Using "hands-on" instruction in the science classroom has obvious value for both teachers and students. However, just because a type of instruction does not allow students to physically interact with objects does not mean it is not worthwhile. One method the author has found to be productive and engaging for students uses examples of historical…

The authors used a phenomenological research method to investigate the career decision-making experiences of 17 employed adults. Thematic results from interview data analysis were organized within 3 overarching themes: decisions centered on relational life, decisions centered on personal meaning, and decisions centered on economic realities. Study…

This article discusses the concept of an invariant item ordering (IIO) for polytomously scored items and proposes methods for investigating an IIO in real test data. Method manifest IIO is proposed for assessing whether item response functions intersect. Coefficient H[superscript T] is defined for polytomously scored items. Given that an IIO…

In this article we introduce language acquisition researchers to two broad areas of applied statistics that can improve the way data are analyzed. First we argue that visual summaries of information are as vital as numerical ones, and suggest ways to improve them. Specifically, we recommend choosing boxplots over barplots and adding locally…

This paper investigates the precision of parameters estimated from local samples of time dependent functions. We find that "time delay embedding," i.e., structuring data prior to analysis by constructing a data matrix of overlapping samples, increases the precision of parameter estimates and in turn statistical power compared to standard…

A great deal of recent methodological research has focused on two modern missing data analysis methods: maximum likelihood and multiple imputation. These approaches are advantageous to traditional techniques (e.g. deletion and mean imputation techniques) because they require less stringent assumptions and mitigate the pitfalls of traditional…

The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it investigates the self-images of science teaching held by early childhood pre-service teachers who took constructivism early childhood science education courses. Second, it analyzes what aspects of those courses influenced these images. The participants were eight pre-service teachers who took these…

In this study we examine the interplay between curriculum-embedded formative assessment--a well-known teaching practice--and general features of classroom process quality (i.e., cognitive activation, supportive climate, classroom management) and their combined effect on elementary school students' understanding of the scientific concepts of…

This article reports the results of a follow-up analysis of 779 students with disabilities who participated in group-randomized, control group studies designed to examine the efficacy of self-determination interventions in secondary school to examine the relationship between self-determination status when exiting high school and adult outcomes 1…

Could the labour market gender balance be improved by introducing new types of apprenticeship-trained workers? This article investigates what happened in the wake of the Norwegian VET programme for health and social care, a new approach introduced via the 1994 educational reform. By upgrading this traditionally female-dominated area of education,…

The goal of the study was to provide empirical findings on the effects of different types of parents' school involvement (PSI) on their children's mathematics performance. For PSI, we explored parent participation in parent-teacher conferences, voluntary parental involvement in school activities, parent informal contact with school or teachers,…

Background: Scientific excellence is one of the most fundamental underpinnings of medical education and its relevance is unquestionable. To be involved in research activities enhances students' critical thinking and problem-solving capacities, which are mandatory competences for new achievements in patient care and consequently to the improvement…

This paper presents the findings from one of the first empirical research studies which has investigated the impact of Inter-Life; a novel three-dimensional immersive virtual learning environment, on learning and development of social and educational life transition skills in a group of looked after and accommodated children. Drawing on social…

This paper is an examination of a teacher professional development program in northeast Louisiana, that provided 30 teachers and their students with the technology, skills, and content knowledge to collect data and explore weather trends. Data were collected from both continuous monitoring weather stations and simple school-based weather stations…

Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) offers a flexible, collaborative approach to developing and implementing an assessment of learning outcomes that yields high-quality, nationally relevant data. MTEG is a service that involves ACER staff working closely with each country to develop an assessment program that meets the country's…