Feedback on teachers' text assessment: Does it foster assessment accuracy and motivation?

Teachers' assessment of students' performance on complex tasks, such as writing, is important both for their teaching and for students' learning. Teachers must be able and motivated to assess texts correctly. According to theoretical assumptions, feedback can help promote the diagnostic competencies required to assess texts correctly, but, up until now, no empirical studies have examined the effects of accuracy feedback on teachers' assessments. We conducted an experimental study comparing the effects of two feedback interventions with a practice-only control group on teachers' assessment accuracy and motivation. Student teachers (n = 181) and experienced teachers (n = 114) assessed 10 students' texts in all groups. The feedback in both of the feedback groups showed the teachers a comparison between their own assessments and correct assessments. We varied the feedback presentation between one single presentation after five texts and single presentations after each of the first five texts. We measured assessment accuracy and situational interest, which conceptualizes motivation, to assess the next five texts. The results showed that feedback promoted situational interest but not assessment accuracy. We discuss why teachers found feedback interesting and under what circumstances training interventions could be useful.Die Beurteilungen von Lehrkräften zu den schriftlichen Leistungen ihrer Schülerinnen und Schüler spielen eine wichtige Rolle für die Unterrichtsgestaltung und das Lernen. Daher sollen für die Aus- und Weiterbildung von Lehrkräften Trainingsmöglichkeiten geschaffen werden, welche die Kompetenz und Motivation der Lehrkräfte zur korrekten Beurteilung erhöhen. Es ist anzunehmen, dass Feedback diagnostische Kompetenzen fördern kann, aber momentan fehlt es an empirischen Studien, die die Effektivität von Feedback im Vergleich zu Beurteilungsübungen ohne Feedback untersuchen. Der vorliegende Artikel stellt eine experimentelle Studie vor, in der die Effekte von zwei Feedback-Interventionen auf die Beurteilungsgenauigkeit und Motivation der Lehrkräfte mit einer Kontrollgruppe, in der Texte ohne Feedback beurteilt wurden, verglichen wurden. Lehramtsstudierende (n = 181) und erfahrene Lehrkräfte (n = 114) bewerteten in allen Gruppen zehn Schülertexte. In beiden Feedbackbedingungen wurde den Lehrkräften ein Vergleich der eigenen Bewertung mit der Bewertung des Textes durch Expert:innen gezeigt. Zwischen den Gruppen variierte die Feedback-Präsentation zwischen einer einmaligen Präsentation nach fünf Texten und mehrmaliger Präsentation nach jedem der ersten fünf Texte. Danach wurde die Motivation weitere Texte zu beurteilen, sowie die Beurteilungsgenauigkeit bei der Beurteilung der zweiten fünf Texte gemessen. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass beide Feedbackbedingungen im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe das situative Interesse an der Beurteilung förderten, aber nicht die Genauigkeit. Es wird diskutiert, warum Lehrkräfte die Beurteilung mit Feedback interessanter fanden und unter welchen Umständen Trainingsinterventionen nützlich sein können.Peer Reviewe

Is a Long Essay Always a Good Essay? The Effect of Text Length on Writing Assessment

The assessment of text quality is a transdisciplinary issue concerning the research areas of educational assessment, language technology, and classroom instruction. Text length has been found to strongly influence human judgment of text quality. The question of whether text length is a construct-relevant aspect of writing competence or a source of judgment bias has been discussed controversially. This paper used both a correlational and an experimental approach to investigate this question. Secondary analyses were performed on a large-scale dataset with highly trained raters, showing an effect of text length beyond language proficiency. Furthermore, an experimental study found that pre-service teachers tended to undervalue text length when compared to professional ratings. The findings are discussed with respect to the role of training and context in writing assessment

The relationship between theory of mind and mental rotation ability in preschool aged children

