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"Test-taking skills."
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Rethinking the second language listening test : from theory to practice
Testing second language listening proficiency validly and reliably has always posed a challenge. In the days before the widespread availability of recorded material, tests were reliant upon the voice of the examiner. Each test administration was a unique phonetic event, with enormous variations of delivery between examiners and even within the performance of a single examiner on different occasions. The presentation was read-aloud, and the texts chosen were often those that had been written to be read (including literary extracts). The resulting input to test takers bore little resemblance to natural connected speech.
Book
Open-label placebos reduce test anxiety and improve self-management skills: A randomized-controlled trial
Test anxiety is a condition in which people experience extreme distress and anxiety before and in test situations. It affects up to 40 percent of all students. Conventional treatment includes both medication and psychotherapy, but studies also demonstrated that placebos affect anxiety symptoms. Although in the traditional understanding placebos need to be administered in a concealed way, intriguing new studies report that open-label placebos can be effective. Since prescription of fake pills involves ethical problems, open-label placebos may provide important new treatment possibilities. Here we report results of a pilot study examining whether open-label placebos may reduce test anxiety and improve self-management skills. 58 students participated in a two-group randomized controlled trial. Two weeks before an exam at the university participants received open-label placebos or no pills (control group). Participant – provider relationship and amount of contact time was held similar for all groups. After two weeks we found that test anxiety and self-management abilities (skills and resources) of the open-label placebo group were more improved than in the control group. Thus, our results seems to indicate that open-label placebos may reduce test anxiety and enhance self-management skills in students.
Journal Article
Writing About Testing Worries Boosts Exam Performance in the Classroom
Two laboratory and two randomized field experiments tested a psychological intervention designed to improve students' scores on high-stakes exams and to increase our understanding of why pressure-filled exam situations undermine some students' performance. We expected that sitting for an important exam leads to worries about the situation and its consequences that undermine test performance. We tested whether having students write down their thoughts about an upcoming test could improve test performance. The intervention, a brief expressive writing assignment that occurred immediately before taking an important test, significantly improved students' exam scores, especially for students habitually anxious about test taking. Simply writing about one's worries before a high-stakes exam can boost test scores.
Journal Article
How does your Kindergarten classroom affect your earnings?
In Project STAR, 11,571 students in Tennessee and their teachers were randomly assigned to classrooms within their schools from kindergarten to third grade. This article evaluates the long-term impacts of STAR by linking the experimental data to administrative records. We first demonstrate that kindergarten test scores are highly correlated with outcomes such as earnings at age 27, college attendance, home ownership, and retirement savings. We then document four sets of experimental impacts. First, students in small classes are significantly more likely to attend college and exhibit improvements on other outcomes. Class size does not have a significant effect on earnings at age 27, but this effect is imprecisely estimated. Second, students who had a more experienced teacher in kindergarten have higher earnings. Third, an analysis of variance reveals significant classroom effects on earnings. Students who were randomly assigned to higher quality classrooms in grades K-3—as measured by classmates' end-of-class test scores—have higher earnings, college attendance rates, and other outcomes. Finally, the effects of class quality fade out on test scores in later grades, but gains in noncognitive measures persist.
Journal Article
What Patients Want in a Smartphone App That Supports Colonoscopy Preparation: Qualitative Study to Inform a User-Centered Smartphone App
The preparation for colonoscopy is elaborate and complex. In the context of colorectal cancer screening, up to 11% of patients do not keep their colonoscopy appointments and up to 33% of those attending their appointments have inadequately cleansed bowels that can delay cancer diagnosis and treatment. A smartphone app may be an acceptable and wide-reaching tool to improve patient adherence to colonoscopy.
The aim of this qualitative study was to employ a user-centered approach to design the content and features of a smartphone app called colonAPPscopy to support individuals preparing for their colonoscopy appointments.
We conducted 2 focus group discussions (FGDs) with gastroenterology patients treated at the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal, Canada. Patients were aged 50 to 75 years, were English- or French-speaking, and had undergone outpatient colonoscopy in the previous 3 months; they did not have inflammatory bowel disease or colorectal cancer. FGDs were 75 to 90 min, conducted by a trained facilitator, and audiotaped. Participants discussed the electronic health support tools they might use to help them prepare for the colonoscopy, the content needed for colonoscopy preparation, and the features that would make the smartphone app useful. Recordings of FGDs were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key user-defined content and features to inform the design of colonAPPscopy.
