Search

Assessments, even summative, are part of the learning journey not just for the student, but for the instructors as well. In competency-based education, performance assessments (PAs) are regarded as a highly authentic method of measurement, but their complexity makes them vulnerable to construct-irrelevant variance such as group bias. A differential item functioning (DIF) study was conducted to detect potential bias in a series of information technology PA tasks in which task scenarios were identified (by SMEs) as neutral or potentially controversial, where the latter was hypothesized as more likely to trigger DIF for certain demographics. Given the variety of DIF methods available and their relative strengths and weaknesses, three common statistical methods – Mantel-Haenszel (MH), logistic regression (LR), and Lord's chi-square (LC) - were used followed by a substantive review of DIF items. Hypotheses were largely supported by the analysis and review. Discussion centers on the implication of findings for assessment strategies in education.

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive overview of context-rich learning, including its theoretical foundations, alignment with various instructional practices, and potential benefits and limitations. The chapter begins with a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of context-rich learning, exploring its connections to constructivism, experiential learning, problem-based learning, and situated learning. Each section provides specific examples of how context-rich learning aligns with these theories and highlights the benefits of incorporating authentic, real-world experiences into the learning process.

With the changes in societies and economies, new formats and packaging of educational products have been emerging as alternatives to the traditional degrees and certificates. Most of these offerings emerge outside higher education institutions and aim to alleviate the gap between the supply of skills and the needs of industries which had a big impact on the educational space. The authors studied approximately four hundred thousand tweets discussing educational offerings. They used a combination of topic modeling and network analysis to group topics into wider themes over the topic network. They also used word embeddings to measure semantic similarity of words related to specific educational packagings and further understand the discussion carried out on Twitter. The results of this study show how public opinion on Twitter discussed formal and non-formal educational offerings in ways that stress economic and professional advancement. Finally, the results from the word embeddings analysis revealed a need for common and clear taxonomy that differentiates between educational formats.

Programs in an online competency-based higher education (OCBHE) institute will focus on a set of skills and competencies that form a theme throughout multiple courses, where one course builds upon another in terms of increasing the strength or depth of competency. Thus, for students within a given program or major, it is ideal for scores from course assessments with overlapping content to correlate and indicate higher-order skills or competencies. The purpose of this study was to use factor analysis to test the internal and structural validity of course-level performance assessment scores for a group of courses taken as part of a data analytics program in an OCBHE institution. Moreover, the presence of program-level competencies was investigated using hierarchical factor analysis for two groups: a faster, shorter course track and a slow, longer course track. Results supported validity at the course level as well as the presence of a higher-order factor (program-level competency) for the fast course track but not the slow track.

The gap between higher education and industry is often discussed, but mitigating solutions lag behind and contribute to its widening. This chapter explores the root causes of this gap and examines the establishment of common frameworks based on skills and approaches to assessing those skills as the path forward. The perspective and needs of the industry, the learners, and higher education are discussed. Data silos to inform the educational product on skills in need by industry exist. Tools to support communicating skills in various technology solutions in the spirit of a holistic learning and employment record are emerging. Skills and competencies that populate those records must be relevant, appropriately validated, and communicated using an agreed-upon language. Selected examples of current and emerging approaches in the skills-first approach to establishing common frameworks for communication and assessment are provided to illustrate possibilities.

Fuzzy algebraic structures are a useful and flexible tool for modeling cognitive agents and their societies. In this article we propose a fuzzy algebraic framework where the valuating sets are other than the unit interval (lattices, partially ordered sets or relational structures) . This provides for a flexible organization of the information gathered by the agent (via interactions with the environment and/or other agents) and enables its selected use when different drives are active. Agents (Petitagé, ANNA, POPSICLE and Izbushka), which are instantiations of our model, are also given in order to illustrate the use of this framework, as well as its possible extensions.

Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis is known as one of the most common pathogenic bacteria causing salmonellosis in humans. Raw materials of animal origin (eggs, chicken meat) are frequent vectors that transmit this bacterium. Since eggs are used for the production of pasta, due to insufficient thermal treatment during pasta drying, they can be a potential risk to consumer health. Different essential oils of herbs can be used to reduce present pathogenic microorganisms. This paper compares a decrease in the number of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (D) ATCC 13076 and Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis isolated from outbreaks of salmonellosis in egg-based pasta under the influence of thyme and sweet basil essential oils. The results indicate that the utilized oils were more effective against the epidemic strain than the ATCC strain. In addition, thyme oil caused a more significant inhibition of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis during the production process.

This paper overviews the interactivist model of representation and its applications in artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent robotics. Selected examples from approaches in AI and robotics are contrasted with the generic interactivist architecture in order to illustrate specific features of it. Petitage, an artificial agent that instantiates our interactivist-expectative theory of agency and learning (IETAL), is discussed in detail from the interactivist perspective.

In this paper we take an interactivist perspective on the computer-mediated classroom, and explore the autopoietic teaching approach in the context of emergence of diversity in the classroom. The POPSICLE (Patterns in Orientation: Pattern-Aided Simulated Interaction Context-Learning Experiment) is presented and discussed, as well as its multiple consequences. POPSICLE is a study of learning in human subjects, as well as of interaction and transfer of knowledge between subjects in a collaborative environment.

The paper introduces lattice-valued fuzzy lattices. Two types of L-fuzzy lattices are defined, and their connection is observed. The first type of fuzzy lattices is obtained via fuzzification of the membership to the carrier, and the second via fuzzification of the ordering relation in a crisp lattice. It is proved that the two approaches are equivalent, similarly as in the crisp lattice theory.

“Emergence” is itself emergent; although originating in the context of the “sciences of complexity” — i.e., life sciences, cybernetics, multiagent systems research, and artificial life research — “emergent thinking” has spread to other parts of the academy, including the social sciences and business. Utilizing examples drawn from popular culture, this chapter looks to the ways IT has proven influential in other cultural contexts, but not without a price. The second part of the chapter interrogates the transportation of emergent thinking into these other discourses, taking them to task for not embracing the promises inherent in emergence and, in fact, merely reproducing the old under the sign of the emergent new. Finally, by borrowing notions of “surprise” from robotics and multiagent systems, I suggest new possibilities for emergence to lead to genuine paradigm shifts in the ways we think.

Based on the material presented in Appendix A and B, in this chapter we give alternatives to the definition of agent using fuzzy algebraic structures. The notion of intrinsic representation of the environment is formally defined as a fuzzy relation valued by the lattice of drives of the agent.