This study investigates the relationship between two tasks of perspective taking, the social perspective taking ability, namely theory of mind, and the spatial one, namely mental rotation, in preschool aged children. Both abilities develop during preschool age (Frick et al., 2013; Wellmann et al., 2001). We investigated 83 children aged between three and four years regarding their theory of mind and mental rotation ability. A significant correlation between both tasks was found for those children, who were able to solve the mental rotation task. This relation was no longer significant when analyzing the two age groups separately. Due to the small sample size as well as the performance in the mental rotation test more research is needed to investigate this relationship and its role in development

Investigating Cognitive Performance Deficits in Male and Female Soccer Players after a 4-week Heading- Training Programme: A Controlled Study

This experimental study with a controlled pre-test and post-test group design investigated the possible effects of four sessions of heading training on cognitive performance. A total of 118 participants (mean age of 22.25 years) were assigned to one of the three following groups: a heading-training group, a passing-training group and a waiting control group. The participants completed a cognitive test battery of attention (D2-test), working memory (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task, PASAT-2) and visual spatial intelligence (Mental Rotation Test) tests before, immediately after the second training session and one week after the fourth training session. There were no between-group differences in cognitive performance after the second or the fourth heading training sessions. However, within the heading-training group, women complained more of headaches than men after the fourth training session. These results build on the results from the study of Rieder and Jansen (2011) that showed no neuropsychological consequences after one heading session, showing no cumulative effects of repeat heading

Constructing national fashion identities (Editorial)

This special issue of the International Journal of Fashion Studies features a selection of articles that were presented as papers during the second edition of the (Non)Western Fashion Conference, held at the London College of Fashion in November 2013. The conference provides a forum for scholars who focus on a wide variety of fashion systems throughout the world and who aspire to rectify a prevailing Eurocentric discourse in fashion studies. Although fashion is historically located everywhere, many fashion systems remain little known and therefore seem less important or influential. Many are misinterpreted due to a (Eurocentric) binary oppositional thinking which creates false dichotomies, like traditional versus fashionable, tradition versus modernity, western versus non-western, local versus global, and so on. The conference sets out to gather academics, curators, designers and industry professionals who are engaged in creative and critical thinking concerning (non)western fashion systems in a wide scope of geographical areas and from a wide variety of disciplines, targeting a true global perspective through cross-cultural comparisons based on extensive field research rather than ‘fashion globalization’. Fashion globalization is a popular concept that has been implying participatory narratives in recent years whereby especially new economies are included in fashion discourse in the light of their recent socio-economic achievements, their convergence with the West, and their successful engagement with fashion as consumers and producers. In order to understand fashion beyond Europe, the conference adheres to Giorgio Riello and Peter McNeil’s argument that it is important to refrain from thinking that fashion in the non-West has only recently emerged as a result of globalization (2010: 4–5)

Measuring interdisciplinary understanding in higher education

The growing number of interdisciplinary degree programmes offered at comprehensive research universities aim to ensure that students gain interdisciplinary understanding, defined as knowledge and skills that provide them with the means to produce cognitive enhancements that would not be possible through monodisciplinary programmes. Previous studies suggest that interdisciplinary understanding comprises six main elements: knowledge of different disciplinary paradigms, knowledge of interdisciplinarity, reflection skills, critical reflection skills, communication skills, and collaboration skills. However, empirical evidence to support this conceptualised model is lacking. The current study therefore proposes an Interdisciplinary Understanding Questionnaire (24 items) to assess this model. Its construct validity and measurement invariance were tested among 505 first-year Bachelor’s students from different academic disciplines (e.g. humanities, science, social sciences). A (multigroup) confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the conceptualised model of interdisciplinary understanding, as well as measurement invariance across academic disciplines. Implications for educational practice, for instance regarding student assessment and quality assurance, are discussed

