The Particulate Nature of Matter and Chemical Bonding Diagnostic Instrument (Othman J., Treagust D. F. and Chandrasegaran A. L., (2008), "Int. J. Sci. Educ.," 30(11), 1531-1550) is used to investigate college students' understanding of two chemistry concepts: particulate nature of matter and chemical bonding. The instrument, originally…

The use of confidence intervals (CIs) as an addition or as an alternative to null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) has been promoted as a means to make researchers more aware of the uncertainty that is inherent in statistical inference. Little is known, however, about whether presenting results via CIs affects how readers judge the…

This preliminary study investigated the impact of the online interactive programme Brainology (which aimed to encourage a growth mindset) on the mindset, resiliency and sense of mastery of secondary school pupils. A quasi-experimental pre-, post- and follow-up mixed-methods study was carried out with 33 participants aged 13-14 years. The measures…

An in-class activity is described that can be used not only to motivate hypothesis testing, but also to understand and compute the p-value and power in a statistical test. (Contains 3 figures.)

This article, written by three research-active teachers with the support of their academic partner, interrogates the achievement-attendance link in the most recent government quantitative data for secondary schools in England: persistent absentees stands at 6.6% for all children, but it raises to 9% for students who are classed as "Pupil…

This study examines the perspectives of Wyoming instructional facilitators, concerning three coaching constructs--namely, their instructional leadership roles, teachers' instructional practices, and the support that they receive from principals and teachers. Findings suggest that instructional facilitators were positive about their instructional…

Performing research can be an overwhelming and challenging endeavor. It's easy to get confused just from collecting, reading and deciphering textbooks and journal articles. Getting organized and mapping out the entire process would be extremely helpful and more importantly provide a path for accomplishing the research project. This paper will…

Many students confuse the standard deviation and standard error of the mean and are unsure which, if either, to use in presenting data. In this article, we endeavour to address these questions and cover some related ambiguities about these quantities.

There has been increasing interest in using of web-based surveys--rather than paper based surveys--for collecting data on alcohol and other drug use in middle and high schools in the US. However, prior research has indicated that respondent confidentiality is an underlying concern with online data collection especially when computer-assisted…

The authors examined the needs of digital information service web portal users. More specifically, the needs of Korean cultural portal users were examined as a case study. The conceptual framework of a web-based portal is that it is a complex, web-based service application with characteristics of information systems and service agents. In…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how the authors gained a better understanding of the variety of library users' data needs, and how gradually some new data services were established based on current capabilities. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses a case study of the new data services at the John Cotton Dana Library, at…

The present article describes four free or inexpensive Internet-based activities that can be used to supplement statistics/research methods/general psychology classes. Each activity and subsequent homework assessment is described, as well as homework performance outcome and student opinion data for each activity. (Contains 1 table.)

In this paper, the authors describe how two institutions are helping their undergraduate biology students build quantitative competencies. Incorporation of quantitative skills and reasoning in biology are framed through a discussion of two cases that both concern introductory biology courses, but differ in the complexity of the mathematics and the…

In this paper the use of the Rasch model is explored as a transparent, systematic and theoretically underpinned response to quality issues that are widely recognised as problematic in the refinement of Likert scale questionnaires. Key issues are the choice of length of scale, the pursuit of a favourable estimate of Cronbach's alpha at the possible…

This study examined the impact of computer-assisted instruction on the mathematics performance of underachieving fifth-grade students in a rural school district in South Carolina. The instructional technology program ([IF) is South Carolina's response to addressing the needs of its young, struggling math students. The 449 fifth-grade students in…