Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Experiential Learning And The Basic Communication Course: A New Path To Assessing Forensic Learning Outcomes, Ben Walker

Speaker & Gavel

Scholars have often touted the educational benefits of forensics (e.g.: Bartanen, 1998; Beasley, 1979; Brownlee, 1979; Ehninger, 1952; Gartell, 1973; Jensen, 2008; McBath, 1975; Millsap, 1998; Schroeder & Schroeder, 1995; Stenger, 1999; Yaremchuk, 1979). Critics, most notably Burnett, Brand, and Meister (2003), have argued forensics is only a competitive game with the idea of education used as a crutch to uphold the activity in the eyes of schools. While attempting to counter critics, many forensic educators have scrambled to find proof of student learning. Besides theoretical approaches to potential learning methods (e.g., Dreibelbis & Gullifor, 1992; Friedley, 1992; Sellnow, Littlefield, …

Trustworthiness In Mhealth Information Services: An Assessment Of A Hierarchical Model With Mediating And Moderating Effects Using Partial Least Squares (Pls), Shahriar Akter, John D'Ambra, Pradeep Ray

Shahriar Akter

The aim of this research is to advance both the theoretical conceptualization and the empirical validation of trustworthiness in mHealth (mobile health) information services research. Conceptually, it extends this line of research by reframing trustworthiness as a hierarchical, reflective construct, incorporating ability, benevolence, integrity, and predictability. Empirically, it confirms that partial least squares path modeling can be used to estimate the parameters of a hierarchical, reflective model with moderating and mediating effects in a nomological network. The model shows that trustworthiness is a second-order, reflective construct that has a significant direct and indirect impact on continuance intentions in the context …

Mapping For Change: Re-Imagining Assessment With Concept Maps, Heidi Gauder, Fred W. Jenkins

Fred W Jenkins

Facilitate student creativity and assess information skills at the same time with concept maps. Learn how to administer these easy assessments and analyze them for evidence of learning. The presenters will demonstrate how this assessment technique can be used in multiple situations and how it is possible to transform these maps into results that can be easily understood by stakeholders.

Factor Analysis Of The Sport Interference Checklist With Collegiate Athletes, Travis Albert Loughran

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

There are a variety of cognitive and behavioral factors that have been indicated to have a negative impact on sport performance. College student-athletes may be at particular risk to evidence problems that interfere with optimal sport performance due to high physical, social, and emotional demands. To fully understand what factors influence student-athlete sport performance, appropriate, psychometrically validated assessment measures are needed. The Sport Interference Checklist (SIC) is an assessment tool that was developed to assess sport performance in both training and competitive situations for student-athletes. The SIC includes two scales, the Problems in Sport Training Scale (PSTS) and the Problems …

Measuring Depression In Prostate Cancer Patients: Does The Scale Used Make A Difference?, Christopher Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika, David Christie, Myra Hunter

Vicki Bitsika

This study investigated differences in the scores, relative severity and major depressive disorder (MDD) and subsyndromal depression status from three standardised self-report scales for depression in prostate cancer (PCa) patients. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale Depression subscale (HADS-D), the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression were administered to a sample of 138 PCa patients via mail-out self-reports in Queensland, Australia during May 2014. Despite significant correlations between the total scores from the three scales, severity classification differed across the three scales and there was evidence of considerable underestimation of depression by the HADS-D …

Identifying Teaching Effectiveness: Using Student Skill Surveys, Speech Evaluations, And Quiz Scores To Inform Instruction, Sally A. Blomstrom

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This paper suggests an instrument for measuring students’ self perceptions of improvement in public speaking skills, i.e., a skill survey, and a method to inform and improve instruction by looking at results from that survey in combination with instructor evaluation forms for persuasive speeches, quiz scores, and an information literacy measure. Data were collected from students enrolled in a public speaking course at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Background on the survey development and the method is provided along with results and discussion.

