In this paper, we report on 2 studies developing, testing, and using an observation tool for measuring primary literacy instruction, the Developing Language and Literacy Teaching (DLLT) rubrics. In Study 1 (an instrumentation study), we show that the DLLT has a high level of internal consistency, that there are high levels of inter-rater…

Although observational protocols have been developed that assess different aspects of science teaching, none of the protocols existing in the literature address the principles of effective chemistry instruction guided by Johnstone's triangle of macroscopic, symbolic, and particulate representations of matter (Johnstone, 1991). We developed our own…

University Business Education graduates, by the nature of their programme, ought to possess relevant accounting competencies for successful entrepreneurship but casual observation and empirical reports indicate that they are not doing well in this aspect. Therefore, this study assessed the accounting competencies possessed by university…

In the current study we examine attitudes towards internationalism through the lens of a specific set of constructs necessary in defining an effective global leader. One hundred fifty-nine undergraduates responded to items measuring need for cognition, cultural intelligence, and a set of items measuring the correlates of global mindset. In…

The purpose of this study is to investigate association of data collectors' differences with the differences in reliability and validity of scores regarding affective variables (motivation toward science learning and science attitude) that are measured by Likert-type scales. Four researchers trained in data collection and seven science teachers…

Even long before children are able to verbalize which careers may be interesting to them, they collect and store ideas about scientists. For these reasons, asking children to Draw-A-Scientist has become an accepted method to provide a glimpse into how children represent and identify with those in the science fields. Years later these…

Many latent traits in social sciences display a hierarchical structure, such as intelligence, cognitive ability, or personality. Usually a second-order factor is linearly related to a group of first-order factors (also called domain abilities in cognitive ability measures), and the first-order factors directly govern the actual item responses.…

In a society in which obesity levels have tripled in the past 30 years, the importance of increased fitness levels within the academic setting has become even more critical. The purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of alternative Fitnessgram upper body tests of muscular strength and endurance among seventh and eighth grade males…

The Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) was administered to first year students during the fifth week of their first semester and then again at the end of the semester. The primary purpose was to examine item-remainder correlations to determine if the items are placed correctly into their respective domains. A secondary aim was to…

Education research is an academic activity, and is often carried out by teachers (see, for example, Lavonen & Reinikainen, 2014). Lavonen and Reinikainen report that Finnish teachers are required to have a Masters degree involving education research. In the UK, the PGCE and its equivalent, from a schools-HEI partnership, usually carries…

Present study aims to translate and develop Paranormal Belief Questions (Rice, 2003) measuring students' non-scientific beliefs which threat science education. Original version of these questions was asked in Southern Focus Poll (1998). 17 questions about paranormal beliefs were administered to 114 university students from different departments.…

This study evaluated a process for training raters to reliably rate clinicians delivering the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) in a national dissemination project. The unique A-CRA coding system uses specific behavioral anchors throughout its 73 procedure components. Five randomly selected raters each rated "passing"…

This study presents the systematic development, validation, and use of a new instrument for measuring student interest in science and technology. The Student Interest in Technology and Science (SITS) survey is composed of 5 sub-sections assessing the following dimensions: interest in learning science, using technology to learn science, science…

Though teamwork is a mainstay of corporate America and business academia, individual assessment and compensation are problematic in disciplining and removing teammates who are free-riders and rewarding high performing team members who bear a disproportionate burden of the project. Therefore, the authors set out to develop and test an assessment…

Efficacy of the Measure of Understanding of Macroevolution (MUM) as a measurement tool has been a point of contention among scholars needing a valid measure for knowledge of macroevolution. We explored the structure and construct validity of the MUM using Rasch methodologies in the context of a general education biology course designed with an…