This study examined the impact of cooperative learning activities on student achievement and attitudes in large-enrollment (greater than 250) introductory biology classes. We found that students taught using a cooperative learning approach showed greater improvement in their knowledge of course material compared with students taught using a…

Cross-cultural differences in emotional expressions following disappointment were examined in 59 Chinese American (CA) and 58 European American (EA) children. Children aged four or seven participated in a disappointing gift situation. Dimensions of expressive behaviors following disappointment were coded and included positive, negative, social…

This article contains results from an online survey that asked 66 college-level language program directors of French, German, and Spanish in (he United States about policies and procedures governing foreign language writing at their respective institutions. Survey categories included (1) general Information, (2) Information regarding practices and…

This article presents a new measure of teachers' confidence to conduct musical activities with young children; Teachers Music Confidence Scale (TMCS). The TMCS was developed using a sample of 284 in-service and pre-service early childhood teachers in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The TMCS consisted of 10 musical activities.…

The use of data from student surveys has become a common element of universities' and governments' strategies to assure the quality of university teaching. With the introduction of a new government policy in Australia in 2005, these survey-derived teaching performance indicators now determine the distribution of many millions of dollars of funding…

This study examines the feedback practices of 110 EFL teachers from five different countries (Cyprus, France, Korea, Spain, and Thailand), working in secondary school contexts. All provided feedback on the same student essay. The coding scheme developed to analyse the feedback operates on two axes: the stance the teachers assumed when providing…

Because Scientists in doctoral-granting departments have considerable autonomy in their work and significant impact in basic science as well as the training of students, the organization of work among this group is especially important in the study of higher education. This article addresses the effects upon publication productivity of "whom"…

This study examined the effects of taking notes in the portion of the Test of English as a Foreign language (TOEFL) listening comprehension section that contains short monologues, or "mini-talks." These effects were assessed in experimental testing sessions with students in intensive English language programs and with undergraduate and…

The reader-response journal has proven useful in the literature-based composition class; it is also useful in the literature survey at the sophomore or junior level of college. Survey courses have a standard protocol that students have come to expect. In these classes, the teacher is an expert who lectures on historical background, trends, and…

Written by teacher-participants during 3 summer institutes in literary criticism and the teaching of literature, the 11 resource guides presented in this book deal with literary texts by American authors--texts which are commonly taught in secondary English classrooms. Each resource guide in the book includes critical commentary and information…

Simulated data were used to investigate the performance of modified versions of the Mantel-Haenszel and standardization methods of differential item functioning (DIF) analysis in computer-adaptive tests (CATs). Each "examinee" received 25 items out of a 75-item pool. A three-parameter logistic item response model was assumed, and…

The development and evaluation of methods for detecting potentially biased items or differentially functioning items (DIF) represent a critical area of research for psychometricians because of the negative impact of biased items on test validity. A summary is provided of the authors' 12 years of research at the University of Massachusetts…

This paper, the fourth in a series, looks at the critical role that teachers play in the success or failure of educational change. The most powerful impact on learning occurs when teachers change their practices and beliefs. The paper describes the experiences of two K-6 Pacific schools--Waialae (Honolulu) and Blanche Pope (Oahu) with systemic…

This paper presents an information processing model of test anxiety in an attempt to explain the mechanism of test anxiety's effect on working memory within the framework of the American College Testing Program Assessment (ACT). The model suggests that the construct of test anxiety, both worry and emotionality, is represented in the declarative…

A study tested responses of viewers (as opposed to news organizations and sponsoring firms) to video news releases (VNRs). Subjects, 81 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory advertising course, viewed a 30-second message about McDonald's and the Big Mac in a VNR format or an advertisement about the Big Mac special "Meal…