Increasing use of item pools in large-scale educational assessments calls for an appropriate scaling procedure to achieve a common metric among field-tested items. The present study examines scaling procedures for developing a new item pool under a spiraled block linking design. The three scaling procedures are considered: (a) concurrent…

A series of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets were developed to simulate the process of separation optimization under isocratic and simple gradient conditions. The optimization procedure is performed in a stepwise fashion using simple macros for an automatic application of this approach. The proposed optimization approach involves modeling of the peak…

The item-position effect describes how an item's position within a test, that is, the number of previous completed items, affects the response to this item. Previously, this effect was represented by constraints reflecting simple courses, for example, a linear increase. Due to the inflexibility of these representations our aim was to examine…

Physical therapy students are frequently ill-prepared to practice in the dynamic healthcare environment immediately after graduation. Implementing other teaching modalities may help to better prepare physical therapy graduates. Medical student and nursing education have effectively used simulation to help prepare students effectively for clinical…

Background: A large body of earlier research has focused on studying children's self-regulation (SR) skills and frustration with different methods. However, considerably less attention has been given to hearing children's own voice. The current study sought to demonstrate children's own comprehension and highlight it as a valuable and unique…

Taking place within the Science Through Technology-Enhanced Play (STEP) design-based research project, this paper describes how first- and second-grade students use their bodies to imaginatively become microscopic particles inside of a collaborative simulation of state change (e.g., liquid to gas) and within two distinct play spaces: a…

We examined the feasibility and results of a multilevel multidimensional nominal response model (ML-MNRM) for measuring both substantive constructs and extreme response style (ERS) across countries. The ML-MNRM considers within-country clustering while allowing overall item slopes to vary across items and examination of whether certain items were…

This short review demonstrates how the use of American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) case materials, both throughout intercollegiate competitions and in academic courses, can engage and invigorate students while teaching them crucial skills in a way that few other programs or activities can do. The AMTA case provided for the 2017-2018 academic…

This review examines the Model United Nations (MUN) program at the collegiate level and provides useful information for advisors that are leading MUN for the first time.

I explored the perceived effectiveness of Australian undergraduate degree programs in preparing students for contemporary work. I examined student perceptions of program development of work-related knowledge and skills in Australia between 2013 and 2016 using national (N = 215,161) and institutional (N = 4,934) data. Variations in perceptions were…

In peer nomination research, individuals who do not provide nominations (nonparticipants) are often included on rosters as potential nominees. This can present ethical questions regarding informed consent, but psychometric consequences of excluding nonparticipants from rosters are unknown. In this investigation, Study 1 simulated both random and…

This article provides a review of relevant literature and theoretical frameworks that support the inclusion of experiential learning in higher education programs. A brief discussion of experiential learning types is included. Experiential learning or experiential education refers to learning through experience, whether integrated in curricula or…

Although content validity--how well each item of an instrument represents the construct being measured--is foundational in the development of an instrument, statistical validity is also important to the decisions that are made based on the instrument. The primary purpose of this study is to demonstrate how simulation studies can be used to assist…

Many physical education (PE) teachers have been challenged by the shift from teaching in primarily ethnic homogenous contexts to multi-ethnic (ME) classes. Teachers in secondary schools often experience difficulty in class management in such classes. This difficulty may limit their ability to create a positive student--teacher relationship and may…

This study examined whether a video illustration of a complex phenomenon promoted learner interest, perceived comprehensibility, and better learning in online- and classroom-based contexts. In the first study, undergraduate participants (N = 101) viewed learning materials which contained a video only, a video and textual explanation, or a textual…