Feasibility of an interactive patient portal in oncology : qualitative study

Background: Digital health interventions, such as the use of patient portals, have been shown to offer benefits to a range of patients including those with a diagnosis of cancer. Objective: This study aimed to explore the participant experience and perception of using an interactive Web-based portal for monitoring physical activity, remote symptom reporting, and delivering educational components. Methods: Participants who were currently under treatment or had recently completed intensive treatment for cancer were recruited to three cohorts and invited to join a Web-based portal to enhance their physical activity. Cohort 1 received Web portal access and an activity monitor; cohort 2 had additional summative messaging; and cohort 3 had additional personalized health coaching messaging. Following the 10-week intervention, participants were invited to participate in a semistructured interview. Interview recordings were transcribed and evaluated using qualitative thematic analysis. Results: A total of 17 semistructured interviews were carried out. Participants indicated that using the Web portal was feasible. Personalized messaging improved participant perceptions of the value of the intervention. There was a contrast between cohorts and levels of engagement with increasing health professional contact leading to an increase in engagement. Educational material needs to be tailored to the participants’ cancer treatment status, health literacy, and background. Conclusions: Participants reported an overall positive experience using the Web portal and that personalized messaging positively impacted on their health behaviors. Future studies should focus more on design of interventions, ensuring appropriate tailoring of information and personalization of behavioral support messaging

Measuring interdisciplinary understanding in higher education

The growing number of interdisciplinary degree programmes offered at comprehensive research universities aim to ensure that students gain interdisciplinary understanding, defined as knowledge and skills that provide them with the means to produce cognitive enhancements that would not be possible through monodisciplinary programmes. Previous studies suggest that interdisciplinary understanding comprises six main elements: knowledge of different disciplinary paradigms, knowledge of interdisciplinarity, reflection skills, critical reflection skills, communication skills, and collaboration skills. However, empirical evidence to support this conceptualised model is lacking. The current study therefore proposes an Interdisciplinary Understanding Questionnaire (24 items) to assess this model. Its construct validity and measurement invariance were tested among 505 first-year Bachelor’s students from different academic disciplines (e.g. humanities, science, social sciences). A (multigroup) confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the conceptualised model of interdisciplinary understanding, as well as measurement invariance across academic disciplines. Implications for educational practice, for instance regarding student assessment and quality assurance, are discussed

The Choice of Sports Affects Mental Rotation Performance in Adolescents

This study investigates mental rotation performance of adolescent female dancers and soccer players in object-based and egocentric mental rotation tasks using human body stimuli. 60 young females, 30 soccer players, and 30 dancers (not twosome), completed a chronometric mental rotation task with object-based and egocentric transformation of male and female figures, which were displayed either in front or back view. During their sport-specific activity soccer-players and dancers very often have to adapt their movements to the movement of a partner or opponent, soccer-players especially in front view positions. While for soccer-players reaction time (RT) often is crucial for sporting success, dancers mainly focus on the accuracy of their movements. Therefore, we expect significantly faster RTs for soccer players for front view stimuli but no differences between soccer players and dancers for back view stimuli. The main result was that soccer-players showed a significantly shorter RT than dancers for stimuli presented in front view in object based and egocentric transformation. There was no such difference, when the stimuli were presented in the back view. Contrary to literature we didn't find significantly higher RTs and error rates for stimuli presented in front view compared to back view in general but only for egocentric transformations. The results of this study show that specific sports affect individual aspects of mental rotation performance

A multilevel evolutionary framework for sustainability analysis

Sustainability theory can help achieve desirable social-ecological states by generalizing lessons across contexts and improving the design of sustainability interventions. To accomplish these goals, we argue that theory in sustainability science must (1) explain the emergence and persistence of social-ecological states, (2) account for endogenous cultural change, (3) incorporate cooperation dynamics, and (4) address the complexities of multilevel social-ecological interactions. We suggest that cultural evolutionary theory broadly, and cultural multilevel selection in particular, can improve on these fronts. We outline a multilevel evolutionary framework for describing social-ecological change and detail how multilevel cooperative dynamics can determine outcomes in environmental dilemmas. We show how this framework complements existing sustainability frameworks with a description of the emergence and persistence of sustainable institutions and behavior, a means to generalize causal patterns across social-ecological contexts, and a heuristic for designing and evaluating effective sustainability interventions. We support these assertions with case examples from developed and developing countries in which we track cooperative change at multiple levels of social organization as they impact social-ecological outcomes. Finally, we make suggestions for further theoretical development, empirical testing, and application