Only a few of the interventions that target blue-collar workers have conducted formal analysis to evaluate the specific attributes of their intervention that are associated with success or failure. This study examined the role of dual hazard and decisional balance in the MassBUILT smoking cessation intervention. The authors conducted sets of…

In the task switch paradigm, a switch of task is typically accompanied by a change in task cue. It has been proposed that the performance deficit usually observed when switching tasks is actually the result of changing cues. To test this possibility, we used a 2:2 cue-task mapping in which each cue indicated 2 different tasks. With advance…

This paper investigates the idea that the framing of learning and transfer contexts can influence students' propensity to transfer what they have learned. We predicted that transfer would be promoted by framing contexts in an expansive manner in which students are positioned as having the opportunity to contribute to larger conversations that…

We used an experimental design to examine the intrapersonal and interpersonal processes through which neutral display rules, compared to positive display rules, influence objective task performance of poll workers and ratings provided by survey respondents of the poll workers. Student participants (N = 140) were trained to adhere to 1 of the 2…

Assessment is an important cornerstone of education. A world trend in staying abreast of the latest developments in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) has led to an increased demand for electronic assessment in education circles. The critical need and responsibility for higher education to stay on par with the latest…

In automated test assembly (ATA), the methodology of mixed-integer programming is used to select test items from an item bank to meet the specifications for a desired test form and optimize its measurement accuracy. The same methodology can be used to automate the formatting of the set of selected items into the actual test form. Three different…

This article contrasts 2 approaches to analyzing transitivity of preference and other behavioral properties in choice data. The approach of Regenwetter, Dana, and Davis-Stober (2011) assumes that on each choice, a decision maker samples randomly from a mixture of preference orders to determine whether "A" is preferred to "B." In contrast, Birnbaum…

Adult students often come to higher education with college-level learning that they have acquired outside of the classroom--from the workplace, military service, self-study, or hobbies. For decades, many forward-thinking colleges and universities have been offering services to evaluate that learning and award it college credit that counts towards…

This paper presents evidence of extinction, spontaneous recovery and renewal in a conditioned preferences paradigm based on taste-taste associations. More specifically, in three experiments rats exposed to a simultaneous compound of citric acid-saccharin solution showed a preference for the citric solution when the preference was measured with a…

Building on previous arguments for why educational researchers should not provide effect-size estimates in the face of statistically nonsignificant outcomes (Robinson & Levin, 1997), Onwuegbuzie and Levin (2005) proposed a 3-step statistical approach for assessing group differences when multiple outcome measures are individually analyzed…

This study examined how much improvement was attainable with respect to accuracy of differential item functioning (DIF) measures and DIF detection rates in the Mantel-Haenszel procedure when employing focal and reference groups with notably unbalanced sample sizes where the focal group has a fixed small sample which does not satisfy the minimum…

In most medical schools, summative practical examination in Anatomy usually takes the format of a "steeplechase" ("spotters" or "bell ringers") conducted in the gross anatomy laboratory using cadaveric material and prosected specimens. Recently, we have started to administer similar examinations online using the quiz…

We propose three latent scales within the framework of nonparametric item response theory for polytomously scored items. Latent scales are models that imply an invariant item ordering, meaning that the order of the items is the same for each measurement value on the latent scale. This ordering property may be important in, for example,…

The present human fear conditioning study examined whether the valence of an extinction cue has a differential effect on attenuating renewal that is induced by removal of the extinction context. Additionally, the study aimed to assess whether such attenuating effect is based on a modulatory or safety-signal role of the cue. In acquisition,…

To raise the bar for teacher preparation and evaluation, assessments should be based on how well teachers perform in the classroom, not how they are rated during principal-led classroom observations or on written licensure tests, a new report argues. "Evaluating Teacher Effectiveness," by education policy expert and Stanford professor Linda…