Joseph Hardcastle and colleagues conducted a study to compare pupil performance on computer-based tests (CBT) and traditional paper-and-pencil tests (PPT). More than 30,000 pupils in grades 4–12 (Years 5–13) were assessed on their understanding of energy using three testing systems: a paper and pencil test; a computer-based test that allowed pupils to skip items and move freely through the test; or a CBT that did not allow pupils to return to previous questions.

Overall, the results showed that being able to skip through questions, and review and change previous answers, could benefit younger pupils. Elementary (Years 5 and 6) and middle school (Years 7–9) pupils scored lower on a CBT that did not allow them to return to previous items than on a comparable computer-based test that allowed them to skip, review, and change previous responses. Elementary pupils also scored slightly higher on a CBT that allowed them to go back to previous answers than on the PPT, but there was no significant difference for middle school pupils on those two types of tests. High school pupils (Years 10–13) showed no difference in their performance on the three types of tests.

Gender was found to have little influence on a pupil’s performance on PPT or CBT; however, pupils whose primary language was not English had lower performance on both CBTs compared with the PPT.

Source: Hardcastle, J., Herrmann-Abell, C.F.,& DeBoer, G. E. (2017. April 30). Comparing Student Performance on Paper-and-Pencil and Computer-Based-Tests. Paper presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Antonio, TX, US.… Read the rest

Olusola O Adesope and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to summarise the learning benefits of taking a practice test versus other forms of non-testing learning conditions, such as re-studying, practice, filler activities, or no presentation of the material.

Analysis of 272 independent effect sizes from 188 separate experiments demonstrated that the use of practice tests is associated with a moderate, statistically significant weighted mean effect size compared to re-studying (+0.51) and a much larger weighted mean effect size (+0.93) when compared to filler or no activities.

In addition, the format, number and frequency of practice tests make a difference for the learning benefits on a final test. Practice tests with a multiple-choice option have a larger weighted mean effect size (+0.70) than short-answer tests (+0.48). A single practice test prior to the final test is more effective than when pupils take several practice tests. However, the timing should be carefully considered. A gap of less than a day between the practice and final tests showed a smaller weighted effect size than when there is a gap of one to six days (+0.56 and +0.82, respectively).

Source: Adesope, O. O., Trevisan, D. A., & Sundararajan, N. (2017). Rethinking the Use of Tests: A Meta-Analysis of Practice Testing. Review of Educational Research, 87(3), 659-701.… Read the rest

Research by Rachel Narr and colleagues at the University of Virginia looked at whether the quality of friendships during adolescence can predict aspects of long-term mental and emotional health.

The study looked at a sample of 169 teenagers over 10 years, from age 15 to 25. They were surveyed annually and asked about who their closest friends were along with questions about those friendships. They were also assessed on anxiety, social acceptance, self-worth and symptoms of depression.

The researchers found that teens who prioritised close friendships at age 15 had lower social anxiety, an increased sense of self-worth and fewer symptoms of depression at age 25 than their peers. However, teens who had lots of friends, rather than a few close friendships, had higher levels of anxiety as young adults.

The study also determined that there was a low relation between teens having high-quality friendships and being more sought after by their peers, suggesting that although some teens manage both popularity and close friendship well, and attract both due to similar characteristics, for the most part, these two types of social success are due to different personal attributes.

Source: Narr, R. K., Allen, J. P., Tan, J. S., & Loeb, E. L. (2017). Close Friendship Strength and Broader Peer Group Desirability as Differential Predictors of Adult Mental Health. Child Development. Advance online publication.… Read the rest

How much guidance should be provided to benefit students’ learning? According to the worked example effect, providing detailed worked examples might help students transferring knowledge to long-term memory. On the other hand, the generation effect suggested that requiring students to generate items themselves, instead of to do simply reading, might lead to better memory. A recent research study carried out by Chen and colleagues, published in Learning and Instruction, attempts to find out whether students learn better with higher or lower level of guidance, when the complexity of instructional materials in trigonometry and the levels of learner expertise are considered.

Participants were 94 Year 10 and 11 students in Chengdu, China. Fifty were Year 11 students who were regarded as relative expert learners as they had previously studied the trigonometry formulae, and the other 44 Year 10 students were novice learners. Students were randomly assigned into two groups for trigonometry learning before they were tested. During the preparation stage, materials of a higher level of guidance were given to one group, while the materials for the other group asked them to generate formulae and to solve problems themselves after studying. After preparation, all students were required to finish a free-recall test of trigonometry formulae and a problem-solving test of higher complexity. Two more tests were conducted a week later to examine the longer-term effect.

The hypothesis that high guidance would be superior to low guidance for complex materials, and low guidance would be superior to high guidance for simple materials was confirmed in the delayed test for the Year 10, less knowledgeable students. For the more knowledgeable Year 11 students, the worked example effect was found to be disappeared on both immediate and delayed tests. For simple content, requiring students to generate items themselves may be superior to studying explicitly provided answers, and is particularly beneficial to longer-term retention. However, explicit instruction is necessary for teaching complex materials to novice learners.

Sources: Chen, O., Kalyuga, S., & Sweller, J. (2016). Relations between the worked example and generation effects on immediate and delayed tests. Learning and Instruction, 45, 20-30.… Read the rest

New educational technology programmes are being released faster than researchers can evaluate them. The National Bureau of Economic Research in the US has written a working paper, Education Technology: An Evidence-Based Review, which discusses the evidence to date on the use of technology in the classroom, with the goal of finding decision-relevant patterns.

Maya Escueta and colleagues compiled publicly available quantitative research that used either randomised controlled trials or regression discontinuity designs (where pupils qualify for inclusion in a programme based on a cut-off score at pre-test). All studies had to examine the effects of an ed-tech intervention on any education-related outcome. Therefore, the paper included not only the areas of technology access, computer-assisted learning and online courses, but also the less-often-studied technology-based behavioural interventions.

Authors found that:

• Access to technology may or may not improve academic achievement at the K-12 level (Years 1–13), but does have a positive impact on the academic achievement of higher education students (ES=+0.14).
• Computer-assisted learning, when equipped with personalisation features, was an effective strategy, especially in maths.
• Behavioural intervention software, such as text-message reminders or e-messages instructing parents how to practise reading with their children, showed positive effects at all levels of education, and was also a cost-effective approach. Four main uses for behavioural intervention software emerged: encouraging parental involvement in early learning activities, communication between the school and parents, successfully transitioning into and through higher education, and creating mindset interventions. Research is recommended to determine the areas where behavioural intervention software is most impactful.
• Online learning courses had the least amount of research to examine and showed the least promise of the four areas. However, when online courses were accompanied by in-person teaching, the effect sizes increased to scores comparable to fully in-person courses.

Source:  Escueta, M., Quan, V., Nickow, A. J., & Oreopoulos, P. (2017). Education Technology: An Evidence-Based Review (NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES). MA: NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH.… Read the rest