Analysis of the Impact of Creative Technique on the Motivation of Physical Education Students in Dance Content: Gender Differences

The aim of this study was to learn about the effectiveness of two dance teaching techniques, the creative examination technique and the direct instruction technique, on the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, the level of self‐determination, the perception of usefulness, enjoyment and effort of physical education students. Likewise, it purports to analyze the gender difference in the psychological variables addressed in agreement with the teaching technique used, to guide and personalize the treatment of these contents in physical education. A quasi‐experimental design was carried out with four natural groups from two school centers. The direct instruction technique was applied with two groups and the creative examination technique with the other two, in a total of 12 sessions. An initial and final measurement was taken in both groups, and the results revealed the complexity to motivate students after 12 sessions. However, the gender‐dependent analyses offer methodological guidelines, as the creative technique causes adaptative consequences on the male gender and disadaptative consequences on the female gender. By way of conclusion, we can highlight the need to devote more sessions to dance teaching and to apply different treatments depending on the gender.     

Emergent verbal behavior in preschool children learning a second language

We evaluated the emergence of untaught second‐language skills following directly taught listener and intraverbal responses. Three preschool children were taught first‐language (English) listener responses (e.g., “Point to the horse”) and second‐language (Welsh) intraverbal responses (e.g., “What is horse in Welsh?” [ceffyl]). After intervention, increases in untaught second‐language tacts (e.g., “What is this in Welsh?” [ceffyl]) and listener responses (e.g., “Point to the ceffyl”) were observed for all 3 participants.     

On initial item selection in cognitive diagnostic computerized adaptive testing

There has recently been much interest in computerized adaptive testing (CAT) for cognitive diagnosis. While there exist various item selection criteria and different asymptotically optimal designs, these are mostly constructed based on the asymptotic theory assuming the test length goes to infinity. In practice, with limited test lengths, the desired asymptotic optimality may not always apply, and there are few studies in the literature concerning the optimal design of finite items. Related questions, such as how many items we need in order to be able to identify the attribute pattern of an examinee and what types of initial items provide the optimal classification results, are still open. This paper aims to answer these questions by providing non‐asymptotic theory of the optimal selection of initial items in cognitive diagnostic CAT. In particular, for the optimal design, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the Q ‐matrix structure of the initial items. The theoretical development is suitable for a general family of cognitive diagnostic models. The results not only provide a guideline for the design of optimal item selection procedures, but also may be applied to guide item bank construction.     

A Slippery Myth: How Learning Style Beliefs Shape Reasoning about Multimodal Instruction and Related Scientific Evidence

The learning style myth is a commonly held myth that matching instruction to a student's “learning style” will result in improved learning, while providing mismatched instruction will result in suboptimal learning. The present study used a short online reasoning exercise about the efficacy of multimodal instruction to investigate the nature of learning styles beliefs. We aimed to: understand how learning style beliefs interact with beliefs about multimodal learning; characterize the potential complexity of learning style beliefs and understand how this short exercise might influence endorsements of learning styles. Many participants who believed in the learning style myth supported the efficacy of multimodal learning, and many were willing to revise their belief in the myth after the exercise. Personal experiences and worldviews were commonly cited as reasons for maintaining beliefs in learning styles. Findings reveal the complexity of learning style beliefs, and how they interact with evidence in previously undocumented ways.     

The effects of video modeling with voiceover instruction on accurate implementation of discrete-trial instruction

The present study replicates and extends previous research on the use of video modeling (VM) with voiceover instruction to train staff to implement discrete-trial instruction (DTI). After staff trainees reached the mastery criterion when teaching an adult confederate with VM, they taught a child with a developmental disability using DTI. The results showed that the staff trainees' accurate implementation of DTI remained high, and both child participants acquired new skills. These findings provide additional support that VM may be an effective method to train staff members to conduct DTI.     

Generalized instruction following with pictorial prompts

The benefits of permanent pictorial prompts in enhancing maintenance and generalization are likely dependent on their degree of stimulus control and the extent to which their use is generalized. Although several studies on the use of pictorial prompts have demonstrated their efficacy (e.g., Pierce & Schreibman, 1994; Wacker & Berg, 1983; Wacker, Berg, Berrie, & Swatta, 1985), there is still some question regarding what ultimately controlled responding. The present study allowed an explicit examination of stimulus control by pictorial prompts. Three 4-year-old children with developmental disabilities were taught to complete 4 instructional sets (5 steps each) using pictorial prompts such that the prompts would control responding. All 3 participants showed generalization to the final set after training with 3 sets. These results suggest that training a single task sequence may not be sufficient for acquisition of generalized pictorial instruction following. However, establishing stimulus control by the pictorial prompts rather than teaching behavioral chains may facilitate acquisition of a generalized repertoire.     

Evaluation of a self-instruction package for conducting stimulus preference assessments

Research suggests that inexperienced individuals cannot accurately implement stimulus preference assessments given written instructions alone. Training that includes written instructions supplemented with feedback from a professional with expertise in conducting preference assessments has proven effective; unfortunately, expert-facilitated direct training may not be widely available. In the current study, we used multiple baseline designs to evaluate the efficacy of an antecedent-only self-instructional package to train staff members to implement two methods of stimulus preference assessments. Accuracy was low when participants had access to written instructions alone. When access to enhanced written instructions was provided (i.e., technical jargon was minimized; instructions included pictures, diagrams, and step-by-step examples), inexperienced staff accurately implemented the assessments. Results are discussed in terms of opportunities to disseminate behavior-analytic technologies through self-instruction and print resources.     

题库优化设计的回顾与展望

题库优化设计是指在题库建立前确定一份最佳的题库开发蓝图,使题库更好地服务于组卷。目前,在线性计算机化测验的情景下,题库优化设计方法主要包括：线性规划法、成本函数法;在计算机适应性测验（CAT）情境下,题库设计方法主要包括：影子测验设计法、p-优化设计法。文中首先介绍这些优化设计法的基本思路、具体步骤与相关的应用研究,然后评述当前题库设计研究的局限,指出未来的可能研究方向。