scholarly journals CALIBRATION OF SELF-EFFICACY FOR CONDUCTING A CHI-SQUARED TEST OF INDEPENDENCE

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-92
Author(s):  
WHITNEY ALICIA ZIMMERMAN ◽  
DEBORAH D. GOINS

Self-efficacy and knowledge, both concerning the chi-squared test of independence, were examined in education graduate students. Participants rated statements concerning self-efficacy and completed a related knowledge assessment. After completing a demographic survey, participants completed the self-efficacy and knowledge scales a second time. Individuals with and without prior experiences with the topic were compared; those with prior experiences gave significantly higher self-efficacy ratings and had higher demonstrated knowledge scores, although the latter difference was not statistically significant. While self-efficacy and knowledge scores did not differ significantly between the two administrations, individuals without prior topic experience saw greater improvements in self-efficacy calibration. Findings suggest that self-efficacy calibration may be improved through completing an assessment. First published November 2015 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-62
Author(s):  
NOELLE M. CROOKS ◽  
ANNA N. BARTEL ◽  
MARTHA W. ALIBALI

In recent years, there have been calls for researchers to report and interpret confidence intervals (CIs) rather than relying solely on p-values. Such reforms, however, may be hindered by a general lack of understanding of CIs and how to interpret them. In this study, we assessed conceptual knowledge of CIs in undergraduate and graduate psychology students. CIs were difficult and prone to misconceptions for both groups. Connecting CIs to estimation and sample mean concepts was associated with greater conceptual knowledge of CIs. Connecting CIs to null hypothesis  significance testing, however, was not associated with conceptual knowledge of CIs. It may therefore be beneficial to focus on estimation and sample mean concepts in instruction about CIs. First published May 2019 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-29
Author(s):  
Josip Juračak ◽  
Marko Tica

One of the most unwanted and unavoidable consequences of the economic recession is the high rate of unemployment. Graduate students in Croatia are faced with lack of employment possibilities, and for some of them the self-employment looks like a good solution. In this paper, we investigate attitudes and intentions of graduate students at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture regarding to selfemployment. Most of the surveyed students are in the age between 21 and 25 years, and they have already got some kind of knowledge about entrepreneurship during the formal education. In addition, majority of them have the experience of part-time jobs. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model was used to find out to which extent students’ attitudes and experience influence their expressed self-employment intentions. The results revealed that Zagreb students’ scores are close but somewhat lower than the same scores found in the comparable study from Australia. This goes for the investigated variables: (1) previous entrepreneurial experience (PEE), perceived desirability of selfemployment (PDSE), perceived entrepreneurial self-efficacy (PESE) and self-employment intentions (SEI). It was found that the score on the PEE is significantly related to scores on the PDSE (p=0.000), and PESE (p=0.000), which means that the experience positively influence respondents’ attitudes on self-employment and self-efficacy. There is also a statistically significant difference in the on the SEI with respect to the PDSE (ANOVA F=9.804, p=0.000): respondents that consider self-employment more desirable expressed higher intention to perform it. The PDSE was found as the most influencing model variable in regards to the self-employment intention. The results points out the importance of previous experience, role models and positive attitudes towards self-employment in the process of the entrepreneurship development in young, educated population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-85
Author(s):  
ALLISON THEOBOLD ◽  
STACEY HANCOCK

Modern environmental science research increasingly requires computational ability to apply statistics to environmental science problems, but graduate students in these scientific fields typically lack these integral skills. Many scientific graduate degree programs expect students toacquire these computational skills in an applied statistics course. Agap remains, however, between the computational skills required for the implementation of statistics in scientific research and those taught in statistics courses. This qualitative study examines how five environmental science graduate students at one institution experience the phenomenon of acquiring the computational skills necessary to implement statistics in their research and the factors that foster or inhibit learning. In-depth interviews revealed three themes in these students’ paths towards computational knowledge acquisition: use of peer support, seeking out a singular “consultant,” and learning through independent research experiences. These themes provide rich descriptions of graduate student experiences and strategies used while developing computational skillsto apply statistics in their own research, thus informing how to improve instruction, both in and out of the formal classroom. First published November 2019 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-75
Author(s):  
AMANDA S. WILLIAMS

Statistics anxiety is a common problem for graduate students. This study explores the multivariate relationship between a set of worry-related variables and six types of statistics anxiety. Canonical correlation analysis indicates a significant relationship between the two sets of variables. Findings suggest that students who are more intolerant of uncertainty, believe that worry is beneficial, possess a negative approach to problems, and utilize cognitive avoidance as a coping strategy are more likely to have higher levels of the six types of statistics anxiety. These results highlight the complexity of graduate students’ statistics anxiety. Suggestions for intervention are discussed. First published November 2015 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh M. Harrell-Williams ◽  
Jennifer N. Lovett ◽  
Hollylynne S. Lee ◽  
Rebecca L. Pierce ◽  
Lawrence M. Lesser ◽  
...  

