Introduction of new teaching strategies often expands the expectations for student learning, creating a parallel need to redefine how teachers collect the evidence that assures both them and their students that these expectations are in fact being met. The default assessment strategy of the typical large, introductory, college-level science…

Unfolding response models, a class of item response theory (IRT) models that assume a unimodal item response function (IRF), are often used for the measurement of attitudes. Verhelst and Verstralen (1993)and Andrich and Luo (1993) independently developed unfolding response models by relating the observed responses to a more common monotone IRT…

In this paper, the authors depict performance ethnography as having multiple ethical dimensions and multiple implications for the relationships between the evaluator and program participants. They have found performance ethnography to be essentially an intimate form of representation that has tremendous implications for the ownership of…

It is no secret that public education is losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the American public. When one of the nation's top syndicated talk-radio hosts repeatedly equates public schooling with child abuse and no outcry ensues, denial is no longer a viable option. Facts don't matter when the goal is to entertain rather than to inform.…

This study investigated the effects of learning materials with different interaction levels on achievement and motivational perceptions of college students in a web-based learning environment with a posttest only experimental design. There were three groups in this study: control group, reactive interaction group, and proactive interaction group.…

Perceptual and cognitive biases are significant factors influencing ethical judgment, conduct, and learning. These biases inhibit the quality of students' personal engagement, inquiry, and learning on cases and exercises assigned in business ethics courses. The purpose of this article is to describe certain common biases involved in the perception…

Business internships serve as a first step to permanent employment, providing opportunities for students to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities learned in the classroom. The internship experience also allows students to develop and enhance their communication skills as they respond to the personalities and behaviors of their…

Who are New England's future college students? What is the shape of the region's future educated workforce? The answers to these questions may be found in part in the region's high schools where each year, 150,000 or so graduating seniors decide whether and where to go to college. It's a group most states do not consult often enough as they forge…

There is growing evidence that a functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) moderates the impact of negative life events (e.g., childhood abuse) on the development of depression. However, it is unclear whether the gene x environment interaction predicts suicide attempts specifically. In addition, previous studies have not…

This study focuses on an issue of recent policy significance--the need to aid teachers in successfully identifying why children struggle to acquire literacy. This study (a) asked K-1 teachers to nominate students that they believed to be at risk for literacy difficulties and to provide reasons for their concern, (b) examined how these reasons…

Mothers of children with intellectual disability were assessed at two time points, 2 years apart (n = 75 at Time 1, n = 56 at Time 2). Data were gathered on maternal distress, mental health, expressed emotion, and the child's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Consistent with previous research with families of children who have…

Aggression in a proportion of people with intellectual disabilities is often assumed to be due to social-cognitive deficits. We reported on two studies in which we compared the emotion recognition and perspective-taking abilities of 43 frequently aggressive individuals and 46 nonaggressive peers. No difference was found between the groups' ability…

This study examined the extent that pulmonary function is related to perceived health status and global quality of life in adults suffering from cystic fibrosis, and the extent that self-efficacy modifies these relationships. Our sample comprised 86 adults (48% female; mean age, 29 years; age range, 18-54 years) with cystic fibrosis, recruited…

Objective: To investigate the relative effect that diabetes has on self-rated health, satisfaction with various specific domains of life, and satisfaction with quality of life operationalized as happiness, satisfaction with life as a whole, and satisfaction with overall quality of life. Design: Mixed methods--mailed survey and chart review. Study…

In 1967, the "Harvard Educational Review" published an article entitled "The American Negro College" by Christopher Jencks and David Riesman. The article dealt a stinging blow to Black colleges--labeling them "academic disaster areas." Using a historical methodology, I show the strategic ways in which Black college leaders and the United Negro…