It is Creeping Back … Learning Outcomes Often Follow Behaviourist Tradtion

Learning Outcomes
It is creeping back … always.

The Concept of Learning Outcomes Often Follows Behaviourist Tradtion

Learning outcomes as a concept has encountered a revival since the beginning of the Bologna process in 1999. The concept itself has a longer history with its roots in the behaviourist tradition of the 1960s. The goal of this review is to study how the historical roots of learning outcomes are noted in current research articles since the launch of the Bologna process and whether the concept of learning outcomes is used critically or uncritically. The review of 90 articles shows that the behaviourist tradition is still evident in the 21st century research with 29% of the articles directly and 11% indirectly referring uncritically to the respective publications or to the behaviourist epistemology.

Citation: Murtonen, M., Gruber, H., & Lehtinen, E. (2017). The return of behaviourist epistemology: A review of learning outcomes studies. Educational Research Review, 22(Supplement C), 114-128.

Find the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.08.001

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Conditioning factors of test‑taking engagement in PIAAC

test-taking engagement
Test-taking behavior is influenced by both the to-be assessed competency and individual test-taking engagement. Test-taking behavior is used to draw inferences about competency (response data) and can also be used to judge test-taking engagement (response time data). The expectancy of solving an item successfully and the personal value of taking the test are considered antecedents of test-taking engagement.

Conditioning factors of test‑taking engagement in PIAAC: an exploratory IRT modelling approach considering person and item characteristics

Background

A potential problem of low-stakes large-scale assessments such as the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is low test-taking engagement. The present study pursued two goals in order to better understand conditioning factors of test-taking disengagement: First, a model-based
approach was used to investigate whether item indicators of disengagement consti-tute a continuous latent person variable by domain. Second, the effects of person and item characteristics were jointly tested using explanatory item response models.

Methods
Analyses were based on the Canadian sample of Round 1 of the PIAAC, with N= 26,683 participants completing test items in the domains of literacy, numeracy, and problem solving. Binary item disengagement indicators were created by means of item response time thresholds.

Results
The results showed that disengagement indicators define a latent dimension by domain. Disengagement increased with lower educational attainment, lower
cognitive skills, and when the test language was not the participant’s native language. Gender did not exert any effect on disengagement, while age had a positive effect for problem solving only. An item’s location in the second of two assessment modules was positively related to disengagement, as was item difficulty. The latter effect was negatively moderated by cognitive skill, suggesting that poor test-takers are especially likely to disengage with more difficult items.

Conclusions:
The negative effect of cognitive skill, the positive effect of item difficulty, and their negative interaction effect support the assumption that disengagement is
the outcome of individual expectations about success (informed disengagement).

Full Article:
Goldhammer, F., Martens, T. & Luedtke, O. (2017). Conditioning factors of test-taking engagement in PIAAC: an exploratory IRT modelling approach considering person and item characteristics. Large-scale Assessments in Education, 5, 18. DOI: 10.1186/s40536-017-0051-9 [html, pdf]

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Free Download: Handbook of Learning Analytics 2017


Handbook of Learning Analytics
This new and free Handbook of Learning Analytics covers a broad sprectrum of topics including Emotion (from Sidney D’Mello) and Self-Regulated Learning (from Philip Winne).

This book is edited by Charles Lang, George Siemens, Alyssa Wise & Dragan Gašević

The full book can be downloaded for free here (CC BY 4.0)

Citation: Lang, C., Siemens, G., Wise, A., & Gašević, D. (Eds.). (2017). The Handbook of Learning Analytics. Society for Learning Analytics Research.
ISBN: 978-0-9952408-0-3
DOI: 10.18608/hla17

Find the table of content here.

New Book on PSI Theory: Why People Do the Things They Do – Building on Julius Kuhl’s Contributions to the Psychology of Motivation and Volition

PSI Theory

Buildung on the central contributions of Julius Kuhl like the PSI Theory leading researchers including Charles S. Carver and Richard M. Ryan reflect the implications for their own work.

This book is edited by Nicola Baumann, Miguel Kazén, Markus Quirin & Sander L. Koole

The first chapter can be dowloaded here.
The book ISBN: 9780889375406 can be bought here.

Citation: Baumann, N., Kazén, M., Quirin, M., & Koole, S. L. (Eds.). (2018). Why People Do the Things They Do. Göttingen: Hogrefe.

Please find the table of content here.

New Book on Self-Determination Theory by Ryan & Deci. The Selfdeterminationtheory.Org Homepage offers an initial discount!


A New Book on Self-Determination Theory by Ryan & Deci has been released. The Selfdeterminationtheory.Org Homepage offers an initial discount here!

Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a framework for understanding the factors that promote motivation and healthy psychological and behavioral functioning. In this authoritative work, the codevelopers of the theory comprehensively examine SDT’s conceptual underpinnings (including its six mini-theories), empirical evidence base, and practical applications across the lifespan. The volume synthesizes a vast body of research on how supporting—or thwarting—people’s basic needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy affects their development and well-being. Chapters cover implications for practice and policy in education, health care, psychotherapy, sport, and the workplace.