When directed to ignore evidence of a witness's previous bad character because of a violation of the rules of evidence, are jurors' beliefs still affected? The intuition is that they will be because in everyday argumentation, fallacies, like the ad hominem, are effective argumentative strategies. An ad hominem argument (against the person)…

The Mantel-Haenszel (MH) procedure is commonly used to detect items that function differentially for groups of examinees from various demographic and linguistic backgrounds--for example, in international assessments. As in some other DIF methods, the total score is used to match examinees on ability. In thin matching, each of the total score…

Scholars interested in delinquency have focused much attention on the influence of parent and peer relationships. Prior research has assumed that parents control delinquency because they value convention, whereas peers promote delinquency because they value and model nonconvention. We argue that it is important to assess the normative and…

Authentic assessment is important in formal and informal learning. Technology has the potential to be used to support the assessment of higher order skills particularly with respect to real life tasks. In particular, the use of mobile devices allows the learner to increase her interactions with physical objects, various environments (indoors and…

With the rapid development of the Internet and information technology, the issues related to online exams have become the concern of an increasing number of researchers. At present, the biggest challenges for the integration of web communication technology into online exams are the ability to detect cheating behaviors during the exam, and the…

Background: Research suggests that young childhood is a dynamic developmental phase during which risks to attachment figures as well as traumatic events may be particularly important. The loss and disruption associated with Hurricane Katrina highlighted the vulnerabilities and special needs of young children exposed to natural disaster. Objective:…

The purpose of this study was to use multiple assessments to investigate the general versus task-specific characteristics of metacognition in dissimilar chemistry topics. This mixed-method approach investigated the nature of undergraduate general chemistry students' metacognition using four assessments: a self-report questionnaire, assessment of…

This study used exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify a theoretical structure for high school concert band performance and to test that structure for viability, generality, and invariance. A total of 101 university students enrolled in two different bands rated two high school band performances (a "first"…

The aim of this study was to investigate university students' experiences of open-book, open-web online examinations compared to traditional class examinations concerning preparing, responding, and learning. The data (N?=?110) were collected by an online survey from the university students who took an online examination. The students used…

Research and theory development in cognitive psychology and science education research remain largely isolated. Biology education researchers have documented persistent scientifically inaccurate ideas, often termed "misconceptions," among biology students across biological domains. In parallel, cognitive and developmental psychologists…

Using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007, this study examined the big-fish-little-pond-effects (BFLPEs) in 49 countries. In this study, the effect of math ability on math self-concept was decomposed into a within- and a between-level components using implicit mean centring and the complex data…

The majority of multimedia learning studies focus on the use of graphics in learning process but very few of them examine the role of graphics in testing students' knowledge. This study investigates the use of static graphics versus animated graphics in a computer-based English achievement test from a cognitive load theory perspective. Three…

How can educators immerse high school students in a real murder case investigation that will require them to draw upon and practice the critical thinking, literacy, and reasoning skill sets so highly valued under the Common Core, the C3 Framework and the 21st Century skills rubric? As an attorney and former high school teacher, the author knew…

The effect of using a computer or paper and pencil on student writing scores on a provincial standardized writing assessment was studied. A sample of 302 francophone students wrote a short essay using a computer equipped with Microsoft Word with all of its correction functions enabled. One week later, the same students wrote a second short essay…

In 2008 the Spanish Government announced the inclusion of an oral section in the foreign language exam of the National University Entrance Examination during the year 2012 (Royal Decree 1892/2008, of 14 November 2008, Ministerio de Educación, Gobierno de España, 2008). Still awaiting the implementation of these changes, and in an attempt to offer…