Social factors in the classroom (such as interactions with peers and teachers, talk, observation of others, and presence of peers and teachers) influence engagement, but little is known about the sequence or timing of these social factors with engagement. In this observational study of 12 preschoolers, ages 2-5 years, the influence of the timing…

The study was designed to develop and factorially validate an instrument for measuring teaching practice skills of chemistry student-teachers in University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Two research questions guided the study. The design of the study was instrumentation. All the chemistry student-teachers in the Department of Science Education, University…

The purpose of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Inclusive Classroom Profile (ICP), an observation measure designed to assess the quality of classroom practices in inclusive preschool programs. The measure was field tested in 51 inclusive classrooms. Results confirmed and extended previous research findings, providing…

One core area of research in Second Language Acquisition is the identification and definition of developmental stages in different L2s. For L2 French, Bartning and Schlyter (2004) presented a model of six morphosyntactic stages of development in the shape of grammatical profiles. The model formed the basis for the computer program Direkt Profil…

A broad communicative repertoire can help university lecturers to motivate and engage diverse student populations. The aim of this study is to develop and explore the usefulness and validity of a tool to identify patterns in lecturers' verbal repertoire. Speech act theory is presented as a framework to study lecturers' verbal…

Eight cyclists were photographed with a digital camera for three trials while positioned on their own bicycle wearing their helmet. The positions were different from each other and described as hands on the brake hoods, hands below the curve of the brake hoods on the handlebars, and using aerobars. Twenty-four trials were digitized by two…

Purpose: In the present study, the authors investigated the association between wet vocal quality (WVQ) and prandial material in the larynx during phonation. The presence of such material is indicative of oropharyngeal dysphagia and results from entry of material into the laryngeal vestibule during swallowing. The primary aim of the study was to…

What are the most efficient and effective methods in measuring outcomes for assurance of learning in higher education? This study examines the merits of outsourcing part of the assessment workload by comparing ratings completed by trained student interns to ratings completed by faculty. Faculty evaluation of students' written work samples provides…

As states, districts, and schools transition toward more rigorous educator evaluation systems, they are placing additional weight on judgments about educator practice. Since teacher and principal observation ratings inherently rely on evaluators' professional judgment, there is always a question of how much the ratings depend on the particular…

Given the emphasis placed on strong leadership as a condition for high performing schools, identifying and assessing the characteristics of effective school leaders have become essential tasks for local jurisdictions, state departments of education, and the federal government. However, many forms of appraisal have failed to assess the daily work…

The objective of this study was to develop an instrument to observe the play behaviour of a whole group of children from four to six years of age in a classroom setting on the basis of video recording. The instrument was developed in collaboration with experienced teachers and experts on play. Categories of play were derived from the literature…

Our study examines the efficacy of Computer Assisted Scoring (CAS) of open-response text relative to expert human scoring within the complex domain of evolutionary biology. Specifically, we explored whether CAS can diagnose the explanatory elements (or Key Concepts) that comprise undergraduate students' explanatory models of natural selection with…

SPAID (Psychiatric Instrument for the Intellectually Disabled Adult) is the first Italian tool-package for carrying out psychiatric diagnosis in adults with Intellectual Disabilities (ID). It includes the "G" form, for general diagnostic orientation, and specific checklists for all groups of syndromes stated by the available…

Purpose: To evaluate reliability and feasibility of the Motor Learning Strategy Rating Instrument (MLSRI) in children with acquired brain injury (ABI). The MLSRI quantifies the extent to which motor learning strategies (MLS) are used within physiotherapy (PT) interventions. Methods: PT sessions conducted by ABI team physiotherapists with a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate rater effects on the TGMD-2 when it applied to children with intellectual disability. A total of 22 children with intellectual disabilities participated in this study. Children's performances in each of 12 subtests of the TGMD-2 were recorded via video and scored by three adapted physical activity…