scholarly journals Educational Data Mining: The Analysis of the Factors Affecting Science Instruction by Clustering Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-500
Author(s):  
Mehmet Taha ◽  
Derya Cobanoglu
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Clustering Analysis ◽  
International Student ◽  
Science Literacy ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Science Instruction ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Level Of Importance

<p style="text-align: justify;">Science literacy, which is included in Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as an assessment area, is an important research and discussion area of science education literature with all its dimensions. In this study, the clustering results of the students from 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries participating in the PISA 2015 test and sampled by systematic sampling method are obtained by K-Means Clustering and Two-Step Cluster Analysis using the factor scores and PISA science literacy average scores. It is thought that the study is of great importance in terms of dividing individuals into clusters according to science instruction methods and the mean of plausible values and having an idea about how each cluster is defined. As a result of the K-means cluster analysis, it was determined that the input variable with the highest level of importance in the formation of the first and third clusters in which the students with the highest scores were included was teacher-directed science instruction, and after this variable, the input variable with the highest level of importance was the perceived feedback from science teachers. Within the scope of the Two-Step Clustering Analysis, it was determined that teacher-directed science instruction has the most importance in terms of the decomposition of clusters, followed by adaptive instruction in science lessons in terms of importance level.</p>

Strategies to raise interest for science in tomorrow´s students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Aguirre Murúa
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
International Student ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Experimental Science ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Academic Results

&lt;p&gt;The interest of secondary level students for science and technology has been decreasing in the recent years. According to PISA 2018 (Programme for International Student Assessment) Spain is scored in the level 2 (483 points) in science, slightly below of other countries of the EU like France (493), Ireland (496), Germany (503) or United Kingdom (505) and far from the top of the list: China (590), Singapore (551) or Estonia (530).&lt;br&gt;There is a wide gap between top-performing and low-achieving students in our secondary school. Many reasons could be responsible of this fact, such as socio-economic status, gender or immigrant background. Science teachers cannot ignore this tendency; we need to act in order to awake the interest for science and technology of our students.&amp;#160;&lt;br&gt;The aim of this paper is to present ideas and strategies followed in the last years by science teachers of Gustavo Adolfo B&amp;#233;cquer secondary school to increase the motivation of students for experimental science and the improvement of their academic results. The strategies are divided in three groups according to their temporal length: long, medium and short.&lt;br&gt;Long term strategies include working with small groups of students with similar capacities and cooperative learning. Medium term strategies entail the annual participation in the Fair of Science and in a multimedia Science competition based on the Trivial Pursuit. Short term activities involve Lab practices, Computer games and guided tours to permanent and temporary exhibitions. &amp;#160;&lt;br&gt;Although we do not have statistical analyses of the academic results over a long period of time following the teaching practices described above, we can appreciate a qualitative improvement if we replace some theorical framework of science for experiences that consider student&amp;#180;s interest and capabilities, helping them with individualized learning and assessment in ways that foster their engagement and talents. In this path, we have used teaching-learning&amp;#180;s index to quantify the academic evolution of students over the last 3 years in Gustavo Adolfo B&amp;#233;cquer secondary school and the results show really good evolution in &amp;#8220;percentage of students with all the subjects passed&amp;#8221; and the &amp;#8220;successful completion of the grade level previous to the last, in the high school&amp;#8221;.&lt;/p&gt;

Cross-cultural Measurement Invariance of the Items in the Science Literacy Test in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA-2015)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Betül Alatlı
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
International Student ◽  
Science Literacy ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
The Other ◽  
Item Bias ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Literacy Test

This study aimed to investigate cross-cultural measurement invariance of the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment, 2015) science literacy test and items and to carry out a bias study on the items which violate measurement invariance. The study used a descriptive review model. The sample of the study consisted of 2224 students taking the S12 test booklet from Australia, France, Singapore, and Turkey. Measurement invariance analyses for the test were done using Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MGCFA). Differential Item Functioning (DIF), in other words, measurement invariance of the test items, was analyzed using the item response theory log-likelihood ratio (IRTLR), Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model (HGLM), and the Simultaneous Item Bias Test (SIBTEST) methods.According to the findings, the test was determined to exhibit structural invariance across cultures. The highest number of items showing DIF was observed in the comparisons of Australia-Singapore and Australia-France with 35%. The number of items showing DIF, with 24%, determined in bilateral comparisons which included Turkey, the only country taking the translated form among other countries, did not show a significant difference compared to the other comparisons. While the lowest number of items showing DIF was obtained from Singapore-France samples with 12%, the rate of items indicating DIF in the France-Turkey samples was 18%. On the other hand, 35% of the items showed cross cultural measurement invariance. An item bias study was carried out based on expert opinions on items identified and released as showing DIF in the comparisons of Turkey with Australia and Singapore.According to the findings, translation-bound differentiation of the items, familiarity of a culture group with the contents of the items, polysemy in the expressions or words used in the items, the format, or the stylistic characteristics of the items were determined to be the cause of the bias in the skills measured with the items.

scholarly journals Finland, A Package Deal: Disciplinary Climate in Science Classes, Science Dispositions and Science Literacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 13857
Author(s):  
Larry J. Grabau ◽  
Jari Lavonen ◽  
Kalle Juuti
Keyword(s):  
International Student ◽  
Science Literacy ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Teaching Support ◽  
Hierarchical Nature ◽  
Pisa Data ◽  
Science Classes ◽  
Finnish Study

