Vocabulary development is a critical goal for early childhood education. However, it is difficult for researchers and teachers to determine whether this goal is being met, given the limitations of current assessment tools. These tools tend to view word knowledge dichotomously--as right or wrong. A clear sense of children's depth of semantic…

The one-parameter logistic model with ability-based guessing (1PL-AG) has been recently developed to account for effect of ability on guessing behavior in multiple-choice items. In this study, the authors developed algorithms for computerized classification testing under the 1PL-AG and conducted a series of simulations to evaluate their…

A contrast category effect on categorization occurs when the decision to apply a category term to an entity not only involves a comparison between the entity and the target category but is also influenced by a comparison of the entity with 1 or more alternative categories from the same domain as the target. Establishing a contrast category effect…

This article details a multi-modal active learning experience to help students understand elements of social categorization. Each student in a group dynamics course observed two groups in conflict and identified examples of in-group bias, double-standard thinking, out-group homogeneity bias, law of small numbers, group attribution error, ultimate…

Forecasting of ethnolinguistic vitality can only be done within a well-functioning descriptive and explanatory model of the dynamics of language stability and shift. It is proposed that the Perceived Benefit Model of Language Shift, used with a taxonomy of language shift motivations, provides that model. The model, based on individual language…

There are substantial reports on working-class student non-completion and the challenges of engaging or not with the teaching in higher education. The students in our study were all successful at university but the different universities provided different types of experiences for their respective students. In this paper we focus on the pedagogic…

Over the last two decades, moves toward "inclusion" have prompted change in the formation of education policies, schooling structures and pedagogical practice. Yet, exclusion through the categorisation and segregation of students with diverse abilities has grown, particularly for students with challenging behaviour. This paper considers…

Cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) attempt to uncover latent skills or attributes that examinees must possess in order to answer test items correctly. The DINA (deterministic input, noisy "and") model is a popular CDM that has been widely used. It is shown here that a logistic version of the model can easily be fit with standard software for…

Early acquired words are processed faster than later acquired words in lexical and semantic tasks. Demonstrating such age of acquisition (AoA) effects beyond reasonable doubt, and then investigating those effects empirically, is complicated by the natural correlation between AoA and other word properties such as frequency and imageability. In an…

This article reviews recent literature on student financial aid as a retention tool at community colleges. Enrollment and tuition data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and federal direct grant student aid data from the IPEDS Student Financial Aid Survey are used to…

The purpose of the study was to explore the effectiveness of a brief, feasible, and cost-effective universal screener for kindergarten readiness. The study examined whether teacher ratings of kindergarteners' academic, behavioral, and overall readiness at the beginning of the year were predictive of academic, emotional, and behavioral outcomes at…

The theme for this year's annual graduate student conference of the College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature (LLL) was "Your Voice, My Voice: Literature, Language, Culture and Society." Translation and interpretation guided the theme for the conference, with Dr. Marvin Puakea Nogelmeier of the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian…

Research on memory functions and their applications is a vast field that has unfolded for decades; some important studies are sixty years old. However, the research has remained a well-kept secret of cognitive psychologists. Education faculties rarely teach memory specifics, so people working in education typically do not know about the above…

The purpose of this study was to describe the reclassification process of Western Kentucky University's football program from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest and most visible level of NCAA competition. Three research questions guided the study: (a) Why did Western Kentucky University…

Cross-classified random-effects models (CCREMs) are used for modeling nonhierarchical multilevel data. Misspecifying CCREMs as hierarchical linear models (i.e., treating the cross-classified data as strictly hierarchical by ignoring one of the crossed factors) causes biases in the variance component estimates, which in turn, results in biased…