The authors describe a collaborative group-testing strategy implemented and studied in undergraduate science classes. This project investigated how the assessment strategy relates to student performance and perceptions about collaboration and focused on two sections of an undergraduate biotechnology course taught in separate semesters.

The authors outline the potent relationship between continuing professional development (CPD), teacher efficacy, and student learning outcomes in the context of a major reform of middle years teacher work in Queensland, Australia. The authors explore core features of effective teacher CPD, including content focus, active learning, coherence,…

This is an interpretive case study to examine the teaching of an experienced science faculty who had a strong interest in teaching undergraduate and graduate science courses and nature of science specifically. It was interested in how he transformed knowledge from his experience as a scientist and his ideas about nature of science into forms…

The purpose of this study was to develop, scale, and validate assessments in engineering, science, and mathematics with grade appropriate items that were sensitive to the curriculum developed by teachers. The use of item response theory to assess item functioning was a focus of the study. The work is part of a larger project focused on increasing…

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required school district officials to approve a local school wellness policy by July 2006, making this the first federal legislation requiring school district officials to establish a goal for physical activity and that could focus on physical education. The purpose of this study was to…

Childhood psychiatric disorders are associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes including poor academic attainment. For some children these difficulties are recognised through school Special Educational Need procedures (SEN) but many others may remain unidentified and/or unsupported. In Britain, government data suggests disproportionate…

The state of Illinois in the central United States has long been a trendsetter both in the development of learning standards and in addressing social and emotional learning in education settings. With a recent revision to the state's early learning standards, published in 2013, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) fully aligned its…

Developing and writing assessment items that measure teachers' knowledge is an intricate and complex undertaking. In this paper, we begin with an overview of what is known about measuring teacher knowledge. We then highlight the challenges inherent in creating assessment items that focus specifically on measuring teachers' specialised knowledge…

Engineering is one of the most global professions, with design teams developing technologies for an increasingly interconnected and borderless world. In order for engineering students to be proficient in creating viable solutions to the challenges faced by diverse populations, they must receive an expe­riential education in rigorous engineering…

Background: Studies have shown that students' knowledge of osmosis and diffusion and the concepts associated with these processes is often inaccurate. This is important to address, as these concepts not only provide the foundation for more advanced topics in biology and chemistry, but are also threaded throughout both state and national science…

In Gargani and Strong (2014), we describe The Rapid Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness (RATE), a new teacher evaluation instrument. Our account of the validation research associated with RATE inspired a review by Good and Lavigne (2015). Here, we reply to the main points of their review. We elaborate on the validity, reliability, theoretical…

An accumulating body of evidence suggests that young children who exhibit greater executive functioning (EF) skills in early childhood also achieve more academically. The goal of the present study was to examine the unique contributions of direct assessments and teacher ratings of children's EF skills at the beginning of prekindergarten (pre-k) to…

Head of school transitions happen for a variety of reasons. Without a doubt, however, the most stressful ones are those that are not voluntary. In the last few years, an increasing number of boards have decided to let their heads go at nontraditional transition times. In turn, this has left the school leadership staff scrambling to ensure that the…

The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesized model of solo music performance assessment. Specifically, this study investigates the influence of technique and musical expression on perceptions of overall performance quality. The Aural Musical Performance Quality (AMPQ) measure was created to measure overall performance quality, technique,…

Two-stage exams--where students complete part one of an exam closed book and independently and part two is completed open book and independently (two-stage independent, or TS-I) or collaboratively (two-stage collaborative, or TS-C)--provide a means to include collaborative learning in summative assessments. Collaborative learning has been shown to…