This study identifies multiple profiles of successful essays via a cluster analysis approach using linguistic features reported by a variety of natural language processing tools. The findings from the study indicate that there are four profiles of successful writers for the samples analyzed. These four profiles are linguistically distinct from one…

This study contributed to the school readiness literature by examining the factor structure and reliability of a revised version of the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP). Teachers rated 579 Latino/a children during the first month of kindergarten using the KSEP. Factor analysis procedures (exploratory factor analysis [EFA] and…

Fieldwork training is a key component of several practical disciplines. In this study, students' peer assessment of fieldwork is explored as a method to improve their practical training. Peer assessment theories are first discussed. A framework for peer assessment of fieldwork is proposed, and the steps taken for preparation of students for…

This study examines the impact of an assessment training module on student assessment skills and task performance in a technology-facilitated peer assessment. Seventy-eight undergraduate students participated in the study. The participants completed an assessment training exercise, prior to engaging in peer-assessment activities. During the…

Although proponents support portfolios' value to enhance the reflective thinking of novice teachers and imply that such thinking improves teachers' practice, few studies have confirmed these assertions by directly measuring in-depth reflection or describing conditions that develop it. In this study, reflective thinking in preservice…

This essay engages the prospect and peril of employing rubrics in America. It discusses how institutional independence affects the enterprise, and addresses whether rubrics will be received as salvation or subservience by educational agents. It asks how rubrics can benefit stakeholders while examining their unintended consequences. It concludes by…

Calls for employability skill development in undergraduates now extend across many culturally similar developed economies. Government initiatives, industry professional accreditation criteria, and the development of academic teaching and learning standards increasingly drive the employability agenda, further cementing the need for skill…

Amy Kenworthy and George A. Hrivnak share their thoughts in this commentary, writing that they were both stimulated by and written in response to Riebe and Jackson's article "Assurance of Graduate Employability Skill Outcomes Through the Use of Rubrics." Having read two iterations of that article, they highlight three key messages…

Advocates of rubrics have claimed that the inclusion of employers in the shaping of management education rubrics can help students demonstrate to employers that they have relevant managerial skills. There is an inevitable logic to this argument. Let employers determine what they want from graduates, and academics can then design programs to…

Nowadays more and more modern medical degree programs focus on self-directed and problem-based learning. That requires students to search for high quality and easy to retrieve online resources. YouTube is an emerging platform for learning human anatomy due to easy access and being a free service. The purpose of this study is to make a quantitative…

Assessment is an increasingly important part of communication pedagogy, not just for periodic accreditation reviews but for ongoing justifications for resources and course design. This project relates the story of how another college at our university prompted us to prove that our Science Writing and Presentation course really delivered what it…

This longitudinal study examines the biliteracy results of Spanish-English emerging bilingual students who participated in a K-5 paired literacy model in a large school district in Oregon. Spanish and English reading and writing data show longitudinal gains in students' biliterate development, demonstrating the potential of the model in…

With the near-overload of online information, it is necessary to equip our students with the skills necessary to deal with Information Problem Solving (IPS). This study also intended to help students develop major IPS strategies with the assistance of an instructor's scaffolding in a designed IPS course as well as on an Online Information…

It is essential to teach students about experimental design, as this facilitates their deeper understanding of how most biological knowledge was generated and gives them tools to perform their own investigations. Despite the importance of this area, surprisingly little is known about what students actually learn from designing biological…

The emphasis on testing in curricular content areas has left little room in most U.S. schools for education in the arts. Yet research supports the pedagogical value of aesthetic education, particularly for English learners (ELs), whose representation in schools continues to increase. This article presents a qualitative action research study…