Differentiated Instruction further Realized through Teacher-Agent Teaming

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1318-1322
Author(s):  
Geoff Musick ◽  
Divine Maloney ◽  
Chris Flathmann ◽  
Nathan J. McNeese ◽  
Jamiahus Walton
Keyword(s):  
Differentiated Instruction ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Group Instruction ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Diverse Classrooms ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Agent Focus ◽  
Agent Teams

Teacher-agent teams have the potential to increase instructional effectiveness in diverse classrooms. The agent can be trained on previous student assessment data to create a model for assessing student performance and provide instructional recommendations. We propose a conceptual model that outlines how assessment agents can be trained for and used in classrooms to create effective teacher-agent teams. Furthermore, we show how teacher-agent teams can assist in the implementation of differentiated instruction, a strategy which allows teachers to effectively instruct students of diverse backgrounds and understandings. Differentiated instruction is further realized by having an assessment agent focus on grading student work, providing feedback to students, categorizing students, and giving recommendations for instruction so that teachers can focus on providing individualized or small group instruction to diverse learners. This model maximizes the strengths of teachers, while minimizing the tedious tasks that teachers routinely perform.

scholarly journals THREE QUARTERS OF A LOOP: CO-OP WORK TERM EVALUATIONS AND WORK REPORTS TO MEASURE THE COMMUNICATION ATTRIBUTE

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Milne ◽  
M. Pirnia ◽  
R. Al-Hammoud ◽  
J. Grove
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Process Writing ◽  
Written Communication ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Analytical Skills ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Future Work

 Abstract –This research analyzes the available data (student work term evaluations performed by employers, and work reports evaluated by the program) to triangulate and understand student performance on the CEAB Communication attribute. In this way we aim to innovate in the field of co-operative education to leverage the diverse work experiences of our students and understand their diverse backgrounds to suggest means of improving their communication skills. In this paper, we analyze employer feedback by grouping responses in several ways (binning by engineering program, term of study, level of performance, and criteria) to assess student performances at the faculty and program levels. We also assess student work reports for communication and analytical skills. We find a notable contrast between the evaluations given for the performance criteria. Students appear to perform at a higher level in areas such as Interpersonal Communication, Teamwork, and Appreciation of Diversity, while evaluations for criteria such as Problem Solving and Oral and Written Communication are relatively lower. This is supported by work report assessments showing that some students continue to struggle with written communication and analysis. Future work will include focus groups with employers and students to add meaning to the data. Throughout the process, writing and communication experts are involved to help interpret data and recommend solutions.

scholarly journals HIGHER AND LOWER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS: THE CASE OF CHEMISTRY REVISITED

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgios Tsaparlis
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Lower Order ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Twelfth Grade ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
The Individual

This work analyses students’ failure in the 2019 Nationwide Chemistry Examination in Greece, which concerns secondary education graduates, competing for admission to higher education Greek institutions. The distinction of thinking skills into higher and lower order (HOTS and LOTS) is used as a theoretical tool for this analysis. The examination included several questions that contained HOTS elements that had been unusual in previous examinations. This led to a decrease in overall student performance but better discrimination between outstanding and good students. Based on two samples of examination papers, corresponding to very similar subsets of the student population, the 2018 and 2019 examinations are compared, and the individual 2019 questions are evaluated. It was found that section B of the 2019 examination paper (which included contexts unfamiliar to the students, and for which, a large effect size between 2018 and 2019 was calculated) may have caused the large drop. An important link is established between the 2019 low performance and the HOTS and LOTS features of the questions, and the role or non-role of algorithmic calculations is examined. In addition, the critical opinions of chemistry teachers are provided, with a consensus emerging in favour of connecting chemistry with everyday life. Keywords: chemistry examinations, higher-order cognitive skills, higher-order thinking skills, student assessment, twelfth-grade chemistry.

scholarly journals Does a Modified Math Emporium Work for All Students?

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Shannon Guerrero ◽  
Amanda Atherton ◽  
Amy Rushall ◽  
Robert Daugherty
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Developmental Mathematics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Math Emporium ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Emporium Model ◽  
International Status

Mathematics Emporia, or dedicated technology-supported learning environments designed to support large numbers of students in predominantly developmental mathematics courses, are a relatively recent phenomenon at community colleges and universities across the nation. While the size and number of these emporia has grown, empirical research into the impact of an emporium model on student learning and affect is only now emerging. This is especially true when looking at the impact of an emporium approach on students from diverse backgrounds. This study attempts to fill in the gaps in existing research related to how well emporium models address the needs of students based on gender, race/ethnicity, international status, and first- versus continuing-generation. Findings indicate that not all populations are served equally well by a modified mathematics emporium approach. The need for action to address inequities in student performance and implications for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Why Graded Assessment for Undergraduates During the COVID-19 Lockdown? An Experience Introspection

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-75
Author(s):  
Abdullatif Alshamsi ◽  
Alex Zahavich ◽  
Samar El-Farra
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Technology Infrastructure ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Assessment Development ◽  
Student Efficacy ◽  
Institutional Accountability ◽  
To Come

