Do Scaffolded Supports between Aspects of Problem Solving Enhance Assessment Usability?

While problem solving as an instructional technique is widely advocated, educators are often challenged in effectively assessing student skill in this area. Students failing to solve a problem might fail in any of several aspects of the effort. The purpose of this research was to validate a scaffolded technique for assessing problem solving in science and social studies at the middle school level. This technique attempts to isolate three aspects of problem solving (data collection, analysis and display, and interpretation) and to measure each aspect separately. Problem solving measures were developed in both science and social studies. These were administered both fall and spring to determine student skill in problem solving and to measure growth in problem solving skill over time and differential skill across grades (6 through 8). Segmented tasks were scaffolded between segments to circumvent the interdependency of elements of the problem solving process. It was determined the measures were successful in supporting students who had difficulty across segments within a single problem solving task and student problem solving skills could be evaluated effectively using the results of the measure

Do Scaffolded Supports between Aspects of Problem Solving Enhance Assessment Usability?

While problem solving as an instructional technique is widely advocated, educators are often challenged in effectively assessing student skill in this area. Students failing to solve a problem might fail in any of several aspects of the effort. The purpose of this research was to validate a scaffolded technique for assessing problem solving in science and social studies at the middle school level. This technique attempts to isolate three aspects of problem solving (data collection, analysis and display, and interpretation) and to measure each aspect separately. Problem solving measures were developed in both science and social studies. These were administered both fall and spring to determine student skill in problem solving and to measure growth in problem solving skill over time and differential skill across grades (6 through 8). Segmented tasks were scaffolded between segments to circumvent the interdependency of elements of the problem solving process. It was determined the measures were successful in supporting students who had difficulty across segments within a single problem solving task and student problem solving skills could be evaluated effectively using the results of the measure. Keywords: scaffolding, assessment, problem solvin

A case of natural recovery after the removal of invasive predators – community assemblage changes in the avifauna of Burgess Island

Opportunities to monitor natural island ecosystem recovery following the eradication of introduced predators are rare, and provide a useful comparison for recovery programmes aided by active habitat restoration and species translocations. We present an assessment of the current avifauna on Burgess Island, Mokohinau Group, 2 decades after kiore (Pacific rat; Rattus exulans) removal. The 4 most abundant land bird species we recorded are red-crowned parakeet (Cyanorhamphus novaezelandiae), bellbird (Anthornis melanura), tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) and silvereye (Zosterops lateralis), all New Zealand native taxa. Our records confirm that 46 species now utilize the island’s habitats, compared with 24 species reported from the literature during the last decades of rat infestation. We also confirm breeding of 9 seabird species by 2011, only 4 of which maintained breeding populations on Burgess Island prior to rat eradication. More than 20 years after predator removal, Burgess Island hosts a rich avifauna, and provides a valuable example of natural recovery following predator eradication without any further active restoration measure