Search

After being taught how to perform a new mathematical operation, students are often given several practice problems in a single set, such as a homework assignment or quiz (i.e., massed practice). An alternative approach is to distribute problems across multiple homeworks or quizzes, increasing the temporal interval between practice (i.e., spaced practice). Spaced practice has been shown to increase the long-term retention of various types of mathematics knowledge. Less clear is whether spacing decreases performance during practice, with some studies indicating that it does and others indicating it does not. To increase clarity, we tested whether spacing produces long-term retention gains, but short-term practice costs, in a calculus course. On practice quizzes, students worked problems on various learning objectives in either massed fashion (3 problems on a single quiz) or spaced fashion (3 problems across 3 quizzes). Spacing increased retention of learning objectives on an end-of-semester test but reduced performance on the practice quizzes. The reduction in practice performance was nuanced: Spacing reduced performance only on the first two quiz questions, leaving performance on the third question unaffected. We interpret these findings as evidence that spacing led to more protracted, but ultimately more robust, learning. We, therefore, conclude that spacing imposes a desirable form of difficulty in calculus learning.

Purpose/objectives This study examined effects of active engagement (ENG) and spaced retrieval practice (SRP) on D1 dental students' self-assessment knowledge acquisition. Methods D1 dental students (N = 120) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 (ENG or no ENG) X 2 (SRP or no SRP) design. Students were tested on their knowledge of a self-assessment grading rubric (on a 30-item multiple-choice exam) and their ability to apply the rubric (on a simulated dentoform assessment). Results There were significant main effects of both ENG and SRP on both outcome measures. Both ENG and SRP increased students' knowledge of, and ability to apply, the self-assessment rubric. Effects of ENG were larger than those of SRP. There was also a significant ENG X SRP interaction on the knowledge measure. The effect of SRP was larger in the no-ENG conditions than the ENG conditions, which may reflect a ceiling effect in the ENG conditions. Conclusions ENG and SRP have the potential to substantially enhance D1 dental students' learning outcomes. These results should motivate dental educators to reject outdated instructional techniques and thereby unleash students' full learning potential. Additional research is needed with a wider range of dental students and learner topics.

Background: Physical activity is critical for the healthy development and well-being of children. Specifically, physical activity is associated with improvements in coordination, balance, attention, and behavior among elementary school-aged children. However, for many children, particularly those belonging to minority groups, opportunities to engage in quality physical activity programs outside school settings are limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the whether a physical activity program called Minds in Motion (MiM) The Maze before school, as compared with yoga, meets the criteria of the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program framework as a before-school program to improve overall physical activity and academic performance among elementary school-age students. Methods: A total of 48 children attending an urban public school with large minority representation in the Midwest were randomly assigned to MiM-The Maze or yoga. Participants were assessed on motor proficiency, behavior, balance, and academic skills before and after training. Training consisted of either yoga or MiM-The Maze 30 minutes per day before school, 5 times per week for 12 weeks. Results: MiM-The Maze and yoga group students showed significant improvements in academic skills. Conclusions: MiM-The Maze is feasible and affordable before-school program to promote students’ classroom behavior in elementary school students.

The associations between motor proficiency, postural control, and visual efficiency with teacher and parent ratings of children’s behavior and academic skills were examined among a sample of elementary school-aged children (N = 50). Teacher and parent ratings of students’ academic skills were analyzed separately to examine the predictive nature of measures of motor proficiency. Spearman rank order correlations reported low to moderate relationships between motor proficiency, postural control, and children’s behavior (e.g., ADHD inattention) and academic skills. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) procedure is demonstrated as an approach for variable selection of measures of children’s motor proficiency, postural control, and visual efficiency to predict academic skills. For teacher and parent ratings of academic skills, ADHD symptom of inattention was the strongest model predictor, whereas directional control (postural control) was also a predictor for parent ratings. Study findings shed light on practical and methodological factors associated with motor skills in educational contexts.

Bifactor-(S-1) and (S·I-1) models represent general factor measurement models intended to overcome anomalous results associated with bifactor models. Research has centered on model utility using real data, with little consideration of conditions associated with parameter recovery accuracy. Thus, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding performance of these models under known conditions. This simulation study investigated the parameter recovery of bifactor-(S-1) and (S·I-1) models under varying conditions based on intelligence and psychological test data, including the regression coefficient between the primary dimension to an external criterion. Furthermore, regression coefficient recovery accuracy was compared to results based on a unidimensional model to examine consequences associated with ignoring an instrument’s multidimensional structure.

