ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Impact of Violation of the Missing-at-Random Assumption on Full-Information Maximum Likelihood Method in Multidimensional Adaptive Testing
Author: Han, Kyung T.
Date: 2014-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Maximum Likelihood Statistics,Structural Equation Models,Data,Computer Assisted Testing,Adaptive Testing,Test Items,Computation,Item Response Theory,Factor Analysis

The full-information maximum likelihood (FIML) method makes it possible to estimate and analyze structural equation models (SEM) even when data are partially missing, enabling incomplete data to contribute to model estimation. The cornerstone of FIML is the missing-at-random (MAR) assumption. In (unidimensional) computerized adaptive testing (CAT), unselected items (i.e., responses that are not observed) remain at random even though selected items (i.e., responses that are observed) have been associated with a test taker's latent trait that is being measured. In multidimensional adaptive testing (MAT), however, the missingness in the response data partially depends on the unobserved data because items are selected based on various types of information including the covariance among latent traits. This eventually may lead to violations of MAR. This study aimed to evaluate the potential impact such a violation of MAR in MAT could have on FIML estimation performance. The results showed an increase in estimation errors in item parameter estimation when the MAT response data were used, and differences in the level of the impact depending on how items loaded on multiple latent traits.
Using Meta-Regression to Explore Moderating Effects in Surveys of International Achievement
Author: Benton, Tom
Date: 2014-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Regression (Statistics),Meta Analysis,Academic Achievement,Institutional Autonomy,Accountability,Accuracy,International Programs,Surveys,Foreign Countries

This article demonstrates how meta-analytic techniques, that have typically been used to synthesize findings across numerous studies, can also be applied to examine the reasons why relationships between background characteristics and outcomes may vary across different locations in a single multi-site survey. This application is particularly relevant to the analysis of data from international surveys of student achievement. A brief introduction to the method of meta-regression is provided and the technique is demonstrated in an analysis of the extent to which the relationship between school autonomy and achievement varies depending upon the level of accountability in a country. The results show that the meta-regression approach to analysis is more accurate than combining data across all countries into a single simple model.
Influences of Mood on Academic Course Evaluations
Author: Zumbach, Joerg
Date: 2014-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Course Evaluation,Psychological Patterns,Student Attitudes,Feedback (Response),Questionnaires,Undergraduate Students,Hypothesis Testing,Statistical Analysis,Human Body,Foreign Countries,Affective Measures,Affective Behavior

In two subsequent experiments, the influence of mood on academic course evaluation is examined. By means of facial feedback, either a positive or a negative mood was induced while students were completing a course evaluation questionnaire during lectures. Results from both studies reveal that a positive mood leads to better ratings of different dimensions of lecture quality. While in Study 1 (N=109) mood was not directly controlled, Study 2 (N=64) replicates the findings of the prior study and reveals direct influences of positive and negative mood on academic course evaluation.
Improving Your Exploratory Factor Analysis for Ordinal Data: A Demonstration Using FACTOR
Author: Baglin, James
Date: 2014-05-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Factor Analysis,Data,Likert Scales,Computer Software,Personality Measures,Comparative Analysis,Correlation

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) methods are used extensively in the field of assessment and evaluation. Due to EFA's widespread use, common methods and practices have come under close scrutiny. A substantial body of literature has been compiled highlighting problems with many of the methods and practices used in EFA, and, in response, many guidelines have been proposed with the aim to improve application. Unfortunately, implementing recommended EFA practices has been restricted by the range of options available in commercial statistical packages and, perhaps, due to an absence of clear, practical &quot;how-to&quot; demonstrations. Consequently, this article describes the application of methods recommended to get the most out of your EFA. The article focuses on dealing with the common situation of analysing ordinal data as derived from Likert-type scales. These methods are demonstrated using the free, stand-alone, easy-to-use and powerful EFA package FACTOR (http://psico.fcep.urv.es/utilitats/factor/, Lorenzo-Seva &amp; Ferrando, 2006). The demonstration applies the recommended techniques using an accompanying dataset, based on the Big 5 personality test. The outcomes obtained by the EFA using the recommended procedures through FACTOR are compared to the default techniques currently available in SPSS.
Quasi-Experiments in Schools: The Case for Historical Cohort Control Groups
Author: Walser, Tamara M.
Date: 2014-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Quasiexperimental Design,Cohort Analysis,Control Groups,Educational Assessment,Comparative Analysis,Educational Legislation,Validity,Construct Validity

