This study evaluated the efficacy of two proposed methods in an operational standard-setting study conducted for a high-stakes language proficiency test of the U.S. government. The goal was to seek low-cost modifications to the existing Yes/No Angoff method to increase the validity and reliability of the recommended cut scores using a convergent…

Learning requires effort, but children cannot try hard at everything. Here, we evaluated whether children use their improvement over time to decide whether to stick with a challenge. To eliminate the effect of individual differences in ability or prior knowledge, we created a novel paradigm that allowed us to surreptitiously control children's…

This experimental study examined whether the uninformative anchoring effect, which should be ignored, on judgments of learning (JOLs) was eliminated through the learning experience. In the experiments, the participants were asked to predict whether their performance on an upcoming test would be higher or lower than the anchor value (80% in the…

Interventions that match demands to ability can enhance both academic performance and behavioral performance. However, it is unknown whether the instructional match or subsequent increases in engagement with the instructional material differentially impacts learning. The current study evaluated the effect of task difficulty on on-task behavior and…

In design education, immersive virtual reality (VR) has grown as a visualization and interaction tool. Nonetheless, little research has been done on how individuals self-perception within VR affects their performance. This self-awareness is carried out using avatars that depict the virtual body through multiple points of view. This article…

In this study, we examine "what went wrong" in our professional development program for encouraging cognitively demanding instruction, focusing on the difficulties we encountered in using an observational tool for evaluating this type of instruction and reaching inter-rater reliability. We do so through the lens of a discursive theory of…

Coordinating meaning across sentences is crucial to reading comprehension, because sentences can take on quite different meanings depending on the surrounding context. The same need applies in a far more complex way when reading textbooks. Writers organize the material hierarchically, so readers often need to connect what they're reading now to…

Prior testing can facilitate subsequent learning, a phenomenon termed the forward testing effect (FTE). We examined a metacognitive account of this effect, which proposes that the FTE occurs because retrieval leads to strategy optimizations during later learning. One prediction of this account is that tests that require less retrieval effort…

This paper focuses on the difficulties encountered by Italian students in performing geometry tasks. A quantitative analysis, aimed at understanding the extent of the phenomenon, is carried out using the results of district competitions from the year 2018 to 2020, comparing the scores obtained in geometry questions with those in other areas of…

Formal language hierarchy describes levels of increasing syntactic complexity (adjacent dependencies, nonadjacent nested, nonadjacent crossed) of which the transcription into a hierarchy of cognitive complexity remains under debate. The cognitive foundations of formal language hierarchy have been contradicted by two types of evidence: First,…

Educational researchers have been confronted with a multitude of definitions of task complexity and a lack of consensus on how to measure it. Using a cognitive load theory-based perspective, we argue that the task complexity that learners experience is based on element interactivity. Element interactivity can be determined by simultaneously…

Background/Objectives: The objectives of this study were to explore (a) the influence of different types of background noise and their informational content on the ability of speakers to initiate and maintain clear speech (CS), a widely utilized technique for enhancing speech intelligibility, and (b) the impact of background noise and CS usage on…

Pearson's Learning Foundations describe the optimal conditions for learning and reflect the learner experience Pearson hopes their products will create. Pearson does this by incorporating the Learning Design Principles. Each of the Learning Design Principles goes into detail about a key principle, supporting product design and marketing by…

This study examined whether answering focused explanative questions during pauses in an immersive virtual reality (IVR) lesson on pipetting procedures could enhance learning. The goal was to take a generative learning activity, known to be effective for declarative knowledge with conventional media, to the context of procedural knowledge with…

Background: Aphasia is a communication disorder caused by brain damage. People with aphasia (PWA) often experience difficulties in interaction. Methods: This study uses conversation analysis (CA) and examines the interactions of 10 PWA (5 fluent and 5 non-fluent speakers) and their healthcare professionals. Aims: The study aims to to explore how…