This study investigates the effect of a CALL application designed to enhance speaking and listening in Mandarin Chinese on advanced students' verbal skills, learning attitudes, and self-efficacy. A pretest/posttest experimental/control-group design with intact classes was employed to minimize treatment diffusion. Over the course of 14 weeks,…

Although the primary use of the speaking section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ Internet-based test (TOEFL® iBT Speaking test) is to inform admissions decisions at English medium universities, it may also be useful as an initial screening measure for international teaching assistants (ITAs). This study provides criterion-related…

Classroom assessment information should be the basis for important classroom processes and outcomes: students' study and work patterns, students' understanding of what they are learning, and teachers' instructional and grading decisions. Attention to principles of assessment quality, especially validity and reliability, increases confidence in the…

We are all accustomed to periodic summative testing for achievement, but in this chapter the importance of requiring mastery of fundamentals as the baseline for evaluation, regardless of the level of the class involved, is discussed.

Transparent and consistent credit transfer procedures are essential if EU Universities are to successfully build the European Higher Education Area and thrive in the emerging global knowledge economy. Currently, the European Credit Transfer System is the most widely used mechanism to enable credit transfer between universities in different EU…

In September 2005 the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in association with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the Sutton Trust and the College Board, began a five-year research study to examine the validity of an aptitude test in higher education admissions. This report describes and explores the relationships…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of varied visual cueing strategies, used to complement animation, on cognitive processing and achievement of specific educational objectives. An instructional heart material was utilized in this study. Four criterion tests were used in this study, namely: (1) Drawing Test; (2)…

In the literature, many studies indicate that concept maps as a tool to facilitate learning are effective and robust. However, there is limited research on the appropriate use of concept mapping strategies regarding their effectiveness in facilitating the achievement of specific learning objectives. This study attempts to examine the instructional…

This investigation seeks to confirm a computer-based approach that can be used to score concept maps (Poindexter & Clariana, 2004) and then describes the concurrent criterion-related validity of these scores. Participants enrolled in two graduate courses (n=24) were asked to read about and research online the structure and function of the heart…

Student learning is a complex incremental cognitive process; assessment needs to parallel this, reporting the results in similar terms. Application of fuzzy sets and logic to the criterion-referenced assessment of student learning is considered here. The constrained qualitative assessment (CQA) system was designed, and then applied in assessing a…

Little is known about the food safety knowledge of young adults. In addition, few knowledge questionnaires and no comprehensive, criterion-referenced measure that assesses the full range of food safety knowledge could be identified. Without appropriate, valid, and reliable measures and baseline data, it is difficult to develop and implement…

U.S. universities and colleges offering distance education courses have increased immensely since 1998, and by 2004 it was expected that distance learners will constitute about 14% of all those enrolled in degree programs. In its preliminary review of distance learning, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (1998) emphasized the need for…

The purpose of this experimental study was to compare the effects of using static visuals versus computer-generated animation to enhance learners' comprehension and retention of a content-based lesson in a computer-based learning environment for learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Fifty-eight students from two EFL reading sections were…

After a period of unbridled enthusiasm about economical prospects, e-learning today is linked with the expectation of increasing expenditures. We implemented an e-learning offering at low cost for the benefit of students and teachers in a course on general pedagogy. This article describes the core ideas in our planning and the empirical findings…

The purpose of instruction, whether face-to-face or online, is to facilitate student achievement of intended learning objectives. Traditionally, the major function of classroom assessment in undergraduate and graduate university courses has been to measure the individual student's learning in order to provide feedback to the student and to…