Methodological quandaries in studying process and outcomes in peer assessment

Peer assessment is very various in its implementation. Six studies of peer assessment are reviewed, four of them in higher education. A literature review is followed by five empirical studies. Strengths and weaknesses of each study are considered and issues are raised. Variables in peer assessment needing further exploration are extricated – in sample definition, specification of type of peer assessment, organisational nature of the intervention, and the measures which are used to evaluate change. It is suggested that further experimental and quasi-experimental studies are necessary to contrast one or two of these variables at a time.     

Scaling: An ITEMS Module

Scaling is the process of constructing a score scale that associates numbers or other ordered indicators with the performance of examinees. Scaling typically is conducted to aid users in interpreting test results. This module describes different types of raw scores and scale scores, illustrates how to incorporate various sources of information into a score scale, and introduces vertical scaling and its related designs and methodologies as a special type of scaling. After completion of this module, the reader should be able to understand the relationship between various types of raw scores, understand the relationship between raw scores and scale scores, construct a scale with desired properties, evaluate an existing score scale, understand how content and standards information are built into a scale, and understand how vertical scales are developed and used in practice.     

USING FOCUS GROUPS AS AN EDUCATIONAL METHODOLOGY: DECONSTRUCTING STEREOTYPES AND SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE MISCONCEPTIONS CONCERNING AGING AND OLDER ADULTS

During the coming years the number of older adults will increase dramatically, which will require a corresponding increase in the number of social workers who have accurate knowledge of this population. This article reports the impact focus groups with older adults and with service providers who work with older adults and their families have on baccalaureate social work (BSW) students. We find that BSW students exposed to focus groups have their negative attitudes about older adults and service providers deconstructed and replaced with more positive and accurate information about older adults. When students' misconceptions about older adults are confronted, they become more interested in choosing geriatric social work as a career option.     

Rediscovering the Role of Interscholastic Sports

The goals of today's school athletic programs are vastly different from the original intentions of the administrators who established the first interscholastic athletic teams. For athletics to be anything more than a drain on school and taxpayer resources, these programs must undergo serious changes.