To describe the use of the nominal group technique (NGT) to refine pharmacy core roles and to compare these roles with current pharmacy outcomes and other literature to highlight potential deficiencies.The NGT process was used for this proposal review. The process was conducted in four key stages: silent generation, round-robin, clarification, and voting. A convenience sampling of five pharmacy faculty and administrators that have researched the areas of practice-readiness and pharmacy competencies formed the panel of participants for the NGT process.Study findings offer seven core roles that define pharmacists' scope of practice: knowledge, patient care skills, professional, scholar, system-based practice/manager, collaborator, and advocate/health promoter. Development of these core roles revealed several missing pharmacy competencies or ones only covered in optional learning objectives: conflict management, professional advocacy, scholarship, empathy, personal health, transitions of care, health outcomes, quality improvement, and health insurance.The development of pharmacy roles is one way to ensure students are adequately prepared for pharmacy practice following graduation. Mapping of competencies to core professional roles would allow schools/colleges of pharmacy to have one cohesive document to guide pedagogical and assessment practice. More research and consensus building will be needed before these core roles could be disseminated more broadly.

In response to the Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education Supreme Court decision, Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) reconfigured the district’s race-based student assignment and implemented a race- and socioeconomic-based student assignment plan. Using hierarchical linear multiple regression, this study examined students’ backgrounds and school composition factors within a race- and socioeconomic-based assignment plan to determine their relationship with college and career readiness as measured by the ACT. We found that student race, participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), ACT PLAN performance, school composition, and neighborhood category were the largest and most consistent factors for predicting college and career readiness. African American students were at a disadvantage in each model compared with White students. Participation in NSLP was negatively associated with student performance compared with non-NSLP students, and PLAN scores positively predicted ACT performance. School composition was found negatively associated with ACT performance (Title I compared with non–Title I schools), and Category 1 and Category 2 neighborhoods were negatively associated with ACT scores compared with Category 3 neighborhoods. We conclude by discussing implications for policy, practice, and future research.

This Full-Length, Research-to-Practice paper discusses intrinsic requirements that may challenge instructors if they attempt to implement spaced retrieval practice in their courses. During the first year of National Science Foundation (NSF) grant #1912253, project leaders led nine Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) instructors through a series of five interactive workshops to develop learning objectives and quiz questions. Most of the STEM instructors had to redefine their existing, multifaceted learning objectives into more specific objectives with an appropriately fine grain-size for the practice. They also worked to develop multiple questions that test the same objective with (1) comparable difficulty and (2) similar cognitive processes. Project leaders noticed that a within-subjects, counterbalanced study design presents additional challenges to implementation. Instructors were able to work around difficulties during break-out sessions in workshops and in one-on-one sessions, especially when given examples from their own discipline in one-on-one feedback.In this paper, we first describe the current state of spaced retrieval practice research and the purpose and plan of our active NSF grant. We then detail the implementation requirements we have discovered. Lastly, we summarize our findings with bullet-point, STEM-practitioner-centered statements about implementing spaced retrieval practice in the classroom. Identifying potential challenges of implementation and solutions to these challenges is an important step in getting the powerful memory tool of spaced retrieval practice into the STEM classroom.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the effect of supervisor openness on employee voice among middle management employees in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authors develop a model to examine the mediating role of job satisfaction and employee engagement in the SME context. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather data from respondents who worked in SMEs (N=202). Exploratory factor analysis was used for dimensionality assessment of the voice measure. Mediation analysis was used to examine a two-mediator model to investigate the effects of engagement and job satisfaction on voice, and the degree these variables mediated the relationship of supervisor openness to ideas with employee voice. Findings Results revealed that supervisor openness is positively associated with job satisfaction and employee engagement, but only engagement was a facilitating variable that stimulated employee voice. Research limitations/implications Middle management members can be a conduit or inhibitor of the free flow of information. Yet, research has tended to ignore the role of middle managers in voice research. Moreover, within the specific organizational context of SMEs, greater understanding of both the antecedents and mediators to voice behavior is likely to impact the development of specific HR practices that focus on engagement and better facilitate two-way communication between supervisors and employees. Originality/value This work refines the understanding of the role employee engagement has on employee voice in the context of SMEs.

