Combinatorial abilities are fundamental to experimental thinking. The aim of this work was to design didactic objects that will stimulate preschoolers' experimental thinking and to study young children's thinking in relation to these objects. Six heuristic rules for the design of didactic objects are specified, and the responses of 623 children…

For RCTs of education interventions, it is often of interest to estimate associations between student and mediating teacher practice outcomes, to examine the extent to which the study's conceptual model is supported by the data, and to identify specific mediators that are most associated with student learning. This article develops statistical…

Computerized classification testing (CCT) is an approach to designing tests with intelligent algorithms, similar to adaptive testing, but specifically designed for the purpose of classifying examinees into categories such as "pass" and "fail." Like adaptive testing for point estimation of ability, the key component is the…

This study addresses the central question "How do evaluators' background characteristics relate to their evaluation design choices?" Evaluators were provided with a fictitious description of a school-based program and asked to design an evaluation of that program. Relevant background characteristics such as level of experience,…

Theories accounting for the development of analogical reasoning tend to emphasize either the centrality of relational knowledge accretion or changes in information processing capability. Simulations in LISA (Hummel & Holyoak, 1997, 2003), a neurally inspired computer model of analogical reasoning, allow us to explore how these factors may…

Twenty-one convenience sample student volunteers aged between 14-15 years worked in pairs (and one group of three) with two randomly allocated high quality conceptual (molecular level) and operational (mimicking wet labs) simulations. The volunteers were told they had five minutes to play, repeat, review, restart or stop the simulation, which in…

Patient identification (ID) errors occurring during the medication administration process can be fatal. The aim of this study is to determine whether differences in nurses' behaviors and visual scanning patterns during the medication administration process influence their capacities to identify patient ID errors. Nurse participants (n = 20)…

Individuals of all ages extract structure from the sequences of patterns they encounter in their environment, an ability that is at the very heart of cognition. Exactly what underlies this ability has been the subject of much debate over the years. A novel mechanism, implicit chunk recognition (ICR), is proposed for sequence segmentation and chunk…

Student models are crucial components in personalised distance learning environments. These models usually include individual characteristics such as the level of knowledge of a given topic, the learning style or the type of personality, the level of participation and so on. However, when the focus is on group activities, these learning…

The purpose of this article is to present two very active applied modeling projects that were successfully implemented in a first semester calculus course at Hollins University. The first project uses a logistic equation to model the spread of a new disease such as swine flu. The second project is a human take on the popular article "Do Dogs Know…

Described is an innovative approach currently being used to inspire group work, specifically a medical team training model, referred to as The Simulation Model, which includes as its major components: (1) Prior Training in Group Work of Medical Team Members; (2) Simulation in Teams or Groups; (3) Multidisciplinary Teamwork; (4) Team Leader…

In high-stakes selection among candidates with considerable domain-specific knowledge and experience, investigations of whether high-fidelity simulations (assessment centers; ACs) have incremental validity over low-fidelity simulations (situational judgment tests; SJTs) are lacking. Therefore, this article integrates research on the validity of…

The one-parameter logistic model with ability-based guessing (1PL-AG) has been recently developed to account for effect of ability on guessing behavior in multiple-choice items. In this study, the authors developed algorithms for computerized classification testing under the 1PL-AG and conducted a series of simulations to evaluate their…

Despite the growing availability and popularity of simulations and other active teaching techniques, many instructors may be deterred from using simulations because of the potentially high costs involved. Instructors could spend a preponderance of their time and resources developing and executing simulations, but such an approach is not necessary.…

Social scientists have long worked to replicate real-world phenomena in their research and teaching environments. Unlike our biophysical science colleagues, we are faced with an area of study that is not governed by the laws of physics and other more predictable relationships. As a result, social scientists, and international studies scholars more…