtained, only unusual, atypical, or ambiguous responses were selected; 726 responses were scored, with 11 groups of 10 raters each scoring 66 responses. Considerable scoring disagreement occurred. Unanimous agreement (within each group of 10 raters) was found on only 13% of the responses, while 80% of the raters agreed on 44% of the responses. Rates of scoring agreement were not related to level of rater experience, but were related to specific subtests. Higher rates of agreement were found on the Similarities and Comprehension subtests than on the Vocabulary subtest for both experienced and inexperienced raters. The results suggest that even with the improved WISC-R manual, scoring remains a difficult and challenging task.     

Getting sloshed in outer space

We document some basic facts about how liquids behave in the low gravity of outer space and how this poses challenges to space scientists and engineers who need to design and test systems that handle fluids in outer space while working in the 1-g environment on Earth. N Ananthkrishnan is Director, Coral Digital Technologies (P) Ltd, a Bangalore-based company working in the area of multidisciplinary simulation and system integration of aerospace, naval and surface vehicles, and in the design and development of autonomous unmanned/micro air vehicles.     

How Secondary Mathematics Preservice Teachers Grapple with Enacting Culturally Responsive Practices at Placement Sites

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - Many scholars call for teacher educators to provide experiences that can lead prospective teachers to adopt and implement culturally...     

Effects of Academic Discipline and Teaching Goals in Predicting Grading Beliefs Among Undergraduate Teaching Faculty

Prior research reveals that differential grading patterns exist among the academic disciplines. One explanation may lie in discipline-related differences in teaching goals and beliefs about the meaning grades should convey. This study examined the effects of academic discipline and teaching goals on grading beliefs. A national sample (n = 442) of undergraduate teaching faculty provided responded to a survey measuring the importance of various teaching goals and orientations toward norm-referenced or criterion-referenced grading (Frame of Reference), and beliefs about using grades to sort and select students on the basis of achievement (Gatekeeping). Both teaching goals and academic discipline were significantly related to gatekeeping beliefs, but not to beliefs about frames of reference for grading. Higher gatekeeping scores were associated with faculty in the paradigmatic fields and those who emphasized analytic skills and time management. Lower gatekeeping scores were associated with the preparadigmatic disciplines and teaching goals of synthesis and integration and developing respect for others. Faculty who identified their primary teaching role as subject matter oriented were more gatekeeping than those who identified themselves primarily as being student/personal development oriented.     

Jordanian and Malaysian science teachers' prominent perceived professional needs: A comparison

The prominent perceived professional needs of 365 Jordanian and 1,162 Malaysian secondary-level science teachers were examined using the Science Teacher Inventory of Need. These were compared across subgroups of the respective samples and across the two samples. The Jordanian science teachers' needs were in the areas of delivering science instruction, managing science instruction, administering science instructional facilities and equipment, and improving one's competence as a science teacher. The Malaysian science teachers' needs came from those four areas plus the area specifying objectives for science instruction. Needs from the first four areas were shared across the two samples. These needs were similar to ones observed in U.S. samples. The reason for the similarities is questioned.     

Educational concerns of Arabic speaking migrants from Sudan and Iraq to Melbourne: Expectations on migrant parents in Australia

Families immigrating to Australia face many challenges integrating into the educational system, including language barriers and interrupted schooling. We have qualitatively evaluated the educational concerns of Arabic migrants from Sudan and Iraq to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, a city that receives a high percentage of Australia's immigrants. Using an interactive paradigm incorporating focus group discussions for thematic analysis, we concluded that the parents’ frame of reference for education was a more didactic style of learning. Parents viewed education as an essential part of the way forward for their children in Australia. However, it was stressful for them to try to cope with a new host nation's expectation of their involvement in their children's education while at the same time dealing with a language barrier. Professionals should look to empower parents with structural information about the key elements of the educational curriculum with minimal reliance on written technical language and match their expectations of parental involvement to the situation of the parents.     

Mathematical thinking in second-grade children with different forms of LD

Based on their performance on a standardized achievement test, second-grade children (N = 49) were classified as having mathematics difficulties with normal reading achievement (MD only), both mathematics and reading difficulties (MD/RD), reading difficulties with normal mathematics achievement (RD only) and normal mathematics and reading achievement (NA). Each child was given a series of tasks so that we might assess their thinking across four areas of mathematics: number facts, story problems, place value, and written calculation. Children with MD/RD performed significantly worse than NA children in most areas of mathematical thinking, whereas children with MD only performed worse than NA children only on complex story problems. The MD-only group outperformed the MD/RD group on story problems and written calculation. No significant differences were found between the RD-only and NA groups on any of the tasks. The results suggested that among children with mathematics difficulties, the MD/RD subgroup is distinct from the MD-only subgroup, with the former being characterized by pervasive deficiencies in mathematical thinking and the latter by more specific deficits in problem solving.