Building on and extending existing research, this article proposes a 4-phase model of interest development. The model describes 4 phases in the development and deepening of learner interest: triggered situational interest, maintained situational interest, emerging (less-developed) individual interest, and well-developed individual interest. Affective as well as cognitive factors are considered. Educational implications of the proposed model are identified.

The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development.

We already have too much medicine that is (cognitively) good for the 
patient-who will not take it-and medicine that patients fi nd delicious-but that contributes little to their cognitive abilities. (Simon, 
1995, p. 508)There is an enormous chasm between what kids do for fun and what they are 
required to do in school. School covers material we deem “important,” but 
kids, generally speaking, are unimpressed. These same kids, however, are highly 
motivated by what they do for fun (e.g., interactive, entertainment games). 
Imagine these two worlds united. Student engagement is strongly associated 
with academic achievement (e.g., Finn & Rock, 1997; Fredricks, Blumenfeld, 
& Paris, 2004; Fredricks & Eccles, 2006). Thus, combining school material 
with games has tremendous potential to increase learning, especially for lower 
performing, disengaged students.

Melding the Power of Serious Games and Embedded Assessment to Monitor and Foster Learning: Flow and Grow

Against the grain

An Open Learner Model makes a machines’ representation of the learner available as an important means of support for learning. This means that a suitable interface is created for use by learners, and in some cases for others who aid their learning, including peers, parents and teachers. The chapter describes the range of purposes that Open Learner Models can serve, illustrating these with diverse examples of the ways that they have been made available in several research systems. We then discuss the closely related issues of openness and learner control and the ways that have been explored to support learning by making the learner model available to people other than the learner. This chapter provides a foundation for understanding the range of ways that Open Learner Models have already been used to support learning as well as directions yet to be explored.

Open Learner Models

CBAL (Cognitively Based Assessment of, for, and as Learning) is a research initiative intended to create a model for an innovative K–12 assessment system that documents what students have achieved (of learning); helps identify how to plan instruction (for learning); and is considered by students and teachers to be a worthwhile educational experience in and of itself (as learning). Because CBAL intends to not only measure student achievement but also facilitate it, CBAL, like any similar assessment program, requires a theory of action. This paper describes the notion of theory of action, offers a preliminary version of such a theory for CBAL, and outlines a provisional research program for evaluating that theory.

/pdf/cognitively-based-assessment-of-for-and-as-learning-cbal-a-3358gi2wcb.pdf

Cognitively Based Assessment of, for, and as Learning (CBAL): A Preliminary Theory of Action for Summative and Formative Assessment

This paper reviews the research literature on the relationship between parental involvement (PI) and academic achievement, with special focus on the secondary school (middle and high school) level. The results first present how individual PI variables correlate with academic achievement and then move to more complex analyses of multiple variables on the general construct described in the literature. Several PI variables with correlations to academic achievement show promise: (a) communication between children and parents about school activities and plans, (b) parents holding high expectations/aspirations for their children's schooling, and (c) parents employing an authoritative parenting style. We end the results section by discussing the findings in light of the limitations of nonexperimental research and the different effects of children's versus parents' perspectives on academic achievement.

https://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/edri/2011/915326.pdf

A Review of the Relationship between Parental Involvement and Secondary School Students' Academic Achievement

Research efforts focused on developing "active reports" are currently underway. Active reports are designed to foster communication among teachers, students, and parents by listening to all stakeholders, using assessment information to guide teaching and learning, and to reconcile potential conflicts. Open student models can handle different views of the student. These views support different kinds of assessment information coming from a variety of sources (e.g. results from summative and formative assessments). As teachers, students, and parents interact with open student models, assessment claims (e.g. students' self-assessment, systems' and teachers' assessment of student knowledge) may evolve from unsupported claims to evidence-based arguments. Paths on this evidentiary argument space are characterized by rich interactions among sources of evidence that may challenge personal claims and improve metacognitive skills. This paper (a) presents an evidence-based approach to interacting with open student models that builds on existing research on open student models, evidentiary arguments and evidence-centered design, (b) illustrates this approach in the context of an assessment-based learning environment called Math Intervention Module (MIM), and (c) reports on a study carried out with Algebra teachers/assessment specialists aimed at evaluating the feasibility of implementing this approach in real settings.

/pdf/evidence-based-approach-to-interacting-with-open-student-556uugbssl.pdf

Evidence-based Approach to Interacting with Open Student Models

The Internet is increasingly being used as a medium for educational software in the form of miniature applications (e.g., applets) to explore concepts in a domain. One such effort in mathematics education, the Educational Software Components of Tomorrow (ESCOT) project, created 42 miniature applications each consisting of a context, a set of questions, and one or more interactive applets to help students explore a mathematical concept. They were designed by experts in interface design, educational technology, and classroom teaching. However, some applications were more successful for fostering student problem-solving than others. This article describes the method used to mine a subset (25) of these applets for design principles that describe successful learner-centered design by drawing on such data as videos of students using the software and summaries of written student work. Twenty-one design principles were identified, falling into the categories of motivation, presentation, and support for problem solving. The main purpose of this article is to operationalize a method for post hoc extraction of design principles from an existing library of educational software, although readers may also find the design principles themselves to be useful.

/pdf/idea-identifying-design-principles-in-educational-applets-cn8o2nko6u.pdf

IDEA: Identifying Design Principles in Educational Applets

http://myweb.fsu.edu/vshute/pdf/shute%202009_b.pdf

Bayesian networks: A teacher's view

Assessment-Based Learning Environments (ABLE) make use of assessment information coming from a variety of sources (e.g., formative and summative) to guide instruction. We have developed English ABLE, an assessment based learning environment designed to help English language learners (ELLs) learn about English grammar. Main features of English ABLE include: Item/task reuse (900 enhanced TOEFL® items were recalibrated based on data from all native Spanish speakers who have taken the test), a Bayesian psychometric student model that makes use item statistics, adaptive feedback, adaptive sequencing of tasks, pedagogical agents (Dr. Grammar, Jorge and Carmen), and an indirectly visible student model. This paper presents English ABLE and reports on some preliminary results from a study that involved 149 native Spanish-speaking ELLs.

Jody S. Underwood

Papers

A Review of the Relationship between Parental Involvement and Secondary School Students' Academic Achievement

Evidence-based Approach to Interacting with Open Student Models

IDEA: Identifying Design Principles in Educational Applets

Bayesian networks: A teacher's view

English ABLE