Acid-base chemistry is a key reaction motif taught in postsecondary organic chemistry courses. More specifically, concepts from the Lewis acid-base model are broadly applicable to understanding mechanistic ideas such as electron density, nucleophilicity, and electrophilicity; thus, the Lewis model is fundamental to explaining an array of reaction…

Conceptual combination is proposed as the mental activity by which imagination produces new ideas in creative processes. Two parallel forms of the imagination test were constructed based on conceptual combination theory. Each test comprises eighteen unrelated noun-noun pairs. For each pair, an original idea is required. The test-retest reliability…

This study involves the development and validation of a survey that measures college students' digital readiness for academic engagement in terms of their perceived digital competencies for academic work. Both exploratory and confirmatory analyses were employed to assess the factorial structure of the Digital Readiness for Academic Engagement…

This study's goal was to compare aspects related to academic persistence of two groups of college students with non-visible disabilities: 110 Canadian two and four-year college students--55 with mental health related disabilities and 55 with Specific Learning Disorder (LD). Results show that students with mental health related disabilities were…

The project examined the predictive validity of the "TOEFL iBT"® test with a focus on the relationship between TOEFL iBT scores and students' subsequent academic success in postgraduate studies in one leading university in the United Kingdom, paying specific attention to the role of linguistic preparedness as perceived by students and…

Accountability mandates often prompt assessment of student learning gains (e.g., value-added estimates) via achievement tests. The validity of these estimates have been questioned when performance on tests is low stakes for students. To assess the effects of motivation on value-added estimates, we assigned students to one of three test consequence…

The present study addressed the role of speed as a factor in tests of second language (L2) vocabulary knowledge, presupposing that speed of performance is important in actual language use. Research questions were: (a) Do learners with a larger vocabulary size answer faster on an L2 vocabulary breadth test than smaller vocabulary sized learners?;…

The McVay Revised Readiness for Online Learning questionnaire was given to 116 traditional on-campus and 31 distance education students. The students were enrolled in an introductory class in computer applications on an urban campus of a mid-western community college. Multiple regression equations were developed with the survey scores and the…

This study proposes a new method named the IIS-map-based method for analyzing interactions in face-to-face collaborative learning settings. This analysis method is conducted in three steps: firstly, drawing an initial IIS-map according to collaborative tasks; secondly, coding and segmenting information flows into information items of IIS; thirdly,…

The present study developed and assessed reliability and validity of a new instrument, the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES). Based on a review of the literature, 76 items important for intercultural effectiveness were generated. A total of 653 college students rate these items in two separate stages and generate a 20-item final version of…

The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed overview of the development and initial validation of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The MSLQ is an 81-item, self-report instrument designed to measure college students' motivational orientations and their use of various learning strategies (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, &…

This study examined the SAT® II: Writing Subject Test as a predictor of writing performance in college English courses. Writing performance was based on eight writing samples submitted as part of regular course work by students in eight colleges. The samples consisted of drafts and final papers submitted in response to four take-home writing…

The validity of Tinto's model of college withdrawal was investigated with 100 4-year public college women and 165 2-year private college women. Institutional commitment was most directly affected by social integration. This commitment was seen as pivotal to retention. (IAH)

Six American universities were studied to assess the predictive validity of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and other admissions data and of student language background relative to college grades for Hispanic students. Sample sizes at the universities ranged from 76 to 686 for Hispanic subjects and from 924 to 4,919 for White students. The…