0000000000801963
AUTHOR
Heidi Hyytinen
Problematising the equivalence of the test results of performance-based critical thinking tests for undergraduate students
Abstract This article compares the test results of two different performance-based assessments of critical thinking: a constructed-response task from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) and a multiple-choice questionnaire (MCQ). These tests ostensibly measure the same critical thinking skills, such as analysing, interpreting and evaluating information and problem solving. The study utilised a mixed-method approach to explore the differences in students’ ( n = 330) test scores. The results showed that the correspondence between the CLA and the MCQ was fully comparable in 45.5% of the students’ test performances. Ten percent of the students had completely opposite test results. Explanat…
Linguistic, Contextual, and Experiential Equivalence Issues in the Adaptation of a Performance-Based Assessment of Generic Skills in Higher Education
This qualitative study investigated the various linguistic, contextual, and experiential equivalence issues embedded in a performance-based instrument aimed at assessing generic skills in higher education. A rigorous translation and adaptation process (American English to Finnish) was conducted on one instrument, namely Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+) International. The data were obtained from cognitive laboratories (n = 13), with think-alouds and follow-up interviews conducted among Finnish undergraduate students. Content logs were created, and the data were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that linguistic and contextual equivalence issues were more prominent than experie…
The Dynamic Relationship between Response Processes and Self-Regulation in Critical Thinking Assessments
Our aim was to explore higher education students’ response and self-regulatory processes plus the relationship between these, as evidenced in two types of performance-based critical thinking tasks included in the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+) International instrument. The data collection consisted of 20 cognitive laboratories. The data were analyzed using a qualitative approach. The tasks were found to trigger different response and self-regulatory processes. Overall, the performance task evoked more holistic processes than the selected-response questions, in which students’ processes were more question-oriented. The results also indicated the entanglement of students’ response and …
How do self-regulation and effort in test-taking contribute to undergraduate students’ critical thinking performance?
Critical thinking is a multifaceted construct involving a set of skills and affective dispositions together with self-regulation. The aim of this study was to explore how self-regulation and effort in test-taking contribute to undergraduate students’ performance in critical thinking assessment. The data were collected in 18 higher education institutions in Finland. A total of 2402 undergraduate students at the initial and final stages of their bachelor degree programmes participated in the study. An open-ended performance task, namely the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+) International, was assigned to assess students’ critical thinking, and a self-report questionnaire was used to measu…
Korkeakouluopiskelijoiden geneeristen taitojen arviointi : Kappas!-hankkeen tuloksia
Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää, millä tasolla korkeakoulututkintoa suorittavien opiskelijoiden geneeriset taidot ovat, mitkä tekijät ovat yhteydessä geneeristen taitojen tasoon ja missä määrin geneeriset taidot kehittyvät korkeakouluopintojen aikana. Tutkimuksessa arvioitavia geneerisiä taitoja olivat analyyttinen päättely ja arviointi, ongelmanratkaisu, argumentatiivinen kirjoittaminen sekä kielen hallinta. Tutkimukseen osallistui yliopistojen alemman korkeakoulututkinnon ja ammattikorkeakoulututkinnon alku- ja loppuvaiheen opiskelijoita (n = 2402) ammattikorkeakouluista (n = 7) ja yliopistoista (n = 11). Tulosten mukaan lähes 60 prosentilla korkeakouluopiskelijoista geneeriset ta…