There is increased emphasis on using experimental and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate educational programs; however, educational evaluators and school leaders are often faced with challenges when implementing such designs in educational settings. Use of a historical cohort control group design provides a viable option for conducting quasi-experiments in school-based outcome evaluation. A cohort is a successive group that goes through some experience together, such as a grade level or a training program. A historical cohort comparison group is a cohort group selected from pre-treatment archival data and matched to a subsequent cohort currently receiving a treatment. Although prone to the same threats to study validity as any quasi-experiment, issues related to selection, history, and maturation can be particularly challenging. However, use of a historical cohort control group can reduce noncomparability of treatment and control conditions through local, focal matching. In addition, a historical cohort control group design can alleviate concerns about denying program access to students in order to form a control group, minimize resource requirements and disruption to school routines, and make use of archival data schools and school districts collect and find meaningful.
What's so Simple about Simplified Texts? A Computational and Psycholinguistic Investigation of Text Comprehension and Text Processing
Author: Crossley, Scott A.
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Comprehension,Reading Processes,Second Language Instruction,Difficulty Level,Statistical Analysis,Scores,Language Proficiency,English (Second Language),Reading Instruction,Computational Linguistics,Psycholinguistics,Foreign Countries,High School Students,College Students,Grade Point Average,Age Differences,Online Surveys,Questionnaires,Computer Assisted Testing,Correlation

This study uses a moving windows self-paced reading task to assess both text comprehension and processing time of authentic texts and these same texts simplified to beginning and intermediate levels. Forty-eight second language learners each read 9 texts (3 different authentic, beginning, and intermediate level texts). Repeated measures ANOVAs reported linear effects of text type on reading time (normalized for text length) and true/false comprehension scores indicating that beginning level texts were processed faster and were more comprehensible than intermediate level and authentic texts. The linear effect of text type on comprehension remained significant within an ANCOVA controlling for language proficiency (i.e., TOEFL scores), reading proficiency (i.e., Gates-MacGinitie scores), and background knowledge, but not for reading time. Implications of these findings for materials design, reading pedagogy, and text processing and comprehension are discussed.
Pleasure Reading Behavior and Attitude of Non-Academic ESL Students: A Replication Study
Author: Ro, Eunseok
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Recreational Reading,Reading Attitudes,Reading Habits,Reading Motivation,Replication (Evaluation),Questionnaires,Statistical Significance,Correlation,Time on Task,Scores

The present study replicated the methods and data analysis of Crawford Camiciottoli's (2001) study on second language (L2) reading behavior of academic English-as-a-foreign-language students. Using the original study's questionnaire, we investigated 60 advanced non-academic English-as-a-second-language learners' L2 reading frequency and attitude. Descriptive statistics and multiple regressions were applied for the analysis. Our study revealed differentiated findings, while partially confirming Crawford Camiciottoli's results. In contrast to the original study, we found that the participants with positive attitudes towards reading tend to read more and that experience in the target-language culture and years of previous English study did not show statistically significant results on the participants' reading habits and attitudes. On the other hand and in line with the original study, first language (L1) reading correlated with L2 reading habits, and lack of time was the most selected reasons for poor reading habits.
Scoring Recalls for L2 Readers of English in China: Pausal or Idea Units
Author: Brantmeier, Cindy
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Reading,Recall (Psychology),College Students,Writing (Composition),Scoring,Correlation

Written recall may be a powerful tool used to address reading deficiencies in China. With 180 students enrolled in a third-year English class at a large university in northeastern China, the present investigation studies the relationship between pausal and idea units used to codify written recalls, and it investigates whether the strength of the relationship between pausal and idea units depends on other variables, such as length of time spent studying English, the amount of leisure reading done in English, or the version of passage. Findings indicate a strong correlation between idea units and pausal units for written recalls. This correlation underscores prior findings by Bernhardt (1991), and it reveals that the strength of the relationship between pausal and idea units does not depend on the moderating variables examined. Results are discussed in light of prior research and a detailed discussion of future directions for experiments of this type is offered.
Jumping from the Highest Graded Readers to Ungraded Novels: Four Case Studies
Author: Uden, Jez
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Reading Programs,Reading Comprehension,Reading Rate,Vocabulary Development,Fiction,Reading Tests,Difficulty Level,English (Second Language),Clubs,Novels,Case Studies

