The order of questions on a test affects how well students believe they performed

<p>We know that students are more optimistic about their performance after they take a test that progresses from the easiest to hardest questions than after taking one that progresses in the opposite order¹. In fact, these “Easy-Hard” students are more optimistic than “Hard-Easy” students even when the two groups perform equally. The literature explains this question order bias as a result of students’ failing to sufficiently adjust, in the face of new information, their extreme initial impressions about the test. In the first two of six studies, we investigated the possibility that a biased memory for individual questions on the test is an alternative mechanism driving the question order bias. The pattern of results was inconsistent with this mechanism, but fit with the established impression-based mechanism. In the next four studies, we addressed the role that the number of test questions plays in determining the size of the question order bias, discovered that warning students is only a partially effective method for reducing the bias, and established a more precise estimate of the bias’ size. Taken together, this work provides evidence that the question order bias is a robust phenomenon, likely driven by insufficient adjustment from extreme initial impressions. ¹ Although the research in this thesis is my own, I conducted it in a lab and supervised a team comprised of research assistants and honours students. I also received advice and direction from my supervisors. Therefore, I often use the word “we” in this thesis to reflect these facts.</p>

The order of questions on a test affects how well students believe they performed

<p>We know that students are more optimistic about their performance after they take a test that progresses from the easiest to hardest questions than after taking one that progresses in the opposite order¹. In fact, these “Easy-Hard” students are more optimistic than “Hard-Easy” students even when the two groups perform equally. The literature explains this question order bias as a result of students’ failing to sufficiently adjust, in the face of new information, their extreme initial impressions about the test. In the first two of six studies, we investigated the possibility that a biased memory for individual questions on the test is an alternative mechanism driving the question order bias. The pattern of results was inconsistent with this mechanism, but fit with the established impression-based mechanism. In the next four studies, we addressed the role that the number of test questions plays in determining the size of the question order bias, discovered that warning students is only a partially effective method for reducing the bias, and established a more precise estimate of the bias’ size. Taken together, this work provides evidence that the question order bias is a robust phenomenon, likely driven by insufficient adjustment from extreme initial impressions. ¹ Although the research in this thesis is my own, I conducted it in a lab and supervised a team comprised of research assistants and honours students. I also received advice and direction from my supervisors. Therefore, I often use the word “we” in this thesis to reflect these facts.</p>

Does the format residents use to give and receive feedback about teaching affect the usefulness of the feedback?

Purpose: An important element in each teaching workshop for resident doctors at the University of Saskatchewan is the microteaching sessions, including feedback. We set out to test our observations that one condition for organizing the feedback increased the quality of feedback. In one condition, residents provide and receive feedback in all areas listed on our feedback form; while in the other condition, they provide and receive feedback in some areas. Methods: Over 115 residents participated in the teaching workshop in the 2019-2020 academic year. Each resident experienced both conditions for giving and receiving feedback—about half with one condition first and the other half in the opposite order. We developed and tested a simple survey that asked about the usefulness of the feedback. Results: We used the Mann-Whitney U test for differences between some areas or all areas. We found a statistically significant difference with small to moderate effect sizes (Cohen’s d) favouring the some areas condition. Conclusion: Residents found the usefulness of feedback given or received using the feedback condition in some areas greater than all areas. We will now only use the some areas condition and recommend that other teaching workshops that use microteaching practice sessions consider using this condition.

Optic Disc Vascular Density in Normal-Tension Glaucoma Eyes with or without Branch Retinal Vessel Occlusion

We analyzed the vascular densities (VDs) of the optic disc areas in eyes with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) according to their branch retinal vessel occlusion (BRVO) status. The VDs of the optic discs and peripapillary areas of 68 NTG patients with BRVO (BRVO group; BRVO eyes and fellow eyes) and 37 patients with NTG alone (control eyes) were measured on angiographic images obtained via swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography. VDs were compared among groups and correlations were assessed. The VD of the optic disc large vessel was the highest in BRVO eyes, followed by the fellow eyes and controls (all P < 0.05). Conversely, small and medium vessel VD was in the opposite order (all P < 0.05). Large vessel VD was negatively correlated with small and medium vessel VD (r = −0.697, P < 0.001). Peripapillary VD was lower in the BRVO eyes than in the control and fellow eyes (P < 0.001 and P = 0.861, respectively). In conclusion, significant changes in the distribution of VDs for optic disc larger vessel and small and medium vessels were observed in both eyes of NTG patients with BRVO, compared to NTG patients without BRVO.

