Describes methods for constructing gates and slalom courses to teach paddling skills to young campers. Describes how the English Gate system, a standardized course, can be used both for instruction and to test camper's paddling skills. Recommends the use of a three-level award system (novice, intermediate, and expert) to recognize camper…

Since the Bologna Declaration, improving the efficiency and transparency of the systems of higher education has become one of the principal challenges for all European countries. In fact, the establishment of evaluation processes in programmes and institutions is a current practice. For this purpose, several mechanisms of evaluation are being…

Print-based instructional materials have been more popular than any other medium for teaching practical skills during the delivery of technical and vocational education and training via distance learning. However, the approach has its shortcomings and in recent times alternatives have been sought. The comparative instructional effectiveness of one…

Increasingly, institutions of higher education are required to evaluate student progress and programme effectiveness through implementation of performance assessment practices. Faculty members frequently resist performance assessment because of concerns that assessment activities will increase workloads, reduce time for scholarly activities,…

Context: In-training assessment (ITA), defined as multiple assessments of performance in the setting of day-to-day practice, is an invaluable tool in assessment programmes which aim to assess professional competence in a comprehensive and valid way. Research on clinical performance ratings, however, consistently shows weaknesses concerning…

The Predominantly Inattentive (PI) and Combined (CB) subtypes of AD/HD differ in cognitive tempo, age of onset, gender ratio, and comorbidity, yet a differentiating endophenotype has not been identified. The aim of this study was to test rigorously diagnosed PI, CB, and typical children on measures selected for their potential to reveal…

Performance assessments have become the norm for evaluating language learners' writing abilities in international examinations of English proficiency. Two aspects of these assessments are usually systematically varied: test takers respond to different prompts, and their responses are read by different raters. This raises the possibility of undue…

Practical skills tests are provided for fire fighter trainees in the Wisconsin Fire Service Certification Series, Fire Fighter Levels I, II, and III. A course introduction appears first and contains this information: recommended instructional sequence, required facilities, instructional methodology, requirements for certification, course…

The results of the first national administration of the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) Examinations in industrial occupational competency are reported. (AG)

A programed self-pacing/instructional instrument (developed for teachers of the gifted) and "The Role of the Teacher in the Classroom" by E. Amidon and N. Flanders were compared for helpfulness. (MC)

A theory is discussed in which observed performance ratings are derived from the distance between a rater reference point and subject performance point located on a postulated equal-interval scale and a postulated s-shaped rater characteristic curve, operationalized as the normal ogive. Least-squares estimates of rater (nR=47, 31, and 29) and…

AT THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY REGIONAL CAMPUS AT FORT WAYNE, 171 FRESHMAN STUDIED A UNIT ON "STIMULUS AND RESPONSE" IN A MODIFIED FORM OF THE PROGRAMING STYLE CALLED "CONVERSATIONAL CHAINING," IN WHICH THE ONLY RESPONSE CONFIRMATION IS PROVIDED WITHIN THE NEXT FRAME IN THE PROGRAM. THERE WAS NO SPECIFIC EMPHASIS SUCH AS CAPITALIZATION, BUT ALWAYS AN…