Epistemologies were measured across two separate lecture sections of introductory algebra-based physics at UC Davis. Remarkable differences in epistemologies, as measured by the MPEX II survey were noted with one section's students (section A) showing significantly better gains in almost all epistemological categories than the other (section…

3rd Edition! When should we assess, and when should we evaluate? What might be the results of evaluating too early or too much? How do we know if we are evaluating the right things? How do we know what makes sense for the learner and for the course? These questions are at the heart of "Making Classroom Assessment Work." This book combines powerful…

Although generally used for assessment, tests can also serve as tools for learning--but different test formats may not be equally beneficial. Specifically, research has shown multiple-choice tests to be less effective than cued-recall tests in improving the later retention of the tested information (e.g., see meta-analysis by Hamaker, 1986),…

This paper compares and contrasts the program theory of the reenacted Supervision Act to the Supervision Act of 2003. We describe how the expectations about how schools should be inspected, the effect such inspections are expected to have, and how these effects should be realized have changed over the past years as a result of changing paradigms…

Decades of research in the management literature have guided managers on how to effectively motivate their employees, increase the performance of their employees, and evaluate the performance of their employees. Many of these findings could be applied to higher education, both in research and in practice. More specifically, the findings on…

Psychological theories are statements of constraint. The role of hypothesis testing in psychology is to test whether specific theoretical constraints hold in data. Bayesian statistics is well suited to the task of finding supporting evidence for constraint, because it allows for comparing evidence for 2 hypotheses against each another. One issue…

Creating a fair, reliable, teacher-made test is a challenge. Every year poorly designed tests fail to accurately measure many students' learning--and negatively affect their academic futures. Salend, a well-known writer on assessment for at-risk students who consults with schools on assessment procedures, offers guidelines for creating tests that…

As states approach the funding cliff marking the end of federal stimulus help for education, school districts will be feeling more financial pain than they're experiencing now. But there's good news amid the bad: Big city districts are showing schools nationwide a way to save money and improve efficiency by working together. They've created the…

Students tend to learn in the way they know, or think, they will be assessed. Therefore, to ensure deep, meaningful learning, assessments must be geared to promote cognitive processing that requires complex, contextualised thinking to construct meaning and create knowledge. Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive levels is used worldwide to assist in…

Background: Studies of engagement in meaningful activity often focus on a short period during the afternoon. The question arises whether this produces different results from studies covering the whole day. Methods: Data collected for 18 individuals using a 20-s momentary time-sample from 08:00 to 19:00 over a number of days for each person were…

Textile fibers are ubiquitous in the sense that they are present in the fabric of clothing, furniture, and floor and wall coverings. A remarkable variety of textile fibers with different chemical compositions are produced for many different commercial applications. As fibers are readily transferred, they are frequently recovered from crime scenes…

Students' evaluations of teacher performance (SETs) are increasingly used by universities. However, SETs are controversial mainly due to two issues: (1) teachers value various aspects of excellent teaching differently, and (2) SETs should not be determined on exogenous influences. Therefore, this paper constructs SETs using a tailored version of…

Research has highlighted the need for new methods to assess emotions in children on multiple levels to gain better insight into the complex processes of emotional development. The startle reflex is a unique translational tool that has been used to study physiological processes during fear and anxiety in rodents and in human participants. However,…

Abstract: Students' perception of 8 criteria (rationale of the problem; interdisciplinary learning; facilitator asked essential questions; learner's skills; assessments; facilitation procedures; team's use of resources [team collaboration], and facilitator within a problem-based learning context) were assessed for a food biotechnology course that…

We present an introduction to Bayesian inference as it is used in probabilistic models of cognitive development. Our goal is to provide an intuitive and accessible guide to the "what", the "how", and the "why" of the Bayesian approach: what sorts of problems and data the framework is most relevant for, and how and why it may be useful for…