Advanced modeling of item response data through the item response theory (IRT) or item factor analysis frameworks is becoming increasingly popular. In the social and behavioral sciences, the underlying structure of tests/assessments is often multidimensional (i.e., more than 1 latent variable/construct is represented in the items). This review…

Artificial Intelligence researchers and cognitive scientists commonly believe that thinking involves manipulating representations. Thinking involves search, inference, and making choices. This is how we model reasoning and what goes on in the brain is similar. Winograd and Flores present a radically different view, claiming that our knowledge is…

This handbook contains 27 chapters, each containing a description of a single Item Response Theory (IRT) model written by the author who originally proposed it. All chapters use the same notation and follow the same format, making the book an excellent source for information about IRT models. (SLD)

To provide an introduction to item-response theory (IRT) for individuals with modest statistical and mathematical skills, the book emphasizes a conceptual approach to understanding IRT concepts. The book fills the gap between mathematically detailed studies and summary chapters on IRT in general texts. (SLD)

The book answers practical questions about item response theory (IRT) in four sections: (1) an introduction to the concepts; (2) IRT theories and principles; (3) fundamentals of IRT; and (4) applications of IRT models. The book is useful for anyone trying to learn about IRT and how to use it. (SLD)

Introduces and draws on other papers in this issue to discuss how task performance is achieved in workplace settings and the extent to which the knowledge needed for task performance is generic. Explores these questions from a variety of theoretical frameworks. (SLD)

Discusses ways in which the dialectic between differing approaches to studying, theorizing, and representing collaboration may illuminate issues related to the nature and scope of scholarly inquiry. Contains 15 references. (Author/SLD)

The heuristic value of Chilcott's essay lies less in its support for structural functionalism and more in its concern to reexamine theory in the work of earlier educational anthropologists for what earlier theories and practices can add to current research. (SLD)

This book provides a historical overview of item-response theory (IRT) and contains a compendium of item-response-theory research. Each of its six sections deals with a unique application of a model or a family of models. Requires a strong psychometric background to understand some of the discussions. (SLD)

A set of concerns related to home education that is infrequently studied, namely, the content and direction of research in education, is examined. Issues surrounding home education have not been given adequate attention. A sample of home education researchers was gathered by compiling a list of authors who had published in the "Home School…

Maintains that strengths of Olson and Torrance's work include its balanced focus on child and curriculum. Argues that the book neglects affective, social, and cultural aspects of development. Argues that the book's avoidance of ethnic categorization could encourage or justify avoiding issues of differences in human development and equity in…

This book offers ways to answer questions about public trust in teachers. Discourses on teachers as transmitters of moral and cognitive virtues and on the unsatisfactory nature of competing models of theory-practice relationships are grounded in an interpretation of Aristotle's Phronesis as moral wisdom. Education is only one of the purposes of…

Reviews Barbara J. King's detailed observations of free-ranging baboons in Amboseli, Kenya; these observations contain a mass of recent research and report studies of divergent theories in primatology and paleontology. King's studies supply direct evidence about primate behavior that conveys information and show how natural information transfer is…

This book uses concepts familiar to those with a working knowledge of basic statistics and classical test theory to present item response theory models that are currently in wide use in both practical testing and research. The book would serve as a good entry-level graduate text in psychometrics and measurement methods. (SLD)

Asserts that use of case studies and reflection statements in Silverman and Casazza's book helps to link educational theory to practice and reinforce the TRPP (theory, research, principles, and practice) model. Concludes that this book can help learners, educators, and teachers work toward an active learning environment and that the book would…