Originally designed for students in Grades 3 through 5, MOCCA (formerly the Multiple-choice Online Causal Comprehension Assessment), identifies students who struggle with comprehension, and helps uncover why they struggle. There are many reasons why students might not comprehend what they read. They may struggle with decoding, or reading words…

Success in life is determined to a large extent by school performance, which in turn depends heavily on grades obtained in exams. In this study, we investigate a particular type of exam: multiple-choice tests. More concretely, we study if patterns of correct answers in multiple-choice tests affect performance. We design an experiment to study if…

Testing can do more than just determine what a student knows; it can aid the learning process, a phenomenon known as the testing effect. There is a growing trend for students to create and share self-assessment questions in their subject, as advocated by the contributing-student pedagogy (CSP). For subjects with large enrolments, this process can…

This study was conducted to examine the impact of integrated humor on direct measures of students' ability to retain and transfer information from educational lessons. In two experiments, participants were randomly exposed to either a lesson with humorous examples or standard examples and were subsequently asked to take tests on the material. Data…

This article presents the results of an empirical study of "subset selection" tests, which are a generalisation of traditional multiple-choice tests in which test takers are able to express partial knowledge. Similar previous studies have mostly been supportive of subset selection, but the deduction of marks for incorrect responses has…

Although multiple-choice items (MCIs) are widely used for classroom assessment, designing MCIs with sufficient number of plausible distracters is very challenging for teachers. In this regard, previous empirical studies reveal that using three-option MCIs provides various advantages when compared to four-option MCIs due to less preparation and…

The comparative effects of student-created feedback for online student-created multiple-choice questions (the experimental group) and online student-created multiple-choice questions alone (the control group) on middle school-aged students' learning motivation and both positive and negative academic emotions were examined. A non-equivalent control…

The present study aimed at investigating the effects of scaffolding strategies using input and output-oriented tasks on Iranian EFL learners' receptive and productive knowledge of lexical collocations. For this purpose, 540 adult intermediate-level EFL learners--both male and female--were selected and divided into six experimental groups; three…

Dynamic Assessment (DA) is proposed as a workable diagnostic tool in second or foreign language context. Compared to traditional non-dynamic testing, DA presents a more comprehensive account of human beings' abilities through addressing both the fully internalized abilities and the abilities that are in the process of being internalized. However,…

While aptitude has been seen to contribute to second language (L2) development, most studies have examined its contribution as a fixed trait, rather than viewing it as a dynamic, changing variable. There appears to have been little or no investigation of the role that aptitude plays in the development of L2 pragmatic ability. Therefore, this study…

The current study sought to examine the validity of a General English Achievement Test (GEAT), administered to university students in the fall semester of 2018-2019 academic year, by hybridizing differential information (DIF) and differential distractor function (DDF) analytical models. Using a purposive sampling method, from the target population…

In adaptive learning systems, various models are employed to obtain the optimal learning schedule and review for a specific learner. Models of learning are used to estimate the learner's current recall probability by incorporating features or predictors proposed by psychological theory or empirically relevant to learners' performance. Logistic…

Previous studies on lexical focus on form (FonF) have mostly centred on FonF in reading with a few pre-selected lexical items. This study investigated the contribution of oral incidental FonF to developing learners' lexical knowledge in a free discussion EFL class. Incidental FonF was provided to 15 upper-intermediate learners who participated in…

This paper explores the impact of AI applications in adaptive learning on learners with varying levels of Chinese proficiency and diverse learning needs. The study investigates the robustness of VR technology in enhancing Chinese oral proficiency and pragmatic skills among 1st year and 2nd year learners. It compares the established VR app Mondly…

As part of integrated instruction, educators aim to efficiently and simultaneously address learning goals across multiple subject areas like English language arts (ELA) and science or social studies. While studies are beginning to show that this instructional approach can be effective, it is challenging to implement in practice, requiring that…