Jonna M. Kulikowich

Coh-Metrix: Providing Multilevel Analyses of Text Characteristics

Computer analyses of text characteristics are often used by reading teachers, researchers, and policy makers when selecting texts for students. The authors of this article identify components of language, discourse, and cognition that underlie traditional automated metrics of text difficulty and their new Coh-Metrix system. Coh-Metrix analyzes texts on multiple measures of language and discourse that are aligned with multilevel theoretical frameworks of comprehension. The authors discuss five major factors that account for most of the variance in texts across grade levels and text categories: word concreteness, syntactic simplicity, referential cohesion, causal cohesion, and narrativity. They consider the importance of both quantitative and qualitative characteristics of texts for assigning the right text to the right student at the right time.

An Application of Generalizability Theory and Many-Facet Rasch Measurement Using a Complex Problem-Solving Skills Assessment:

This study describes the use of generalizability theory (GT) and many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM) to evaluate psychometric properties of responses obtained from an assessment designed to measure complex problem-solving skills. The assessment revolved around the school activity of kickball. The task required of each student was to decide on a team T-shirt based on visual characteristics of the T-shirts and written descriptions of other T-shirt characteristics. Forty-four fourth-grade students, comprising the control group of a longitudinal research project to foster complex problem-solving skills of disadvantaged urban youth, participated in this study. Results indicate both measurement techniques agree on the relative magnitudes of variation among the facets but differ on how to handle the sources of variation.

Toward Developmental Trajectories: A Commentary on "Assessing Measures of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching".

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Online Learning Self-Efficacy in Students With and Without Online Learning Experience

ABSTRACT A need was identified for an instrument to measure online learning self-efficacy, which encompassed the wide variety of tasks required of successful online students. The Online Learning Self-Efficacy Scale (OLSES) was designed to include tasks required of students enrolled in paced online courses at one university. In the present study, the twenty-two-item scale was completed by 338 postsecondary students with and without online learning experience. Separate principal components analyses were performed using data collected from participants who had and had not completed an online course. The results were similar for the two groups. A three-subscale structure was selected for use with all individuals. The three subscales represent items concerning (1) learning in the online environment, (2) time management, and (3) technology use. The reliability and validity of scores on the OLSES was explored through group comparisons and correlations. Suggestions for the use of the instrument with other populations are discussed.

Intentionality to Learn, in an Academic Domain.

Research Findings: All human activity, beyond the simplest of reflexes or biological reactions, is a manifestation of intentions. When those intentions are directed toward changes in ones understanding or performance, they can be labeled intentionality to learn. In this article, we overview particular premises about intentionality to learn and consider its relation to associated constructs (e.g., goals and plans). We also present a model that pertains specifically to intentionality to learn in academic domains (i.e., ILIAD). We position the components and the cognitive processing of information associated with the model (e.g., attention to academic and social cues) in reference to perception–action dynamics and to academic development, as well as to sociocultural and socioemotional variables (e.g., shared or negotiated goals). Practice or Policy: The article culminates with methodological considerations for the study of this construct, including the design of appropriate measures and selection of statistical approaches.