Assessing The Public Speaking Course, Roberta Freeman

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

College and high school speech communication instructors know full well how tedious and timeconsuming assessment can be; however, this instructor has found a way to make assessment a more efficient and meaningful tool identifying strengths and weaknesses within the public speaking curriculum. After five years of extensive research, several drafts of rubrics and artifacts, the process has been streamlined and successful in that the data compiled reflects the strengths and challenges of this instructor’s students. This article is intended to provide public speaking instructors the opportunity to replicate part of the Minnesota State Community & Technical College (M State) speech …

Assessment Of Library Registration Between Fresh And Returning Undergraduate Students Of The Federal University Of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, Fehintola Nike Onifade, Adeniyi Sowole, Taiwo Aderonke Idowu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

The paper examines the rate at which students register with the library by comparing the fresh and the returning undergraduate students in the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Nigeria. Two hundred and fifty (250) copies of questionnaire were randomly distributed among students in late August, 2015 while two hundred and twenty four (224) copies were returned. Also used as databases for the study are the library statistics of registered students and the University’s student enrolment list for a period of five years starting from 2009/2010 to 2013/2014 academic sessions. The study revealed that fresh undergraduate students registered more than …

Reap What You Sow: Connecting Library Service Data To University Learning Outcomes, Mandy Shannon, Sue Polanka, Jason Lipiec

University Libraries' Staff Publications

Discover an innovative homegrown product for recording all reference, instruction, and collegial activities. This tool maps activities to university learning outcomes and generates reports to communicate the library’s value to campus stakeholders. Learn about how this product was developed, its use, and how one department has responded to it.

Implementing Universal Social And Emotional Learning Programs: The Development, Validation, And Inferential Findings From The Schoolwide Sel Capacity Assessment, Cheyne A. Levesseur

Doctoral Dissertations

In order to effectively transport universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs into natural settings, it is important to understand implementation barriers that may hinder the likelihood of successful outcomes (Fixsen, Naoom, Blasé, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005). The current study is primarily based on the notion that within the planning phase of implementation, few technically adequate assessment measures targeting both organizational capacity (OC) and provider characteristics (PC) for SEL programming actually exist. The purpose is to extend the SEL implementation assessment literature by developing a new rating scale designed to measure SEL implementation barriers (School SEL Capacity Assessment [SSCA]) and …

Library Analytics And Assessment: The Sine Qua Non Of Measuring Our Success, Jennifer A. Bartlett

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

This "New and Noteworthy" discusses recent and classic titles related to library evaluation and assessment in academic, public, and school library settings. Key online resources are also discussed.

We're Gonna Make It After All: Perspectives From Kent State University, Elizabeth A. Richardson, Virginia A. Dressler

Elizabeth A Richardson

Libqual+ 2015 Survey: Old Dominion University, Association Of Research Libraries, Texas A&M University

Libraries Reports and Documents

Full results of the 2015 LibQUAL+ Survey of Old Dominion University Libraries -- provided by Association of Research Libraries.

Differences In The Prevalence, Severity And Symptom Profiles Of Depression In Boys And Adolescents With An Autism Spectrum Disorder Versus Normally Developing Controls, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley

Vicki Bitsika

The prevalence, severity and symptom profiles for major depressive disorder (MDD) were compared in samples of boys and adolescents with and without an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Self-reports were obtained on the Depression subscale of the Child and Adolescent Symptoms Inventory (CASI-D) with 70 ASD and 50 non-ASD male participants between the ages of 8 and 18 from Queensland, Australia who were matched for age and IQ. Results indicated that the ASD participants had significantly higher total CASI-D scores, a greater proportion of participants who qualified for a diagnosis of MDD, and over 50% higher scores for 8 of the …

Agreement Between Self- Vs Parent-Ratings Of General Anxiety Disorder Symptoms And Salivary Cortisol In Boys With An Asd, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Nicholas Andronicos, Linda Agnew

Vicki Bitsika

To determine the relative validity of parent-assessed and self-assessed symptoms of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in boys with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 140 boys with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were assessed for GAD by their parents and by themselves, and gave a sample of cortisol during the afternoon of these assessments. There were significant differences between self-assessments and parents’ assessments for the total GAD score and on four of the eight individual GAD symptoms. Using cortisol concentrations as a validation index, the two key GAD items were most validly assessed via boys’ self-ratings. Key GAD symptoms in boys …

Project Rails: Lessons Learned About Collaborative Rubric Assessment Of Information Literacy Skills, Jackie Belanger, Ning Zou, Jenny Mills, Claire Holmes, Megan Oakleaf

