The protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown" misinterprets experiences that befall him because he cannot escape what Jean Piaget calls "egocentrism"--lack of awareness of anything outside one's immediate experience. Today's college students, reading Hawthorne, misinterpret the story, since they too…

This study, based on the Rasch model, used R. M. Smith's (1986) classification of measurement disturbances to assess the Rasch model approach to error control and statistical prediction. Partitioning the error component into a person component, an item-person interaction component, and a random unexplained error component has the net effect of…

This brief summarizes what is presently known about violence in schools and provides recommendations for preventing the violence. The following findings are presented concerning the prevalence of school violence: (1) both teachers and students are in greater danger of losing their property through theft than of being assaulted or robbed; (2) both…

This document describes a practicum designed to address the needs of the parents of children who have experienced extrafamilial sexual abuse. It notes that, in cases of extrafamilial child sexual abuse, services are directed toward the child and that the neglect of the parents may exacerbate the child's stress. The practicum is aimed at: (1)…

Focusing on recent composition theory, this paper offers suggestions for writing teachers in applying concepts of dialogic discourse directly to the pedagogy of the college writing course. The first section of the paper addresses the influence of the social constructionist work on interpretation theory by Richard Rorty, Clifford Geertz, and…

A previous study of the perceived social realism of television series featuring families was both replicated and extended with a sample of 1692 second, sixth, and tenth graders in 42 schools in southern California. The "Viewing Frequency" instrument and the "Realism" instrument took children 10-15 minutes to complete. Content…

This collection of research papers considers extensions of the Rasch model. In Chapter 1, K. C. Cheung explains how measurement and testing in the classroom can be made more meaningful, particularly through the use of Rasch family item response models. In Chapter 2, K. W. Koon and K. C. Cheung apply the Rasch model in constructing a part-whole…

Data banks with items calibrated under an item response model can be used for the construction of tests. Mathematical programming models like the Maximin Model are formulated for computerized item selection from a bank. In this paper, mathematical programming models based on the Maximin Model are proposed for the construction of weakly parallel…

A questionnaire survey was used at Southern California University, Berkeley in which 140 faculty members gave their opinions about the problems and pleasures in teaching large lecture classes (minimum 100 students). Faculty members were also queried about their practices in dealing successfully with problems and their recommendations for…

This paper is the final report of a multi-year project sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in 1987 through 1990. The main objectives of the research summarized were to: investigate the non-parametric approach to the estimation of the operating characteristics of discrete item responses; revise and strengthen the package computer…

It has been noted that students have an influential role in determining the nature of classroom events in the middle grades and that their teachers adjust their classroom behavior in response to the characteristics of students in the class. This paper analyzes instruction as discourse between teacher and students and the collaborative nature of…

The objective of this study was to investigate how classroom questioning and discussion skills, designed to increase scientific literacy and problem solving performance, affects student achievement in biology and chemistry. The two independent variables for this study were the effects of wait time and supportive intervention. The dependent…

A recent study examined the socioeconomic status (SES), parent participation, teacher awareness, and academic achievement of 76 elementary school students. Results were obtained through interpretation of data and review of relevant literature. A strong positive correlation was found between a student's SES and academic achievement in school. Some…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which written error-correcting feedback on teacher-made criterion-referenced tests results in increased achievement of high school students taking algebra. In addition, student attitudes toward chapter tests and changes that may occur in those attitudes resulting from teacher treatment of…

This study investigated the effect of timed testing on developmental students' scores and developed data that might better reveal students' reading and testing behaviors. Three tests were administered to provide six variables, including the Cooperative English Test, Form 1A (Coop 1A); Cooperative English Test, Form 1B (Coop 1B); and Degrees of…