The main thesis of the present study is to use the Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM) methodology of establishing approximate measurement invariance (A-MI) using data from a national examination in Saudi Arabia as an alternative to not meeting strong invariance criteria. Instead, we illustrate how to account for the absence of…

The evaluation of hypotheses, and the ability to learn from critical reflection on experimental and theoretical tests of those hypotheses, is central to an authentic practice of physics. A large part of physics education therefore seeks to help students understand the significance of this kind of reflective practice and to develop the strategies…

Abilities in scientific thinking and reasoning have been emphasized as core areas of initiatives, such as the Next Generation Science Standards or the College Board Standards for College Success in Science, which focus on the skills the future will demand of today's students. Although there is rich literature on studies of how these abilities…

Students conducted inquiry using simulations within a rich learning environment for 4 science topics. By applying educational data mining to students' log data, assessment metrics were generated for two key inquiry skills, testing stated hypotheses and designing controlled experiments. Three models were then developed to analyze the transfer of…

Over the past decade, there has been growing interest in real-time assessment of student engagement and motivation during interactions with educational software. Detecting symptoms of disengagement, such as off-task behavior, has shown considerable promise for understanding students' motivational characteristics during learning. In this paper, we…