This article provides a process to carefully evaluate the suitability of a content domain for which diagnostic classification models (DCMs) could be applicable and then optimized steps for constructing a test blueprint for applying DCMs and a real-life example illustrating this process. The content domains were carefully evaluated using a set of…

Science education is crucial for fostering knowledge across academic disciplines. Past efforts to enhance science achievement at the elementary level have explored various instructional strategies. Among these, the Understanding by Design (UbD) model has shown notable potential in improving science achievement outcomes compared to traditional…

Multiple choice questions are traditionally expensive to produce. Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have led to fine-tuned LLMs that generate questions competitive with human-authored questions. However, the relative capabilities of ChatGPT-family models have not yet been established for this task. We present a carefully-controlled…

The "drawing-to-learn" pedagogical approach has gained considerable attention and evidence supporting its efficacy for facilitating learning. However, little theoretical or empirical research has addressed issues regarding collaborative drawing-to-learn. In this study, we developed collaborative drawing-to-learn activities and three…

This study aimed to examine authentic models of science assessment in assessing the competence of senior high school students who met the criteria of validity, practicality, and effectiveness. The methodology applied was an evaluation and developmental research. Research was conducted in senior high school in accordance with the needs of the…

To succeed in the information age, students need to learn to communicate their understanding of complex topics effectively. This is reflected in both educational standards and standardized tests. To improve their writing ability for highly structured domains like scientific explanations, students need feedback that accurately reflects the…

Learning about the Earth through geoscience education is important in order to make informed decisions about the future of the Earth. The aim of this study is to examine students' conceptual development on geoscience subjects based on inquiry-based learning. 7th grade students participated in this study. The researcher prepared lesson plans and…

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) delineate three interrelated dimensions that describe what students should know and how they should engage in science learning. These present significant challenges for assessment because traditional assessments may not be able to capture the ways in which students engage with content. Science…

This work is the fourth of a series of papers applying multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) to widely used physics conceptual assessments. This study applies MIRT analysis using both exploratory and confirmatory methods to the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment (BEMA) to explore the assessment's structure and to determine a…

Background: Formative assessments are needed to enable monitoring how student knowledge develops throughout a unit. Constructed response items which require learners to formulate their own free-text responses are well suited for testing their active knowledge. However, assessing such constructed responses in an automated fashion is a complex task…

This article presents a latent class model for multilevel data to identify latent subgroups and estimate heterogeneous treatment effects. Unlike sequential approaches that partition data first and then estimate average treatment effects (ATEs) within classes, we employ a Bayesian procedure to jointly estimate mixing probability, selection, and…

Affective factors such as the achievement emotions are considered critical for students' academic performance in STEM degree programmes and careers. In this study, a reciprocal causation model was tested between two affective factors: enjoyment and anxiety, and organic chemistry course performance. Each variable was measured three times in four…

Science academic achievement is a key construct for examining students' science learning outcomes. While international comparative assessments like TIMSS and PISA have shown high science achievement of Korean middle school students, there is a lack of comprehensive investigation of factors influencing the achievement using domestic data.…

Large scale international assessments depend on invariance of measurement across countries. An important consideration when observing cross-national differential item functioning (DIF) is whether the DIF actually reflects a source of bias, or might instead be a methodological artifact reflecting item response theory (IRT) model misspecification.…

Knowledge of embryology is foundational for understanding normal anatomy and birth defects, yet, embryology is a notoriously difficult subject for medical students. Embryonic lateral folding in particular is one of the most challenging concepts in embryology. Highly effective teaching methods that promote active engagement with dynamic,…