For valid decision making, it is essential to both the person being measured and the person or organization that is having the person measured that the observed scores adequately represent the underlying trait. This study deals with person-fit analysis of polytomous item scores to detect unusual patterns of sum scores on subsets of items. This…

After years at the periphery of the social sciences, simulation is now emerging as an important and widely used tool for understanding social phenomena. Through simulation, researchers can identify causal effects, specify critical parameter estimates, and clarify the state of the art with respect to what is understood about how processes evolve…

Wrap-up effects in reading have traditionally been thought to reflect increased processing associated with intra- and inter-clause integration (Just, M. A. & Carpenter, P. A. (1980). A theory of reading: From eye fixations to comprehension. "Psychological Review, 87"(4), 329-354; Rayner, K., Kambe, G., & Duffy, S. A. (2000). The effect of clause…

Because the power properties of traditional repeated measures and hierarchical multivariate linear models have not been clearly determined in the balanced design for longitudinal studies in the literature, the authors present a power comparison study of traditional repeated measures and hierarchical multivariate linear models under 3…

Building on the Kelley and Gulliksen versions of classical test theory, this article shows that a logistic model having only a single item parameter can account for varying item discrimination, as well as difficulty, by using item-test correlations to adjust incorrect-correct (0-1) item responses prior to an initial model fit. The fit occurs…

The authors aimed to incorporate learning into the cognitive assessment framework that exists for static assessment data. In order to accomplish this, they derive a common likelihood function for dynamic models and introduce Parameter Driven Process for Change + Cognitive Diagnosis Model (PDPC + CDM), a dynamic model which tracks learning…

Introduction: This study describes (a) process goals, (b) success factors, and (c) barriers for optimizing simulation-based learning environments within the simulation setting model developed by Dieckmann. Methods: Seven simulation educators of different experience levels were interviewed using the Critical Incident Technique. Results: (a) The…

The integration of technology in classrooms is rapidly emerging as a way to provide more educational opportunities for students. As virtual learning environments become more popular, evaluating the impact of this technology on student success is vital. "Exploring the Effectiveness of Online Education in K-12 Environments" combines…

Motivated by Gibbons et al.'s (Appl. Psychol. Meas. 31:4-19, "2007") full-information maximum marginal likelihood item bifactor analysis for polytomous data, and Rijmen, Vansteelandt, and De Boeck's (Psychometrika 73:167-182, "2008") work on constructing computationally efficient estimation algorithms for latent variable…

Using a two-step approach, Van Soest et al. (2010) recently questioned the pertinence of the conclusions drawn by Bootsma and Van Wieringen (1990) with respect to the visual regulation of an exemplary rapid interceptive action: the attacking forehand drive in table tennis. In the first step, they experimentally compared the movement behaviors of…

In a preceding case study, a process-focused demand-driven approach for organising flexible educational programmes in higher professional education (HPE) was developed. Operations management and instructional design contributed to designing a flexible educational model by means of discrete-event simulation. Educational experts validated the model…

A three-dimensional heat transfer model is built according to the rotor structure of an asynchronous motor, and three-dimensional temperature fields of the rotor under different working conditions, such as the unloaded, rated loaded and that with broken rotor bars, are studied based on the finite element numerical method and experiments. The…

This paper addresses the composite question of whether it is better in vocational education to allow students to design their own models and guide them while doing so, or to provide them with ready-made models. To answer this question we set up a design experiment in which students were asked to work on real-life assignments, guided by teachers in…

This study examines the interactions between problem solving and conceptual change in an elementary science class where students build system dynamic models as a form of problem representations. Through mostly qualitative findings, we illustrate the interplay of three emerging intervening conditions (epistemological belief, structural knowledge…

In the past decade, the Israeli Ministry of Social Affairs has been engaged in an ongoing effort to change the capacity of social service organizations and social workers across the country to use and create knowledge in order to achieve the best outcomes for the people they serve. Although there is an ever-growing mandate in Israel to demonstrate…