This paper presents a retrospective evaluation of the Higher Colleges of Technology’s student assessments during the COVID-19 lockdown, reflecting the justified decision to deploy graded assessments during the lockdown for students to academically progress and/or graduate on time, while maintaining the quality and rigor of academic awards. The outcome-based evaluation of this paper is intended to provide lessons for any future situations of this significance and magnitude. While online education was the obvious response to the pandemic, the provision of assessments was not possible without risk. Taking a high-stakes decision that would affect the future of thousands of students, for years to come, involved complex steps of reasoning and justification. Addressing the role of graded assessment in supporting institutional accountability and transferability of students’ achievements, student efficacy and informed pedagogy alterations were the main objectives. To meet those objectives, the Higher Colleges of Technology was able to deploy an off-campus student assessment model that builds upon three pillars of adjustments (assessment development and deployment; technology infrastructure; and governance resilience) to support students’ learning, while mitigating vulnerabilities. The evaluation of student performance indicators and stakeholders’ satisfaction rates revealed a successful deployment of off-campus assessment while maintaining the traditional conventions pertaining to evaluation of assessments.

scholarly journals If You Build it Will They Come? Teachers’ Online Use of Student Performance Data

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Test Data ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Urban District ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Achievement Gains ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Student Test ◽  
Teacher Data ◽  
Student Performance Data

Testing of students and computer systems to store, manage, analyze, and report the resulting test data have grown hand-in-hand. Extant research on teacher use of electronically stored data are largely qualitative and focused on the conditions necessary (but not sufficient) for effective teacher data use. Absent from the research is objective information on how much and in what ways teachers use computer-based student test data, even when supposed precursors of usage are in place. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing the online activities of teachers in one mid-size urban district. Utilizing Web logs collected between 2008 and 2010, I find low teacher interaction with Web-based pages that contain student test information that could potentially inform practice. I also find no evidence that teacher usage of Web-based student data are related to student achievement gains, but there is reason to believe these estimates are downwardly biased.

The Valid Use of Student Performance Measures for Teacher Evaluation

1986 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Haertel
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Evaluation ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Teacher Performance ◽  
Achievement Test ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Student Test ◽  
Poor Teaching ◽  
Single Set

Student achievement test scores appear promising as indicators of teacher performance, but their use carries significant risks. Inappropriate tests improperly used may encourage undesirable shifts in curricular focus or poor teaching practices, and may unfairly favor teachers of more able classes. It is often said that standardized achievement test batteries are unsuitable for teacher evaluation, but few systematic alternatives have been suggested. The purposes of this paper are to analyze some problems in using student test scores to evaluate teachers and to propose an achievement-based model for teacher evaluation that is effective, affordable, fair, legally defensible, and politically acceptable. The system is designed only for detecting and documenting poor teacher performance; rewarding excellence in teaching is viewed as a separate problem, and is not addressed in this paper. In addition to pretesting and statistical adjustments for student aptitude differences, the proposed system relies upon attendance data and portfolios of student work to distinguish alternative explanations for poor test scores. While no single set of procedures can eliminate all errors, the proposed system, if carefully implemented, could expose teaching to constructive scrutiny, organize objective information about teaching adequacy, and help to guide its improvement.

scholarly journals Assessment Background: What PISA Measures and How

2020 ◽  
pp. 249-263
Author(s):  
Luisa Araújo ◽  
Patrícia Costa ◽  
Nuno Crato
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
International Student ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Short Description ◽  
School Characteristics ◽  
Technical Aspects ◽  
Performance Levels ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Large Scale Assessments

AbstractThis chapter provides a short description of what the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) measures and how it measures it. First, it details the concepts associated with the measurement of student performance and the concepts associated with capturing student and school characteristics and explains how they compare with some other International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSA). Second, it provides information on the assessment of reading, the main domain in PISA 2018. Third, it provides information on the technical aspects of the measurements in PISA. Lastly, it offers specific examples of PISA 2018 cognitive items, corresponding domains (mathematics, science, and reading), and related performance levels.

scholarly journals THE STATE OF THE ART IN PROVIDING AUTOMATED FEEDBACK TO OPEN-ENDED STUDENT WORK

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Larrondo ◽  
Brian Frank ◽  
Julián Ortiz
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
Skills Transfer ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Automated Feedback

This article provides a review of the state of the art of technologies in providing automated feedback toopen-ended student work on complex problems. It includes a description of the nature of complex problems and elements of effective feedback in the context of engineering education. Existing technologies based on traditional machine learning methods and deep learning methods are compared in light of the cognitive skills, transfer skills and student performance expected in a complex problemsolving setting. Areas of interest for future research are identified.

scholarly journals The Four-Day School Week

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul M. Hewitt ◽  
George S. Denny
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Day School ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Colorado Student Assessment Program ◽  
Student Academic Performance ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Mean ◽  
School Week ◽  
And Mathematics

Although the four-day school week originated in 1936, it was not widely implemented until 1973 when there was a need to conserve energy and reduce operating costs. This study investigated how achievement tests scores of schools with a four-day school week compared with schools with a traditional five-day school week. The study focused on student performance in Colorado where 62 school districts operated a four-day school week. The results of the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) were utilized to examine student performance in reading, writing, and mathematics in grades 3 through 10. While the mean test scores for five-day week schools exceeded those of four-day week schools in 11 of the 12 test comparisons, the differences were slight, with only one area revealing a statistically significant difference. This study concludes that decisions to change to the four-day week should be for reasons other than student academic performance.  

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