Library Faculty Scholarship

Rubric assessment of information literacy is an important tool for librarians seeking to show evidence of student learning. The authors, who collaborated on the Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (RAILS) research project, draw from their shared experience to present practical recommendations for implementing rubric assessment in a variety of institutional contexts. These recommendations focus on four areas: (1) building successful collaborative relationships, (2) developing assignments, (3) creating and using rubrics, and (4) using assessment results to improve instruction and assessment practices. Recommendations are discussed in detail and include institutional examples of emerging practices that can be adapted for local …

Targeted Blended Learning Through Competency Assessment In An Undergraduate Information Systems Program, Joelle Elmaleh, Shankararaman, Venky

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper we report our study on the problem of competency acquisition when students progress from one course to another and more generally, from one term to the next. We observed that some students moved on to a second programming course without acquiring some of the competencies in the first programming course. This leads to problem in the second course, especially when these competencies are pre-requisites for this course. We applied blended learning, which allows a student to learn at least in part through delivery of content and instruction via online media, to overcome this problem. Our approach is …

Quantifying Students' Scientific Problem Solving Efficiency And Effectiveness, Ronald H. Stevens, Vandana Thadani

Vandana Thadani

Using online problem-solving tasks and machine learning tools, a measure has been developed to quantify the effectiveness and efficiency of students’ problem solving strategies. This measure can be normalized across problem solving tasks allowing the efficiency of problem solving to be measured across individuals, classes, schools and science domains. This extensible approach has relevance for helping teachers to teach, students to learn, and administrators to make intelligent, data-driven decisions via documentation of students’ problem solving progress.

Making The Case For Lending Assessment: Or, Why Do They Keep Putting My Symbol In Their Lending String?, Elizabeth Sterthaus

Publications

Why do libraries choose one library over another to send interlibrary loan requests to? The answer to one survey is freely available here.

From Stem To Steam: Reframing What It Means To Learn, Nicole M. Radziwill, Morgan C. Benton, Cassidy Moellers

The STEAM Journal

Although involvement in art and design have been shown to play an essential role in catalyzing STEM research, true integration is still an area of active research. The realization of STEM education via STEAM lends itself to interactive and participatory dialogic art; this juncture provides a nonjudgmental space to cultivate the question-making aspect of inquiry, the ability to comfortably hold uncertainty, and a sensitivity to the process of discovery. Even though STEM education can (and often is) inquiry-based, assessments still tend to focus on whether knowledge or skills have been obtained, and this is no different than the current general …

Graduate Conversations: Assessing The Space Needs Of Graduate Students, Melissa M. Burel, Abby Scheel, Rachel Besara, Jessica Evans Bradey, Kirsten Kinsley, Gloria Colvin

Library and Information Services Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

This article discusses the preferences, habits, and needs of graduate students as they relate to spaces for research and study. The findings are based on a large-scale ethnographic study of graduate students at Florida State University conducted between 2010 and 2013. Using a variety of ethnographic methods, researchers found that graduate students have diverse needs and unequal access to appropriate spaces and resources to meet those needs. Libraries can help fill the gaps left by home and academic departments by providing a range of spaces offering different noise levels, resources, and other amenities.

The Role Of Collaboration And Feedback In Advancing Student Learning In Media Literacy And Video Production, Carl M. Casinghino

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Educators can learn many lessons as they implement collaborative project strategies, manage appropriate feedback, and measure communicative skill development in the media literacy classroom. This article examines case studies and learning outcomes in a high school digital production classroom taught by a veteran media literacy educator.

Investigating The Predictive Validity Of Three Measures Of Number Sense, Bethany Politylo

Doctoral Dissertations

Number sense has been identified as an important foundational skill in the development of later mathematics competence. Although number sense has historically been difficult to define in the educational literature, operational definitions of the construct typically consist of a collection of early numeracy skills or “number sense components” such as quantity discrimination, rote counting, and one-to-one correspondence. Consequently, assessments of number sense tend to measure a wide variety of these skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of three measures of number sense: the Test of Early Numeracy (TEN), Number Sense Brief Screener (NSB), and …