A total of 9 patients (7 male and 2 female) participated in one of 2 FGDs. Main content areas focused on bowel preparation instructions, medication restrictions, appointment logistics, communication, and postcolonoscopy expectations. Design features to make the app useful and engaging included minimization of data input, reminders and alerts for up to 7 days precolonoscopy, and visual aids. Participants wanted a smartphone app that comes from a trusted source, sends timely and tailored messages, provides reassurance, provides clear instructions, and is simple to use.
Participants identified the need for postcolonoscopy information as well as reminders and alerts in the week before colonoscopy, novel content, and features that had not been included in previous smartphone-based strategies for colonoscopy preparation. The ability to tailor instructions made the smartphone app preferable to other modes of delivery. Study findings recognize the importance of including potential users in the development phase of building a smartphone app.
Journal Article
Are the kids alright? Review books and the internet as the most common study resources for the general surgery clerkship
To define resources deemed most important to medical students on their general surgery clerkship, we evaluated their material utilization.
A prospective study was conducted amongst third-year medical students using a 20-item survey. Descriptive statistics were performed on the demographics. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney analyses were performed on the Likert responses (α = 0.05).
Survey response was 69.2%. Use of review books and Internet was significantly higher compared to all other resources (p < 0.05). Wikipedia was the most used Internet source (39.1%). 56% never used textbooks. Analyses of surgery subject exam (NBME) results or intended specialty with resources used showed no statistical relationship (all p > 0.05).
Resources used by students reflect access to high-yield material and increased Internet use. The Internet and review books were used more than the recommended textbook; NBME results were not affected. Understanding study habits and resource use will help guide curricular development and students' self-regulated learning.
Journal Article
Winning strategies for test taking, grades 3-8
Winning Strategies for Test Taking provides a practical, three-week unit of test taking skills that makes the most efficient use of classroom time and uses commonsense strategies that are engaging for students in Grades 3-8. The authors' fun approach raises the appeal of test taking and teaches effective metacognitive skills that transfer beyond the classroom into students' lives. Full of reproducible resources such as planning guides, models, examples of think-alouds, annotated state exams, and more, this book shows how to help students excel at different types of test formats, including Reading and analyzing texts Multiple choice questions True-or-false questions Constructed response writing Writing to a prompt Meet the demands of high-stakes testing and develop students' confidence to conquer the challenges of test taking in the classroom and decision making throughout their lives.
eBook
Study skills for nurses
Survive academic study with this snappy guide to research techniques and strategies for all student nurses.
Providing words of wisdom and tips from real student nurses, Study Skills for Nurses enables you to develop your own individual ways of studying for those all important projects, with exercises, step-by-step guides and tricks to help you get ahead.
Special features
* Developed by students for students
* Clear, straightforward and jargon-free
* Ties in with the NMC standards for pre-registration education and the Essential Skills Clusters.
* Takes away the fear of study and independent research projects, making it approachable, easy and fun
eBook
Classroom testing and assessment for all students
This book helps both general and special education teachers meet and move beyond classroom challenges by using teacher-made tests, appropriate testing accommodations, technology-based testing and classroom-based assessments that support the teaching and learning process so all students have the opportunity to succeed. [The book] includes: real world examples in each chapter; bulleted information outlining hands-on, research-based strategies for implementation; forms, checklists, stories, reflection questions; and tips on using technology to help all students perform better. Teachers know their students best. This resource allows teachers to design tests and assessments to accommodate the various strengths and needs of all learners in their classroom. (DIPF/Orig.).
eBook
Identifying low test-taking effort during low-stakes tests with the new Test-taking Effort Short Scale (TESS) – development and psychometrics
Background
Low-stakes tests are becoming increasingly important in international assessments of educational progress, and the validity of these results is essential especially as these results are often used for benchmarking. Test scores in these tests not only mirror students’ ability but also depend on their test-taking effort. One way to obtain more valid scores from participating samples is to identify test-takers with low test-taking effort and to exclude them from further analyses. Self-assessment is a convenient and quick way of measuring test-taking effort. We present the newly developed Test-taking Effort Short Scale (TESS), which comprises three items measuring attainment value/intrinsic value, utility value, and perceived benefits, respectively.
Methods
In a multicenter validation study with
N
= 1837 medical students sitting a low-stakes progress test we analyzed item and test statistics including construct and external validity.
Results
TESS showed very good psychometric properties. We propose an approach using stanine norms to determine a cutoff value for identifying participants with low test-taking effort.
Conclusion
With just three items, TESS is shorter than most established self-assessment scales; it is thus suited for administration after low-stakes progress testing. However, further studies are necessary to establish its suitability for routine usage in assessment outside progress testing.
Journal Article