Die Online-Testplattform OASYS

Presentation (2014, January)

Forty years on: Childhood intelligence predicts health in middle adulthood.

in Health Psychology (2014), 33(3), 292-296

Concept maps: A useful and usable tool for computer-based knowledge assessment? A literature review with a focus on usability

in Computers & Education (2014), 78

The concept map is now widely accepted as an instrument for the assessment of conceptual knowledge and is increasingly being embedded into technology-based environments. Usability addresses how ... [more ▼]

The concept map is now widely accepted as an instrument for the assessment of conceptual knowledge and is increasingly being embedded into technology-based environments. Usability addresses how appropriate (for a particular use) or how user-friendly a computer-based assessment instrument is. As we know from human-computer interaction research, if the interface is not user-friendly, a computer-based assessment can result in decreased test performance and reduced validity. This means that the usability of the interface affects the assessment in such a way that if the test is not user-friendly, then the test taker will not be able to fully demonstrate his/her level of proficiency and will instead be scored according to his/her information and communication technology (ICT) literacy skills. The guidelines of the International Test Commission (2006) require usability testing for such instruments and suggest that design standards be implemented. However, we do not know whether computer-conducted concept map assessments fulfill these standards. The present paper addresses this aspect. We conducted a systematic research review to examine whether and how researchers have studied and considered usability when conducting computer-based concept map assessments. Only 24 out of 119 journal articles that assessed computer-based concept maps discussed the usability issue in some way. Nevertheless, our review brings to light the idea that the impact of usability on computer-based concept map assessments is an issue that has received insufficient attention. In addition, usability ensures a suitable interaction between test taker and test device; thus, the training effort required for test use can be reduced if a test's usability is straight forward. Our literature review, however, illustrates that the interplay between usability and test use training has mostly been neglected in current studies. [less ▲]

Predictive validity of tracking decisions: Application of a new validation criterion.

in Spiliopoulou, Myra; Schmidt-Thieme, Lars; Janning, Ruth (Eds.) Studies in classification, data analysis, and knowledge organisation: Data Analysis, Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery. (2014)

Do test takers with different language backgrounds take the same C-test? The effect of native language on the validity of C-tests.

in Grotjahn, Rüdiger (Ed.) Der C-Test: Aktuelle Tendenzen/The C-Test: current trends. (2014)

Domain-general problem solving skills and education in the 21st century

in Educational Research Review (2014), 13

Computer-based assessment of cross-curricular skills and processes. Special section.

in Journal of Educational Psychology (2014)

ÉpStan Technical Report

Book published by University of Luxembourg (2014)

Developing number–space associations: SNARC effects using a color discrimination task in 5-year-olds

in Journal of Experimental Child Psychology (2013), 116

Human adults’ numerical representation is spatially oriented; consequently, participants are faster to respond to small/large numerals with their left/right hand, respectively, when doing a binary ... [more ▼]

Human adults’ numerical representation is spatially oriented; consequently, participants are faster to respond to small/large numerals with their left/right hand, respectively, when doing a binary classification judgment on numbers, known as the SNARC (spatial– numerical association of response codes) effect. Studies on the emergence and development of the SNARC effect remain scarce. The current study introduces an innovative new paradigm based on a simple color judgment of Arabic digits. Using this task, we found a SNARC effect in children as young as 5.5 years. In contrast, when preschool children needed to perform a magnitude judgment task necessitating exact number knowledge, the SNARC effect started to emerge only at 5.8 years. Moreover, the emergence of a magnitude SNARC but not a color SNARC was linked to proficiency with Arabic digits. Our results suggest that access to a spatially oriented approximate magnitude representation from symbolic digits emerges early in ontogenetic development. Exact magnitude judgments, on the other hand, rely on experience with Arabic digits and, thus, necessitate formal or informal schooling to give access to a spatially oriented numerical representation. [less ▲]

Länderbericht Luxemburg: Épreuves Standardisées (ÉpStan)

Presentation (2013, October)