This paper describes the design and evaluation of the Organic chemistry Representational Competence Assessment (ORCA). Grounded in Kozma and Russell's representational competence framework, the ORCA measures the learner's ability to "interpret," "translate," and "use" six commonly used representations of molecular…

While many tools exist to assess student content knowledge, there are few that assess whether students display the critical listening skills necessary to interpret the quality of a speaker's message at the college level. The following research provides preliminary evidence for the internal consistency and factor structure of a tool, the…

Reading motivation is multidimensional and a critical contributor to students' reading comprehension skill. Its multidimensionality is problematic, as there is currently no consensus on the dimensions underlying reading motivation, which are being tested through a variety of instruments that lack statistical validation. Our goal was to discuss the…

The purpose of the present small-scale study was to investigate the factor structure of an adapted, 13-item subjective English cognitive load scale in a fully online learning context. To serve this purpose, adult online learners enrolled in a fully online graduate program completed the adapted English cognitive load scale at the end of an…

Constituting a metacognitive strategy, system competence or systems thinking can only assume its assigned key function as a basic concept for the school subject of geography in Germany after a theoretical and empirical foundation has been established. A measurement instrument is required which is suitable both for supporting students and for the…

This study was conducted to create a reliable and valid low- to medium-inference, multidimensional measure of instructor clarity from seminal work across several academic fields. Five hundred and sixty six students responded to an initial pool of 87 items and were split into two samples to investigate the factor structure of the new measurement…

The Reflective Functioning Scale (RFS) was developed to assess individual differences in the ability to mentalize attachment relationships. The RFS assesses mentalization from transcripts of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). A global score is given by trained coders on an 11-point scale ranging from antireflective to exceptionally reflective.…

The relationship between student reported achievements (SRA) and student ratings of their corresponding course and teacher was investigated, from responses to the Instructor and Course Evaluation Questionnaire. The SRA consisted of 10 commonly accepted concepts of cognitive and individual development; their average was used as a measure of…

The scores of handicapped students taking tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the Graduate Record Examinations are flagged so that admissions officers will be aware that they were achieved under special circumstances. A series of studies was initiated to determine whether special administrations of such tests are comparable to…