Finland’s educational prowess, though tempered by recent international assessments, has remained intact. This report focused on lessons that could be learned regarding secondary-level science education from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, science-focused assessment. That PISA iteration included not only science literacy but also students’ science dispositions (epistemology, enjoyment, interest, and self-efficacy) and the schools’ science climate measures (disciplinary climate and teaching support). Due to the hierarchical nature of the PISA data, multilevel models were employed in this Finnish study, involving 5582 students from 167 schools. Science dispositions (as outcome measures) were differently associated with teaching support and disciplinary climate (epistemology with neither; enjoyment and interest, with both). Science literacy (as an outcome measure) was associated with all four science dispositions, whether modeled with each science disposition separately or all four simultaneously. Science literacy was also associated with the disciplinary climate in science classes for all tested models. We concluded that, in the Finnish context, science dispositions and the disciplinary climate were predictive of science literacy. Furthermore, we presented evidence from the literature indicating that these conclusions may well extend to other international contexts.

Indirect Effect of Economic, Social, and Cultural Status on Immigrant Students’ Science Performance Through Science Dispositions: A Multilevel Analysis

2020 ◽  
pp. 001312452092860
Author(s):  
Safiye Bilican Demir ◽  
Ozen Yildirim
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
International Student ◽  
Science Literacy ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Linear Modeling ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Cultural Status ◽  
Science Performance

Determining the ethnic differences in academic performance among immigrant students is important in terms of adapting them into the system they live in. Examining the variables related to students’ performance will be a guide in overcoming the issue. The purpose of this study is to examine the direct effect of economic, social, and cultural status (ESCS) on science performance and the indirect effect of ESCS on the relationship between science dispositions and science literacy in Canadian immigrant students using hierarchical linear modeling. Data were obtained from Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 science literacy test and student questionnaire and data sets were provided from the official website of PISA. The results of the research show that ESCS had a direct and indirect effect through science dispositions with medium to large on science performance of immigrant students. The impacts of significant variables were discussed and implications for further research were provided.

scholarly journals An exploration of cluster structure in scientific literacy in PISA: Evidence for a Nordic dimension?

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf V. Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
International Student ◽  
Cluster Structure ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
European Countries ◽  
North West ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Item Characteristics

The cognitive items covering the domain of scientific literacy in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are explored through an analysis of the item residuals (item-by-country interactions) with the aim of looking for a distinct Nordic pattern. The findings of a cluster analysis indicate that the profile across the Nordic countries is not very distinct. However, stable profiles are established for a number of other groups of countries, and the Nordic countries are shown to be membersof a larger group of countries which is labelled North-West European countries. Furthermore, item characteristics are used to find possible explanations for the profiles.

Three Paradoxical Effects on Academic Self-Concept Across Countries, Schools, and Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert W. Marsh ◽  
Philip D. Parker ◽  
Reinhard Pekrun
Keyword(s):  
International Student ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
School Level ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Starting School

Abstract. We simultaneously resolve three paradoxes in academic self-concept research with a single unifying meta-theoretical model based on frame-of-reference effects across 68 countries, 18,292 schools, and 485,490 15-year-old students. Paradoxically, but consistent with predictions, effects on math self-concepts were negative for: • being from countries where country-average achievement was high; explaining the paradoxical cross-cultural self-concept effect; • attending schools where school-average achievement was high; demonstrating big-fish-little-pond-effects (BFLPE) that generalized over 68 countries, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/non-OECD countries, high/low achieving schools, and high/low achieving students; • year-in-school relative to age; unifying different research literatures for associated negative effects for starting school at a younger age and acceleration/skipping grades, and positive effects for starting school at an older age (“academic red shirting”) and, paradoxically, even for repeating a grade. Contextual effects matter, resulting in significant and meaningful effects on self-beliefs, not only at the student (year in school) and local school level (BFLPE), but remarkably even at the macro-contextual country-level. Finally, we juxtapose cross-cultural generalizability based on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data used here with generalizability based on meta-analyses, arguing that although the two approaches are similar in many ways, the generalizability shown here is stronger in terms of support for the universality of the frame-of-reference effects.

Are There Test Administrator Effects in Large-Scale Educational Assessments?

Methodology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 149-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Lüdtke ◽  
Alexander Robitzsch ◽  
Ulrich Trautwein ◽  
Frauke Kreuter ◽  
Jan Marten Ihme
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
International Student ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Student Groups ◽  
Mathematics Scores ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Sample Attrition ◽  
Educational Assessments ◽  
Test Administrator ◽  
Practical Implications

Abstract. In large-scale educational assessments such as the Third International Mathematics and Sciences Study (TIMSS) or the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), sizeable numbers of test administrators (TAs) are needed to conduct the assessment sessions in the participating schools. TA training sessions are run and administration manuals are compiled with the aim of ensuring standardized, comparable, assessment situations in all student groups. To date, however, there has been no empirical investigation of the effectiveness of these standardizing efforts. In the present article, we probe for systematic TA effects on mathematics achievement and sample attrition in a student achievement study. Multilevel analyses for cross-classified data using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) procedures were performed to separate the variance that can be attributed to differences between schools from the variance associated with TAs. After controlling for school effects, only a very small, nonsignificant proportion of the variance in mathematics scores and response behavior was attributable to the TAs (< 1%). We discuss practical implications of these findings for the deployment of TAs in educational assessments.

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