It has been advocated that pedagogical content knowledge as well as subject matter knowledge are important for improving classroom instructions. To develop pedagogical content knowledge, it is argued that understanding of students' mental representations of concepts is deemed necessary. Yet assessing and comparing mental model of each individual…

This report makes recommendations for the development of middle-school assessment in mathematics, based on a synthesis of scientific findings in cognitive psychology and mathematics education. The focus is on background research, rather than test specifications or example tasks. Readers interested in early development and pilot efforts associated…

Consider test data, a specified set of dichotomous skills measured by the test, and an IRT cognitive diagnosis model (ICDM). Statistical estimation of the data set using the ICDM can provide examinee estimates of mastery for these skills, referred to generally as attributes. With such detailed information about each examinee, future instruction…

This qualitative research studied patterns of student self-talk (thought) in a sixth-grade mathematics classroom. The research sought greater understanding of the mental labels and operative cognitive structures upon which students rely in order to participate in schoolwork. Twenty-four students were given "math journals" and asked to…

In response to practical questions about bilingual student needs, this paper addresses three issues. First, it describes a conceptual framework identified as "educational cognitive style" whereby the characteristics of bilingual learners and the modes of understanding of an educational task can be modeled and therefore matched. Second, it…

This paper gives a description of a videotape used with inservice teachers as a model for demonstrating the clinical interviewing technique. It describes what is seen on the tape, as well as the child's and interviewer's comments and reactions. It also describes the plan and purpose of the interviewer's questions and outlines the process that…

This volume contains 10 reports of research designed to study the mind of the child and the effects of sequence and process of learning on elementary school children and their writing. Specific purposes, procedures, conclusions, and needed further research are indicated for three studies on the process of written composition, four studies on…

This book addresses the link between student learning of mathematics, the teaching method adopted in the mathematics classroom, and the assessment procedures used to determine and measure student knowledge. Fifteen chapters address issues that include a review of different models of mathematics learning and assessment practices, three contrasting…

The paper discusses an experiment in which regression analysis was used to examine predictors of information retention following a college economics course. It was hypothesized that students taught in small classes with self-instructional materials would place a higher value on basic economic concepts and retain these concepts longer than students…