Improving the Measurement of Cognitive Skills Through Automated Conversations

Open-ended, short-answer questions, referred to as constructed responses (CR), allow students to express knowledge and skills through their own words. While CRs can reduce the likelihood of guessing correct answers, they also enable students to provide errant responses due to a lack of knowledge or a misunderstanding of the question. Conversation-based assessments (CBAs) require constructing responses to open-ended prompts (similar to CRs), but also leverage natural-language processing to provide adaptive follow-up prompts that target particular information. This work describes an investigation into potential benefits of CBAs as they are compared to a CR approach. Results from 632 middle schoolers indicate that, when compared to CRs, the CBA items allowed 41% of students to provide a more complete response and improve their score.     

独立成分分析在高校学生信息数据挖掘中的应用

由于独立成分分析方法的特点,使得该技术在数据挖掘、特征提取中表现出巨大的优势。在此,采用独立成分分析,从多种影响因素中挖掘出几个主要的独立指标,可以较为全面地评价学生的综合素质。     

Peer Assessment Learning Sessions (PALS): an innovative feedback technique for large engineering classes

This paper reports the development of innovative assessment sessions within two core technical courses in Civil Engineering at the University of Queensland. Peer Assessment Learning Sessions (PALS) facilitate a student's peer assessment of a colleague's problem-based learning assignment or tutorial within a ‘traditional’ whole-class setting, under guidance from the lecturer. The assessment is carried out against worked solutions, with a template marking scheme. Following the class, submissions are reviewed by the lecturer and marks moderated if required. In combination, the review and the PALS provide very clear indication where the class or individuals have misconceptions, and where knowledge is below required criteria. This enables the lecturer to provide an accurate synthesis of these points to the class. Students obtain summative feedback, individual formative feedback and whole-class formative feedback within a few days of submission. This significantly improves student's self-reflection and their review of class material. Feedback is very positive and demonstrated here through the presentation of anonymous survey results. PALS address the challenge of providing frequent, efficient and timely assessment for large classes of 100–200+students while simultaneously enabling and providing high quality formative feedback.     

The Impact of Research on Policy: A Case of Qualifications Reform

The relationship between research and policymaking has been discussed repeatedly. However, the debate tends to be in general, abstract terms or from a macroeconomic perspective with any examples described in a fairly cursory way. Despite the inherent complexity of the research-policy interface, analyses tend to homogenise ‘research’ and ‘policy’ as coherent entities with discussions often focusing on products (research and policies) rather than on the relationships between producers (researchers and policymakers). Here, we take one piece of research on qualifications that has influenced policy rhetoric over the last 5 years. We trace the career of the research from its production in the late 1990s in order to understand the conditions of its dormancy, re-emergence and use over the ensuing years. The paper serves to document the case, which is important in its own right, but also proposes a typology of ways in which research gets adopted and adapted into policy.     

How children living in poor areas of Dar Es Salaam,Tanzania perceive their own multiple intelligences

This study was carried out with 1,857 poor children from 17 schools, living in low-income areas of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. All children took the ‘Student Multiple Intelligences Profile’ (SMIP) questionnaire as part of a bigger project that gathered data around concepts and beliefs of talent. This paper sets out two aims, first to investigate the structural representation of the self perceived multiple intelligences for this set of children and second to discuss how the best fit model might reflect children’s culture and their school experiences. After carrying out exploratory factor analysis, a four factor first order model was shown to have a good fit. A higher order factor solution was investigated owing to the correlation of two latent constructs. In order to provide some insight into the multiple intelligences construct the relationship between the SMIP items, student test outcomes and attitudes to learning were examined. The item groupings were explored through African cultural beliefs around intelligences indigenous to African communities.     

四六级考试及大班授课带来的潜在心理影响--试析落后地区的大学公共外语教学问题

运用教育心理及社会心理理论分析大学公外四六级考试及大班授课对教育水平落后地区学生的消极影响:四、六级考试不能有效地激发学习积极性,会增加学习者的衰减性焦虑,降低自我效能感,通过过度理由效应使动机外化;大班授课因社会作用力分散导致个人所受教学影响减弱,也因难以密切师生关系不能激发学习热情,又因不能满足不同学习风格需要而使学习满意度降低.     

The existence and impact of floor effects for low-performing PISA participants

ABSTRACT

Modern international studies of educational achievement have grown in terms of participating educational systems. Accompanying this development is an increase in heterogeneity, as more and different kinds of educational systems take part. This growth has been particularly pronounced among low-performing, less economically developed systems. Although studies such as PISA have made modifications to account for increased diversity, the degree to which international assessments serve educational systems at the lower ends of the achievement continuum is understudied. We used modified Wright maps and PISA’s definition of proficiency to evaluate the fitness of PISA, especially among low performers. Our findings suggest that there is mismatch between some populations and PISA. Results from a simulation show that such disparities produced biased achievement estimates and correlations with policy relevant variables. Projected PISA growth and new instantiations of PISA, particularly geared toward developing educational systems, make these findings timely and especially relevant.     

AHP法在高校财政支出绩效评价中的应用

在以往对高校财政支出的相关评价中,指标权重值的确定一般都带有较强的主观性。在界定高校财政支出绩效定义及其评价指标的基础上,通过AHP法来计算出各个评价指标的权重值,则可以有效避免评价过程中确定指标权重值的主观性,从而提高评价准确性。该方法的引入有利于正确引导高校财政投资渠道、合理分配有限的资金以及提高财务支出效益。     

荆州市护城河水体污染及生物修复

首先,对荆州市护城河水体进行了取样分析与水质评价,结果表明:溶解氧浓度、高锰酸盐指数接近国家Ⅳ类水标准限值,NH3-N和5日生化需氧量指标超过Ⅴ类水标准限值,总体污染严重。最后,提出了以生物修复为主的水污染治理措施。     

Psychometric defensibility of the Intervention Selection Profile‐Social Skills (ISP‐SS) with students at risk for behavioral concerns

The purpose of the current study was to examine the validity and diagnostic accuracy of the Intervention Selection Profile—Social Skills (ISP‐SS), a brief social skills assessment tool intended for use with students in need of Tier 2 intervention. Participants included 160 elementary and middle school students who had been identified through universal screening as at risk for behavioral concerns. Teacher participants ( n = 71) rated each of these students using both the ISP‐SS and the Social Skills Improvement System—Rating Scales (SSiS‐RS), with the latter measure serving as the criterion within validity and diagnostic accuracy analyses. Confirmatory factor analysis supported ISP‐SS structural validity, indicating ISP‐SS items broadly conformed to a single “Social Skills” factor. Follow‐up analyses suggested ISP‐SS broad scale scores demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability, with hierarchical omega coefficient equal to 0.86. Correlational analyses supported the concurrent validity of ISP‐SS items, finding each ISP‐SS item to be moderately or highly related to its corresponding SSiS‐RS subscale. Finally, analyses indicated three of the seven ISP‐SS items that demonstrated sufficient diagnostic accuracy; however, findings suggest additional revisions are needed if the ISP‐SS is to be appropriate for use in schools. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.