This study follows a small group of learners in the UK to the end of a graded reading program using the Cambridge Readers and investigates whether this particular graded reading series provides a bridge to reading unsimplified novels for pleasure. The participants' reading comprehension, reading rates, vocabulary text coverage, and overall affect were measured and used for comparison between two of the highest level Cambridge Readers and two ungraded novels. The four books were also analysed to investigate the potential &quot;gap&quot; in vocabulary coverage between graded and ungraded fiction. The overall results revealed that learners can progress from a graded reading program using the Cambridge Readers to reading unsimplified novels for pleasure, but are likely to experience a reduction in vocabulary coverage from over 98% to around 95%. It was also found that the gap between graded and unsimplified novels may not be as big as previously thought.
Cognitive and Linguistic Factors Affecting Alphasyllabary Language Users Comprehending Chinese Text
Author: Shum, Mark Shiu Kee
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Chinese,Reading Comprehension,Urdu,Indo European Languages,Second Language Learning,Adolescents,Comparative Analysis,Native Speakers,Short Term Memory,Language Processing,Sentences,Orthographic Symbols,Questionnaires,Intelligence Tests,Multivariate Analysis,Multiple Regression Analysis,Language Minorities,Learning Strategies,Foreign Countries

Two groups of 13 to14-year-old alphasyllabary language users (mainly Hindi and Urdu), in integrated or designated school settings (respectively 40 and 48 students), were compared with 59 Chinese students in comprehending 4 elementary Chinese texts, each with three inferential questions requiring short open-ended written answers. Three constructs each with two indicators were hypothesized to predict text comprehension differentially in the three groups: verbal working memory, orthographic processing and sentence processing. The 147 students also completed a short questionnaire on their reading and writing of Chinese, a 43-item Students' Approaches to Learning and a nonverbal general intelligence test. Multivariate analyses of variance and hierarchical multiple regression analyses point to the significant contribution of verbal span working memory, orthographic choice in context and sentence processing in Chinese to Chinese text comprehension. Educational implications include strengthening teaching the structure and function of Chinese characters and words to enhance text comprehension.
Changes in Reading Habits by Low Literate Adults through Extensive Reading
Author: Rodrigo, Victoria
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Reading Habits,Adult Literacy,Adult Basic Education,Intervention,Direct Instruction,Experimental Groups,Control Groups,Pretests Posttests,Recreational Reading,Reading Attitudes,Attitude Change,Native Speakers,English (Second Language),Teaching Methods,Literature Appreciation,Library Materials,Likert Scales,Intermode Differences

This study analyzes the effect of two reading interventions on reading habits by 181 low literate adults who read at the 3-5.9 grade levels. One intervention implemented extensive reading (ER group) and the other one had direct instruction (no-ER group). A Reading Pattern survey was administered at the beginning, at the end, and 6 months after the intervention. Statistical results suggest that the ER group, which had access to books, free choice of reading material, and time to read during instruction hours, was more motivated to read, developed a reading habit, and experienced a positive change in reading behavior. These changes stayed over time, 6 months after treatment. This study strongly suggests that adult learners can benefit from extensive and pleasure reading and that a well-equipped library, easy access to books, and encouragement and time to read are all key factors in the development of reading habits.
Semantic Radical Knowledge and Word Recognition in Chinese for Chinese as Foreign Language Learners
Author: Su, Xiaoxiang
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Chinese,Second Language Instruction,Language Proficiency,Word Recognition,College Students,Semantics,Student Characteristics,Knowledge Level,Receptive Language,Hypothesis Testing,Questionnaires,Written Language,Correlation,Listening Skills,Speech Skills,Reading Skills,Writing Skills,Statistical Analysis

In the present study, we examined the relation of knowledge of semantic radicals to students' language proficiency and word reading for adult Chinese-as-a-foreign language students. Ninety-seven college students rated their proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in Chinese, and were administered measures of receptive and productive knowledge of semantic radical position and function. A latent variable for language proficiency was constructed based on the number of semesters in Chinese courses, and students' self-rating in Chinese. Two language proficiency groups were reliably formed. Students with higher language proficiency had significantly better performances on all the measures of knowledge of semantic radicals and word recognition. Furthermore, the receptive and productive knowledge of semantic radical position and productive knowledge of semantic radical function were positively related to word reading after controlling for proficiency level. Productive knowledge of semantic radical function was uniquely and positively related to word reading after accounting for proficiency level and other measures of semantic radical knowledge.
Pleasure Reading and Reading Rate Gains
Author: Beglar, David
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Recreational Reading,Readability,Difficulty Level,Reading Materials,Reading Rate,Reading Improvement,Reading Fluency,College Students,Linguistic Competence,Basal Reading,Measures (Individuals),Vocabulary Development