Factor analytic procedures were used to gather validity evidence on the internal structure of Skinner, Kinderman, and Furrer’s Engagement versus Disaffection With Learning measure to operationalize...

This study demonstrates the use of multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) to investigate an instrument’s factor structure. For didactic purposes, MIRT was used to assess the factor structure of the 9-item Effort Beliefs Scale (Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2006), based on data obtained from 1,127 undergraduate engineering students (20.9% female) across two academic years attending a large, metropolitan university in the east south-central region of the United States at the beginning and end of the first semester of freshman year. MIRT results supported the scale’s multidimensional structure, which were compared to those based on confirmatory factor analysis. Specifically, comparisons of competing models supported the scale’s bifactor structure in which the collective item set related to a primary dimension and each item related to one of two domain-specific factors: Positive Relationship, Inverse Relationship. Furthermore, the utility of item response theory for assessing effort beliefs changes across the first semester and the relationship of IRT and observed scores is provided. The paper concludes with an overview of MIRT for scale development and dimensionality assessment to advance the reader’s awareness of its use as a psychometric tool.

Interim tests are a central component of district-wide assessment systems, yet their technical quality to guide decisions (e.g., instructional) has been repeatedly questioned. In response, the study purpose was to investigate the validity of a series of English Language Arts (ELA) interim assessments in terms of dimensionality and prediction of summative test performance, based on Grade 6 student data (N = 4,651) from a larger, urban district. Factor analytic results supported modeling the interim test data in terms of a bifactor model (Gibbons & Hedeker, 1992), with items reporting moderate to high relationships to the primary dimension (i.e., ELA) and varying estimates on the secondary domains. Hierarchical multiple linear regression results indicated that primary ELA scores were the strongest predictors of summative test performance, with subscale scores not improving predictive accuracy. Findings address issues pertaining to investigating the technical quality of test data widely used in district-wide...

An unresolved issue in the measurement of critical thinking is the underlying factor structure of available instruments. The Cornell Critical Thinking Tests Level X ( Ennis, Millman, & Tomko, 2005 ) is a widely used assessment of critical thinking in educational settings for students in grades 4−14. Perhaps due to the scale’s intentional complex factor structure with overlapping dimensions, there is surprisingly limited empirical evidence available on its dimensionality to guide score-based decisions. Based on elementary student data (N = 2265), we used exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) to examine the instrument’s factor structure and compare results across procedures. ESEM yielded an interpretable factor solution that demonstrated measurement invariance across independent samples, whereas EFA and CFA procedures resulted in substantial item reduction and fewer interpretable factors. Implications for research on critical thinking assessment are discussed.

Background Criteria for the identification of patients who may progress to advanced heart failure (HF) have been previously suggested. However, identification of appropriate non–inotrope-dependent (NID) patients for destination therapy (DT) remains a challenge, and referral rates are low. We surveyed expert provider opinion about patient selection for early DT. Methods An internet-based survey was sent to international HF providers to investigate opinions about clinical indicators for referral of NID patients for DT. Subjects were identified from membership lists of HF professional organizations. Respondents provided their level of agreement with the use of a 5-point Likert Scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree) to 10 clinical criteria describing at-risk NID patients. Results A total of 231 respondents who had been in a position to recommend left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy for 7.6 ± 5.8 years identified themselves as HF providers: 41% HF cardiologists, 27% HF nurse practitioners, 21% cardiothoracic surgeons, 9% LVAD coordinators, and 2% general cardiologists. More than two-thirds of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with 7 of the 10 items. Similar consensus was not seen for 6-minute walk (6MW) or B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). When asked which criteria would have to be present for LVAD referral, only hemodynamic deterioration reached ≥50% affirmation among respondents. No criteria reached >50% response as being sufficient alone for DT. Conclusion We describe referral thresholds for early LVAD therapy among international HF providers. With the exception of BNP and 6MW, we found overall agreement on the proposed clinical parameters. Despite apparent consensus, in practice implantation rates for LVAD in NID patients remain low. The results of ongoing clinical trials in this population may lower thresholds for early referral for DT.