The Cultural Connectedness Scale And Its Relation To Positive Mental Health Among First Nations Youth, Angela Snowshoe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The mental health and wellbeing of youth is one of the most urgent concerns affecting many First Nations communities across Canada. Despite a growing recognition that cultural connectedness (i.e., the extent to which an individual is integrated within his or her First Nations culture) is an important factor for promoting the mental health of First Nations youth, there remains a clear need for a conceptual model that organizes, explains, and leads to an understanding of the resiliency mechanisms underlying this construct. Study 1 involved the development of the Cultural Connectedness Scale (CCS) with a sample of 319 First Nations, Métis, …

Government Crisis Assessment And Reputation Management: A Case Study Of The Vietnam Health Minister's Crises In 2013-2014, Tuong-Minh Ly-Le

Tuong-Minh Ly-Le

In Vietnam, many government announcements have gathered negative receptions from the public. Among them, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, Vietnam Minister of Health, has received more of it. Through the case study of Ms. Kim Tien’s many scandals during the 2013-2014 period, this study is interested to see if the health scandals eventually elevated into a government crisis, how they affected the minister’s reputation, and what she could have done to better respond to the public. This study examined news articles on such health scandals to confirm whether the health scandals indeed escalated to be a government crisis. It also …

Best Practices For Student Learning Assessment In Smaller-Sized Undergraduate Mass Communication Programs, Douglas J. Swanson Ed.D Apr

Douglas J. Swanson, Ed.D APR

Assessment of student learning in higher education is no longer optional, because the public increasingly expects universities to spend less and produce more. Generating detailed, meaningful assessment is challenging, particularly for smaller-sized mass communication programs with limited resources. Mass communication-focused assessment literature is scarce. This best practices essay reviews other research to illustrate proven examples of ways to assess simply and effectively in undergraduate mass communication programs to achieve maximum faculty support and curriculum improvement.

Assessing Computer Searches Used For Systematic Reviews, Paul Fehrmann

Paul Fehrmann

Systematic reviews (SR) are valued for increasing the rigor of and reader confidence in “reviews of the literature”. SR have been widely adopted in the health and social sciences. Computer searches are key for the information base of SR, and computer searches must be evaluated. The Computer Search Report Checklist (CSRC) is being developed to evaluate computer search reports. This paper has 4 objectives: 1. To report on development of the Computer Search Report Checklist (CSRC). 2. To report comparisons to AMSTAR, PRISMA, PRESS, and others. 3. To report on the inter-rater agreement for CSRC items. 4. To report on …

Lassi: An Australian Evaluation Of An Enduring Study Skills Assessment Tool, James Gt Marland, Joanne Dearlove, Jennifer Carpenter

James Grice Thomas Marland

This study assesses the reliability and validity of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), an American survey instrument, in an Australian context. The results of this study were compared with those generated by a comparison study held at a different Australian university and also against other internationally published research. There was a high degree of similarity between the LASSI scores from the students at the two Australian universities, however these scores were considerably different from norms published in the LASSI manual. The students' scores in this study were also compared with data on their gender and age and the …

Development And Validation Of A State-Based Measure Of Emotion Dysregulation: The State Difficulties In Emotion Regulation Scale (S-Ders), Jason M. Lavender, Matthew T. Tull, David Dilillo, Terri Messman-Moore, Kim L. Gratz

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Existing measures of emotion dysregulation typically assess dispositional tendencies and are therefore not well suited for study designs that require repeated assessments over brief intervals. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a state-based multidimensional measure of emotion dysregulation. Psychometric properties of the State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (S-DERS) were examined in a large representative community sample of young adult women drawn from four sites (N = 484). Exploratory factor analysis suggested a four-factor solution, with results supporting the internal consistency, construct validity, and predictive validity of the total scale and the four subscales: Nonacceptance (i.e., …

Variation In The Profile Of Anxiety Disorders In Boys With An Asd According To Method And Source Of Assessment, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley

Vicki Bitsika

To determine any variation that might occur due to the type of assessment and source used to assess them, the prevalence of 7 anxiety disorders were investigated in a sample of 140 boys with an Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 50 non-ASD (NASD) boys via the Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory and the KIDSCID Clinical Interview. Boys with an ASD were significantly more anxious than their NASD peers. Data collected from the boys with an ASD themselves showed differences in the severity and diagnostic criterion of anxiety disorders to data collected from the boys’ parents. There were age-related variations to …