This study investigated the effects of (a) the amount of pleasure reading completed, (b) the type of texts read (i.e., simplified or unsimplified books), and (c) the level of simplified texts read by 14 Japanese university students who made the largest reading rate gains over one academic year. The findings indicated that the participants who made the greatest fluency gains read an average of 208,607 standard words and primarily read simplified texts up to the 1,600-headword level. This study also provides an empirically supported criterion for the minimum amount learners should read annually (i.e., 200,000 standard words), provides direct evidence that simplified texts are more effective than unsimplified texts for reading rate development, and is the first study to provide empirical evidence that reading lower-level simplified texts within learners' linguistic competence is effective for developing the reading rates of Japanese learners at a lower-intermediate reading proficiency level.
Reflections on Expectations
Author: Santini, Joseph
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Expectation,Reflection,Teacher Expectations of Students,Deafness,Partial Hearing,Hearing Impairments,Inclusion,Educational Strategies,Educational Practices,Teaching Methods,Teaching Experience,Student Development,Academic Accommodations (Disabilities),Peer Groups

This article describes a teachers reflections on the matter of student expectations. Santini begins with a common understanding of the &quot;Pygmalion effect&quot; from research projects conducted in earlier years that intimated &quot;people&apos;s expectations could influence other people in the world around them.&quot; In the world of deaf education, he noted, teachers expected students with disabilities to perform less well than their peers without disabilities and thus acted in ways that contributed to that result. Choosing to teach in an inner city public school environment, Santini goal wasn&apos;t to treat the occasional deaf or hard of hearing student &quot;specially&quot; but equally, because he believed doing so would give him or her the greatest opportunity. Santini immersed students in a self-selected reading program on par with what other students in the same grade experienced. He chose to have class discussions and group projects instead of worksheets. While being honest with students about their initially poor achievement, he set expectations that helped them improve. Santini further notes, as teachers, they are often considered the most important variable in a student&apos;s success, so that means that, as teachers, they needed to be active and aware participants in the school community. They also need to be in touch with the student&apos;s home community. Further, they need to move beyond standardized tests and try to forge a true connection with students. Santini concludes, teachers can help advocate to diversify in their schools in terms of gender, race, and ability, and to provide a set of role models who help students form respectful communities of learning colleagues.
Meeting High Expectations: Healthy Thinking, Resiliency, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
Author: Egbert, Lisalee D.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Expectation,Thinking Skills,Deafness,Hearing Impairments,Resilience (Psychology),Child Development,Partial Hearing,Theory of Mind,Individualized Education Programs,Parent Participation,Educational Practices,Educational Strategies,Teaching Methods,Children

The authors present a positive outlook for deaf and hard of hearing children in meeting the high expectations set before them. Like all children, deaf and hard of hearing children thrive in environments that support and promote healthy ways of thinking. When individuals have healthy ways of thinking, they have what researchers call a &quot;growth mindset,&quot; and part of a growth mindset is resiliency. When a child who is resilient faces a challenge, he or she will try different solutions, exhibit greater effort, and not easily give up. Developing resiliency and growth mindsets in students has been found to lead to increased academic achievement. As teachers and parents together raise expectations for deaf and hard of hearing children, they must foster that resiliency. Children with growth mindsets go through life with high expectations for themselves, the resilience to overcome and persist through challenges, and a sense of confidence in handling whatever situation comes their way.
Arthropods and the Current Great Mass Extinction: Effective Themes to Decrease Arthropod Fear and Disgust and Increase Positive Environmental Beliefs in Children?
Author: Wagler, Amy
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Elementary School Science,Environmental Education,Animals,Fear,Positive Attitudes,Elementary School Students,Biodiversity,Wildlife,Beliefs,Student Attitudes,Learning Activities,Attitude Change,Structural Equation Models,Science Instruction,Instructional Effectiveness

Earth is experiencing a great mass extinction (GME) that has been caused by the environmentally destructive activities of humans. This GME is having and will have profound effects on Earth's biodiversity if environmental sustainability is not reached. Activities and curriculum tools have been developed to assist teachers in integrating the current GME theme into their existing curriculum. There has also been a recent appeal to incorporate the current GME theme into science and environmental education research but this research has yet to be conducted. This study presents the first time the current GME theme has been assessed in a research setting. This study analyzed the effect living &quot;Poecilotheria&quot; spider activities had on United States children. The variables measured included 1) human fear toward the Poecilotheria spiders; 2) human disgust toward the &quot;Poecilotheria&quot; spiders; and 3) human environmental beliefs associated with the current GMEs impact on the &quot;Poecilotheria&quot; spiders. New to this study is the finding that the use of living spiders in a positive educational setting that addresses the current GME are effective tools in decreasing fear and disgust and increasing positive environmental beliefs toward &quot;Poecilotheria&quot; spiders in children. Teachers of elementary children should consider arthropods, arthropod information and the current GME as effective themes to decrease arthropod fear and disgust and increase positive environmental beliefs in children. Lastly, this study presents a structural equation model showing that the reduction of fear and disgust towards specific animals can increase positive environmental beliefs in children when focused on the current GME.