This study examined the community and schooling experiences of Latino male youth (ages 14–24) in the California Central Valley. Seven semi-structured focus groups (n = 35) were conducted with Latino youth regarding how factors related to health, safety, and education affected their lives. Latino Critical Theory was used as a framework to explain how the disparities described by Latino youth are part of larger social and academic inequalities. Findings showed that the Latino youth have unique race-, gender-, and class-specific experiences related to structural inequalities. The study concludes with recommendations for policy and practice that can help improve Latino youths’ lives primarily by addressing structural inequalities in their communities and schools. Strategies for how community and school leaders can address the Latino youth disparities are provided.

The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) is a measure of university students’ approach to learning. Original evaluation of the scale’s psychometric properties was based on a sample of Hong Kong university students’ scores. The purpose of this study was to test and cross-validate the R-SPQ-2F factor structure, based on separate cohort data (Cohort 1: n = 1,490; Cohort 2: n = 1,533), among students attending a university in the United States. Factor analytic results did not support the scale’s original factor structure, instead suggesting an alternative four-factor model of the scale data. In the cross-validation study, multisample confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the scale’s measurement model parameters (e.g., factor loadings) were invariant across independent samples. Despite support for the scale’s respecified factor structure for Western university students, continued research is recommended to improve the scale’s psychometric properties. Implications for test score use and interpretation are discussed.

The Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT™) is an individually administered test of intelligence for individuals ranging in age from 11 to 85+ years. The item response theory—likelihood ratio procedure, based on the two-parameter logistic model, was used to detect differential item functioning (DIF) in the KAIT across males and females in the standardization sample. Root mean squared differences and item parameter differences were used to indicate the magnitude of DIF and identify which group the item parameter favored. A z test of proportion differences was conducted to determine if the number of parameters exhibiting gender DIF exceeded the number expected by chance, estimated by randomly dividing the sample in half and repeating the analyses. Of the 176 item parameters examined, 42 (24%) lacked invariance, with most items reporting uniform DIF. Implications for test score interpretation and future research are discussed.

Multisample confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) and latent mean structures analysis (LMS) were used to test measurement invariance and latent mean differences on the Kaufman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Scale™ (KAIT) across males and females in the standardization sample. MCFA found that the parameters of the KAIT two-factor model were invariant across groups. A follow-up LMS found intercept differences on the Memory for Block Designs, Famous Faces, Auditory Comprehension, and Logical Steps subtests, indicating low to moderately higher expected scores for males. Thus, latent means were not tested for invariance. Although the KAIT two-factor model met partial measurement invariance, it did not demonstrate strong factorial invariance. Implications for test score interpretation are discussed.

Competing item response theory (IRT) models were used to test the factor structure of the psychiatric diagnostic screening questionnaire (PDSQ; Zimmerman M, Mattia JI. A self-report scale to help make psychiatric diagnoses: the psychiatric diagnostic screening questionnaire. Archives of General Psychiatry 2001;58:787-94), a self-report psychiatric measure comprised of 139 items sampled from 15 symptom domains (e.g., Psychosis, Mania). Tested IRT models included: (a) a unidimensional model, (b) a simple structure model, (c) a bi-factor model, and (d) models that included 6, 10, and 15 sub-domain alternative conceptualizations of the scale. Based on the responses of 3791 individuals with major depressive disorder, the bi-factor model was found to provide a theoretically and statistically plausible description of the PDSQ factor structure. Primary dimension loadings were low to moderate; group factor loadings were moderate to high. Results support the validity of the PDSQ in identifying distinct categories of illness as defined by the diagnostic and statistical manual diagnostic groups, since preserving the 15 symptom categories (domains) provided a more accurate characterization of the observed data by the IRT models. The bi-factor model is useful in evaluating the multidimensional structure of mental health data. The specification of alternative IRT models is demonstrated as a noteworthy benefit over classical test theory for psychiatric measurement.

Dimensionality assessment using the full-information item bifactor model for graded response data is provided. The model applies to data in which each item relates to a general factor and one group factor. Specifically, alternative model specification within item response theory (IRT) is shown to test a scale's factor structure. For illustrative purposes, the bifactor model and competing IRT models were fit to the data of separate cohorts of incoming college students (Cohort 1, n = 1,490; Cohort 2, n = 1,533) to test the dimensionality of an adapted version of the State Metacognitive Inventory. Overall, the bifactor analysis did not strongly support distinct group factors after accounting for the general factor. Instead, results suggested conceptualizing the scale as unidimensional, indicating that scores should be based on the total scale, not subscales. Considerations related to the use of the bifactor IRT model are discussed.