Priority effects alter interaction outcomes in a legume–rhizobium mutualism

Priority effects occur when the order of species arrival affects the final community structure. Mutualists often interact with multiple partners in different orders, but if or how priority effects alter interaction outcomes is an open question. In the field, we paired the legume Medicago lupulina with two nodulating strains of Ensifer bacteria that vary in nitrogen-fixing ability. We inoculated plants with strains in different orders and measured interaction outcomes. The first strain to arrive primarily determined plant performance and final relative abundances of rhizobia on roots. Plants that received effective microbes first and ineffective microbes second grew larger than plants inoculated with the same microbes in the opposite order. Our results show that mutualism outcomes can be influenced not just by partner identity, but by the interaction order. Furthermore, hosts receiving high-quality mutualists early can better tolerate low-quality symbionts later, indicating that priority effects may help explain the persistence of ineffective symbionts.

Priority effects alter interaction outcomes in a legume-rhizobium mutualism

Priority effects occur when the order of species arrival affects final community structure. Mutualists often interact with multiple partners in different orders, but if or how priority effects alter interaction outcomes is an open question. In the field, we paired the legume Medicago lupulina with two nodulating strains of Ensifer bacteria that vary in nitrogen-fixing ability. We inoculated plants with strains in different orders and measured interaction outcomes. The first strain to arrive primarily determined plant performance and final relative abundances of rhizobia on roots. Plants that received effective microbes first and ineffective microbes second grew larger than plants inoculated with the same microbes in opposite order. Our results show that mutualism outcomes can be influenced not just by partner identity, but by interaction order. Furthermore, hosts receiving high-quality mutualists early can better tolerate low-quality symbionts later, indicating priority effects may help explain the persistence of ineffective symbionts.

Το σχήμα και ο αριθμός ως αναπαραστασιακά εργαλεία επίλυσης προβλημάτων χρονικών σχέσεων

Time is a complex concept. As such, its understanding and manipulation on a cognitive level develops slowly during childhood and adolescence. The present study examines problem-solving, reasoning and metacognitive abilities of schoolaged children on temporal-relation problems. It also examines the influence of different representationalmeans of time quantification, i.e., numerical and figural, on children’s performance. This research concerns 233 school-aged children, which were presented with seven problems. They were first asked to answer each problem. After solving the problem, half of the children were asked to represent the described temporal relations in numbers and then in figures, whereas the other half had to represent the problem in the opposite order. After each representation, children were asked to check their original answer to the problem, with the option to either maintain it or revise it. Results show that for school-aged children: (a) “initial temporal order” is a difficult concept to grasp compared to the concepts of “final order” and “duration of events”; b) the use of numbers leads to adequate representation of time and facilitates the figural one, whereas the opposite pattern was not observed; and c) up to 10 years of age, children’s meta-cognitive, and especially selfcorrection capacity, seems to be very poor.

Evaluation of the Level of Length of Eating Time, Chewing and Parameters of Daily Increased Activity Depending on the Breed, the Lactation Number and the Period of the Year

Eating time, rumination and activity is affected by many factors. Evaluation of the parameters obtained from Vitalimeter 5P was performed on 719 dairy cows Czech fleckvieh cattle and Holstein cattle and their hybrids within one farm. Data collecting took place for one year. As part of a detailed evaluation using the GLM procedure, the lactation number, the period of the year and the pedigree (P < 0.001) had a significant effect on the time of rumination, eating, increased activity and the sum of activities. The highest values in all monitored parameters were reached by H 51–87. Within the effect of the lactation number was evident a certain discrepancy when the longest eating time was observed in cows at the first lactation (293.20 min.), while the longest rumination time in cows at 3, resp. 4 and further lactation (484.82 and 482.46 min, respectively). The lowest values were monitored for these two parameters in exactly the opposite order, the lowest eating time in older cows and the shortest rumination time in the youngest cows. Results of evaluated periods of the years confirmed mainly the differences in the time of eating and rumination in the summer months compared to the rest of the year (P < 0.01). These results, both individually and within the interactions of factors, confirm the effects of the body framework in the case of breeds, the age of the animals within the lactation order and the importance of assessing heat stress in assessing the effect of the year.