Ego depletion negatively affects knowledge retrieval in secondary school students

In the present study, we tested the assumption that performance in a knowledge retrieval test would be lower in secondary school students with temporarily depleted self-control strength (n = 53) compared to secondary school students with temporarily available self-control strength (n = 56). After manipulating self-control strength, students were instructed to memorise the names and the functions of the human eye and to recall as many names and functions as possible following a one-min distraction task. The results supported our assumptions, as students with depleted self-control strength performed significantly worse in the knowledge retrieval task compared to students whose self-control strength had not been temporarily depleted. The results suggest that depleted self-control strength may negatively affect academic performance and hinder a successful academic career. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

A journey from the classroom to the world of educational reform: a study of three Korean teachers’ practitioner inquiry

This article explores three Korean teachers’ experiences of carrying out practitioner inquiry as a means of providing meaningful teaching under the test-centred schooling regime in Korea. Practitioner inquiry is a concept that includes multiple genres of educational research such as action research, teacher research, and self-study that aim to change practitioners’ individual practice and, ultimately, the schooling in a society. Based on the analysis of qualitative data, the researcher found that teachers developed their knowledge and expertise in their specific areas of interest and developed strong motivations for transforming the education system. However, their inquiry was limited in practice due to the imposition of test preparation and a prescribed national curriculum. As a result, greater collaboration among practitioners, which not just involves teachers, but wider entities such as administrators, policy makers, and researchers, is required to challenge the current unjust system.     

Exploring Self-Efficacy among Entry-Level and Advanced BSW Students

This study compared a sample of entry-level and advanced BSW students, who completed pretest and posttest self-efficacy measures, to assess their level of confidence in performing social work tasks after 15 weeks of instruction. By the end of the semester, only advanced students made significant gains in self-efficacy beliefs, and they showed a significantly higher self-efficacy belief than entry-level students. Results suggest that increased mastery experiences, as found in the advanced social work curriculum, may help students develop confidence in their ability to practice as professional social workers.     

The impact of support services on students’ test anxiety and/or their ability to submit assignments: a focus on vision impairment and intellectual disability

This study investigated the influence of the support services on the test anxiety of students and/or their ability to submit assignments in each of the two disability groups, those with vision impairment and those with intellectual disability, who were placed in specialist and mainstream educational settings in South Australia. Interviews were conducted with 14 students with vision impairment and 9 students with intellectual disability, as well as a total of 10 parents and 8 teachers. The findings unfolded that the support services were found to influence positively the test anxiety experienced by students with vision impairment and/or their ability to submit assignments, but appeared to help students with intellectual disability to a much smaller extent. These findings have implications for mainstream teachers and school support staff working with students with vision impairment and those with intellectual disability, to determine what type and kind of support works for these students and helps them to alleviate their test anxieties.     

Measuring scientific reasoning – a review of test instruments

Education systems increasingly emphasize the importance of scientific reasoning skills such as generating hypotheses and evaluating evidence. Despite this importance, we do not know which tests of scientific reasoning exist, which skills they emphasize, how they conceptualize scientific reasoning, and how well they are evaluated. Therefore, this article reviews 38 scientific reasoning tests. They used to primarily consist of multiple-choice questions, but since then have become more diverse, even including tests that automatically analyse virtual experiments. Furthermore, this review revealed that the tests focus on the skills of generating hypotheses, generating evidence, evaluating evidence, and drawing conclusions. Additionally, conceptualizations of scientific reasoning have moved towards a domain-specific set of different but coordinated skills over the years. Finally, concluding from gaps in test evaluation, a future focus should be on testing theoretical assumptions, comparing different scientific reasoning tests, and how relevant test results are in predicting criterion variables like academic performance.     

The relationship of deep and surface study approaches on factual and applied test‐bank multiple‐choice question performance

With the advent of online test banks and large introductory classes, instructors have often turned to textbook publisher‐generated multiple‐choice question (MCQ) exams in their courses. Multiple‐choice questions are often divided into categories of factual or applied, thereby implicating levels of cognitive processing. This investigation examined the influence student study approaches have on performance of shallow compared to deep, cognitive process outcomes measured by scores on factual versus application MCQ test bank questions respectively. Fifty‐six introduction to psychology students, aged 18–52 years, completed a modified version of the Revised Two‐Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R‐SPQ‐2F) to access deep or surface study approaches. Mid‐term and final exam MCQ were equally divided between factual and application questions from the textbook publisher test bank. Overall, students performed significantly better on factual MCQ, with older students achieving higher factual and applied scores. Results suggest younger students tend to use a surface approach to study, with reproduction of what was taught to meet minimum requirements. With age statistically controlled, analyses demonstrated that the surface learning approach negatively impacts MCQ performance on questions categorised as factual and applied more than a deep learning approach benefits MCQ performance.     

当前高考命题改革首要关注的若干问题研究

高考命题万众瞩目、影响深刻。在高考命题体制形成多元化的格局下,命题质量管理日益重要。研究表明,我国高考命题仍然存在许多问题,比如缺乏国家教育考试命题质量标准;高考命题不够重视正确的教育导向;高考命题缺乏具体、明确和完整的科目考试标准;高考题目编写或题型设计存在一些非科学倾向、不良性题目;等等。为提高我国高考的命题质量,维护高考的科学性和公平性,当前高考改革首要关注高考命题基本制度建设、命题质量标准建设、科目考试标准建设、命题质量监控机制建设以及命题资源、命题人员与命题审核评价专家队伍等方面的建设。     

英语多模态听力测试的现状与展望

多模态听力测试在我国尚处于起步阶段,目前的相关研究主要集中在视听材料在教学中的应用,为了适应外语教学理念的转变和真实交际的需要,在传统纯听力测试基础上融入视频信息将更完整地还原多模态意义构建的过程,因此对多模态听力测试的研究势必深入开展。本文在总结了国内外多模态听力测试的研究现状后,提出了多模态听力测试进一步发展的方向。     

不发火混凝土的配制技术

文章介绍了不发火混凝土的配制技术,从材料的选择、配合比设计及施工检测等方面加以阐述,为工业的易燃、易爆环境安全运营提供了重要保证。     

低速货车驾驶室振动传递特性试验研究

针对某型号低速货车在使用过程中驾驶室振动过大的问题,进行了驾驶室振动传递特性试验,应用相关分析法确定引起驾驶室振动过大的原因,为后期改进提供试验依据。