Student success and persistence within the major and university were examined through hierarchical linear and logistic regression analyses for two cohorts of engineering students. Indicators of success and persistence were based on theoretical and empirical evidence and included both cognitive and noncognitive variables. Cognitive variables included high school rank, SAT scores, and university cumulative grade point average. Noncognitive factors included academic motivation and institutional integration. Outcome variables included grade point average, enrollment at the university, and status as an engineering major. Gender differences also were evaluated. Several significant relationships among the variables were found. For instance, increased levels of motivation were significantly related to continuing in the major. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Study purpose was to test the factor structure of the Jumpstart School Success Checklist (JSSC) and tests its measurement invariance (factor structure similarity) across male and female samples, based on national Jumpstart data (N = 5,545). Factor analytic results supported conceptualizing the JSSC item-level data in terms of a bifactor model (Gibbons & Hedeker, 1992), where each scale item related to a primary factor (Literacy) in addition to one sub-domain: Language Arts or Social Relationships. A comparison of the equivalence of the JSSC factor structure across sex groups indicated that the scale’s factor structure met partial measurement invariance (Bryne, Shavelson, & Muthen, 1989). A follow-up latent means structure analysis reported that females had slightly higher latent means across the factors than males. Study implications pertain to (a) the degree to which the JSSC scores function across sex groups, and (b) how factorial invariance research can be used to examine raters’ assessment of students’ literacy skill development.

The experience of compassion has garnered increased interest in the management community in recent years. Despite interest, little work has moved from concept to empirical testing More, almost no w...

This work-in-progress presents results of an on-going investigation to understand the extent to which first-year engineering students' noncognitive self-beliefs are related to success following the freshman year. For this research, students' scores across nine measures (academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, leadership, metacognition, major indecision, learner type (deep vs. surface), teamwork, and expectancy-value), obtained prior to the freshman year, have been used to create homogeneous groups (or profiles) of students with shared perceptions of their noncognitive abilities. Success has been operationalized in terms of grade-point-ratio, persistence, and scores across the above mentioned factors at the end of the students' first-year experience. Results of this study indicate the degree to which specific profiles predicted relevant outcomes in engineering education

This work-in-progress presents instruments that have been developed to assess team effectiveness for students in engineering classrooms. The instruments include: a) a 24-item self-report instrument (Team Effectiveness Scale) requiring students to indicate the degree their team worked together across the following domains: interdependency, goal-setting, potency, and learning; and b) a 6-item measure (Peer Assessment Scale) that asks students to rate each team member's contribution towards the functionality of their team. Evidence of scale psychometric properties are provided along with the relationship between peer assessment and team effectiveness scores and the degree to which scores on the team effectiveness scale discriminated between functional and dysfunctional teams, consistent with instructor judgments

Understanding the direct and indirect relationships among freshman engineering student attributes and outcomes can provide a foundation for continuous improvement in first-year engineering education. Therefore, the goal of this research has been to begin measuring relevant student attributes that will allow assessment tools of the future to monitor relative change in first-year engineering educational outcomes. Towards this end, this work-in-progress examines how engineering students can be grouped (profiled) based upon their scores across various noncognitive measures. In addition, the research effort investigates trends in noncognitive score pattern changes over a student's freshman year. The noncognitive measures include: academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, leadership, metacognition, major indecision, type of learner (e.g., deep vs. surface), teamwork, and expectancy-value. An analysis of profile stability (i.e. the year to year repeatability of the profiles) is presented along with an evaluation of profile drift (i.e., the degree to which students' change profiles with respect to time). The findings provide evidence of stable freshman engineering student profiles based on a set of noncognitive measures. In addition, the findings of profile drift (based upon one year of data) indicate that students' noncognitive self-beliefs changed as they progressed through the freshman year

This study examined a model of student success and persistence at two levels: university and engineering major. The model, based on theoretical and empirical evidence, included both cognitive and noncognitive factors. Cognitive factors included high school rank, scholastic aptitude scores, and university grade point average. Noncognitive factors included motivation, as well as faculty and student integration. Outcome variables in the model were grade point average, enrollment at the university, as well as within engineering. Through the use of path analysis, several significant relationships among the factors were found. For instance, grade point average was significantly related to enrollment in both the university and engineering major. Increased levels of student interactions were significantly related to continued enrollment in engineering. Interestingly, student with higher faculty integration were more likely to change majors. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.