Recently adopted state standards for middle grades and high school mathematics content have an increased emphasis on statistical topics. With this change, teacher education programs may need to adapt how they prepare preservice secondary mathematics teachers (PSMTs) to teach statistics and require measures related to statistics teaching to assess the impact of programmatic changes and track teacher growth. Using responses from a sample of 290 PSMTs from 20 institutions across the United States, this study presents validity and reliability evidence for the high school version of the Self-Efficacy to Teach Statistics (SETS-HS), which could be used to assess statistics teaching efficacy. Confirmatory factor analysis results via Rasch modeling support the use of three subscales, which exhibit adequate reliabilities and correspond to the three levels in the Pre-K–12 Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education endorsed by the American Statistical Association. Item and rating scale analyses indicate that the 46 items and the six-category scale employed in the SETS-HS perform as intended.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-119
Author(s):  
BETTY S. LAI ◽  
MICHELLE S. LIVINGS ◽  
MICHELLE P. D’AMICO ◽  
MATTHEW J. HAYAT ◽  
JEREMIAH WILLIAMS

A growth mindset emphasizes the malleability of intelligence. The purpose of this pilot study was to implement and evaluate a growth mindset intervention for graduate students. Participants were twenty graduate students recruited from an introductory public health biostatistics class. Students were assessed three times during one semester. At each time point, students completed assessments of growth mindset, grit, social and emotional health, and attitudes toward statistics. Student grades were collected from the course instructor. Descriptive results indicate that growth mindset, grit, and social and emotional health fluctuated little over time. Mean scores for four attitudes toward statistics components improved over time. We found limited relationships between growth mindset and final grades. Growth mindset-based strategies may be more impactful at a persona, rather than academic, level. First published November 2018 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives


1997 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 867-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marit Sorensen

The purpose of the study was to examine psychological factors associated with maintenance of exercise behavior in a population of middle-aged individuals with elevated risk factors for cardiovascular disease. 191 males and 17 females took pan in a one-year diet and/or exercise intervention during 1990-1991. Four years later questionnaires were sent out to the 200 former participants who were still available for contact. 67.9% of those who answered ( n= 140) were categorized as exercisers, and 30.7% were categorized as nonexercisers. The majority of the exercisers had exercised at least one and a half years. A chi-squared analysis showed that whether the individuals were exercising or not at present was independent of whether they had exercised or not during the intervention study. Discriminant analyses were used to determine how well physical self-perceptions at different times would categorize exercisers and nonexercisers. Current physical self-perceptions categorized the Active Exercisers (86.9%) and the Nonexercisers (63.3%) the best (in total 79.1% correct classifications). Neither change in physical self-perceptions during the intervention nor change in physical self-perceptions from the end of the intervention until four years later, classified the exercise behavior as well. Three social cognitive models, The Self-perception model, The Health Belief model, and The Self-efficacy model, were investigated as discriminators between Active Exercisers and Nonexercisers. Active Exercisers were classified better than Nonexercisers, and current physical self-perceptions showed the highest percentage of total correct classifications. The proposed models were also analyzed as predictors of the variance in self-raced Motivation for Exercise. Outcome Expectations, Compliance Self-efficacy, Perceived Fitness, and Exercise Mastery explained 45% of the variance in self-rated Motivation for Exercise.


Author(s):  
Jacqueline A. Towson ◽  
Matthew S. Taylor ◽  
Diana L. Abarca ◽  
Claire Donehower Paul ◽  
Faith Ezekiel-Wilder

Purpose Communication between allied health professionals, teachers, and family members is a critical skill when addressing and providing for the individual needs of patients. Graduate students in speech-language pathology programs often have limited opportunities to practice these skills prior to or during externship placements. The purpose of this study was to research a mixed reality simulator as a viable option for speech-language pathology graduate students to practice interprofessional communication (IPC) skills delivering diagnostic information to different stakeholders compared to traditional role-play scenarios. Method Eighty graduate students ( N = 80) completing their third semester in one speech-language pathology program were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: mixed-reality simulation with and without coaching or role play with and without coaching. Data were collected on students' self-efficacy, IPC skills pre- and postintervention, and perceptions of the intervention. Results The students in the two coaching groups scored significantly higher than the students in the noncoaching groups on observed IPC skills. There were no significant differences in students' self-efficacy. Students' responses on social validity measures showed both interventions, including coaching, were acceptable and feasible. Conclusions Findings indicated that coaching paired with either mixed-reality simulation or role play are viable methods to target improvement of IPC skills for graduate students in speech-language pathology. These findings are particularly relevant given the recent approval for students to obtain clinical hours in simulated environments.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Sundström

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a self-report scale for assessing perceived driver competence, labeled the Self-Efficacy Scale for Driver Competence (SSDC), using item response theory analyses. Two samples of Swedish driving-license examinees (n = 795; n = 714) completed two versions of the SSDC that were parallel in content. Prior work, using classical test theory analyses, has provided support for the validity and reliability of scores from the SSDC. This study investigated the measurement precision, item hierarchy, and differential functioning for males and females of the items in the SSDC as well as how the rating scale functions. The results confirmed the previous findings; that the SSDC demonstrates sound psychometric properties. In addition, the findings showed that measurement precision could be increased by adding items that tap higher self-efficacy levels. Moreover, the rating scale can be improved by reducing the number of categories or by providing each category with a label.


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