This study examined the effectiveness of a new learning approach in teaching classification of invertebrate animals in biology courses. In this approach, we used an impersonal style: the subject jigsaw, which differs from the other jigsaws in that both course topics and student groups are divided. Students in Jigsaw group were divided into five…

Scientific inscriptions--graphs, diagrams, and data--and argumentation are integral to generating and communicating scientific understanding. Scientific inscriptions and argumentation are also important to learning science. However, previous research has indicated that learners struggle to understand and learn science content represented in…

The topic of Newtonian gravity offers a unique vantage point from which to investigate and encourage conceptual change because it is something with which everyone has daily experience, and because it is taught in two courses that reach a wide variety of students--introductory-level college astronomy ("Astro 101") and physics ("Phys…

This document contains released items used in the ICCS 2009 main survey. Seven clusters of items were used in the study in a rotated booklet design with three clusters per test booklet. Clusters 1 and 7 comprise the released item set. Cluster 1 comprises items that were newly developed for ICCS 2009 and Cluster 7 is drawn from previously secure…

Nonequivalent groups with anchor test (NEAT) equating functions that use a single anchor can have accuracy problems when the groups are extremely different and/or when the anchor weakly correlates with the tests being equated. Proposals have been made to address these issues by incorporating more than one anchor into NEAT equating functions. These…

It might be argued that quantitative and qualitative analyses are merely two alternative reflections of an overarching critical thinking. For instance, just as instructors of numeracy warn their charges to consider the construction of variables, teachers of qualitative approaches caution students to define terms. Similarly, an advocate of…

Assessment for learning has an important role to play in self-regulated learning but the assessment interface can impact learner motivation and performance. Learners are able to assess their knowledge of learning content and, through repeated assessment and high-quality feedback, close the gap between their current performance and the performance…

The authors compared the performance of third-grade students testing on answer sheets with those testing on machine-scored test booklets. The 1,832 students in the nationally representative sample were assigned at the campus level to complete the Stanford Achievement Test Series, Tenth Edition in 1 of 4 conditions: (a) Form A answer sheet, (b)…

This study of early-career teachers identified a significant relationship between upper-elementary teachers' mathematical content knowledge and their students' mathematics achievement, after controlling for student- and teacher-level characteristics. Findings provide evidence of the relevance of teacher knowledge and perceptions for teacher…

This dissertation describes a novel intelligent tutoring system, BeSocratic, which aims to help fill the gap between simple multiple-choice systems and free-response systems. BeSocratic focuses on targeting questions that are free-form in nature yet defined to the point which allows for automatic evaluation and analysis. The system includes a set…

Oral reading tasks and Maze reading tasks are often used interchangeably to assess the level and rate of reading skill development. This study examined the concurrent validity of growth estimates derived from "Curriculum-Based Measurement of Oral Reading" (CBM-R) and "Maze Reading" (CBM-mR). Participants were 1,528 students…

The current study used simulated data to investigate the properties of a newly proposed method (Yao's rater model) for modeling rater severity and its distribution under different conditions. Our study examined the effects of rater severity, distributions of rater severity, the difference between item response theory (IRT) models with rater effect…

This paper investigates the impact of online multiple choice questions (MCQs) on students' learning in an undergraduate Accounting module at a British university. The impact is considered from three perspectives: an analysis of how students use the MCQs; students' perceptions expressed in a questionnaire survey; and an investigation of the…

Conceptual change requires learners to restructure parts of their conceptual knowledge base. Prior research has identified the fragmentation and the integration of knowledge as 2 important component processes of knowledge restructuring but remains unclear as to their relative importance and the time of their occurrence during development. Previous…

The acquisition of diagnostic competence is seen as a major goal during the course of study in medicine. One innovative method to foster this goal is problem-based learning with erroneous worked examples provided in a computer learning environment. The present study explores the relationship of attitudinal, emotional and cognitive factors for…