Jacqueline P. Leighton | |
---|---|
Born | Santiago, Chile |
Nationality | Canadian and Chilean |
Occupation(s) | Educational psychologist, academic and author |
Awards | Significant Contribution to Educational Measurement and Research Methodology, American Educational Research Association (2009) Outstanding International Research Collaboration Award, American Educational Research Association (2017) |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Alberta |
Thesis | An Alternate Approach to Understanding Formal Reasoning: Thinking According to the Inductive-Coherence Model (1999) |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Alberta |
Jacqueline P. Leighton is a Canadian-Chilean educational psychologist,academic and author. She is a full professor in the Faculty of Education as well as vice-dean of Faculty Development and Faculty Affairs at the University of Alberta. [1]
Leighton is most known for her works on human development and cognition,primarily focusing on cognitive diagnostic testing,children's rights and assessment of learning environments and learning interventions. She pioneered the Learning Errors And Formative Feedback (LEAFF) model,focused on comprehension of learning error mechanisms,their quantification,and the use of formative feedback to enhance student learning outcomes. [2] Among her authored works are her publications in academic journals,including Journal of Educational Measurement and Educational Measurement:Issues and Practice [3] as well as books such as The Learning Sciences in Educational Assessment:The Role of Cognitive Models [4] and Leveraging Socio-Emotional Assessment to Foster Children's Human Rights. [5] Moreover,she has been acknowledged by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division D in 2009 for her contributions to educational measurement and research methodology, [6] and the Canadian Council of Learning as a Minerva Scholar,and is the recipient of the 2017 Outstanding International Research Collaboration Award from American Educational Research Association. [7]
Leighton earned her B.A. (Honours) in Psychology in 1993,followed by an MEd in Educational Psychology in 1995 from the University of Alberta. She then pursued a PhD in Psychology from the same institution,which she completed in 1999. [1]
Leighton commenced her academic journey in 1992 at the University of Alberta. During this period,she fulfilled various roles including teaching assistant,research assistant,and project coordinator until 1999. From 2000 to 2001,Leighton undertook the role of a visiting research scholar in the Department of Human Development at the University of Maryland. Subsequently,from 2001 to 2005,she held positions as an assistant professor followed by an appointment as an associate professor at the University of Alberta from 2005 to 2008. Since 2008,she has held the position of professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta. The Department of Educational Psychology ceased to exist in 2022 when the Faculty of Education underwent significant restructuring,leading to a non-departmentalized faculty. [1]
In 2009,she was appointed as the Director of the Centre for Research in Applied Measurement and Evaluation at the University of Alberta. Following this,she served as the chair in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta from 2011 to 2016. Between 2010 and 2013,Leighton held an appointment as the editor-in-chief of the journal Educational Measurement:Issues and Practice . Since 2023,she has been serving as the vice-dean of Faculty Development and Faculty Affairs in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. [1]
Leighton has authored various books throughout her academic career. In 2007,she edited the book titled Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment for Education:Theory and Applications. The book explored Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment (CDA) in education,covering its conceptual basis,methods,applications,and unresolved issues,providing an examination of its role in educational reform and assessment. [8] In his review of the book,Robert J. Sternberg,a professor of Human Development at Cornell University stated "Today,more effort is being expended on educational assessment than at any time in the past. But often this assessment is done without full,or sometimes,any serious regard to the many advancements in psychological and educational research that could enhance the quality of this assessment. This book will be invaluable to those who wish to learn about these advances and how to apply them in assessment,including high-stakes testing." She and her co-editor Mark J. Gierl were presented in 2009 with the AERA's Division D award for Significant Contribution to Educational Measurement and Research Methodology. [6] In 2011,she co-authored a book with Mark J. Gierl titled The Learning Sciences in Educational Assessment:The Role of Cognitive Models,wherein she explored the role of cognitive models in education,and advocated for the development of psychologically informative and psychometrically viable large-scale assessments to drive positive changes in educational outcomes amidst national policy initiatives like No Child Left Behind. [4] DD Sandilands,in their review of the book,praised the authors for their effective use of illustrative examples and insightful guiding questions,which help elucidate the proposed characteristics of cognitive models. [9]
Leighton's 2017 publication Using Think-Aloud Interviews and Cognitive Labs in Educational Research provided a guide to think-aloud interviews and cognitive laboratory interviews. [10] The book was reviewed by Melanie Kinskey from Sam Houston State University,who remarked,"Overall,Leighton organizes her book in a spiraling method. She takes the time to revisit and reinforce information from previous chapters before expanding upon it in the current chapter. She effectively acknowledges key concepts from earlier chapters and prompts readers to revisit them if necessary." [11] Most recently in 2023,she authored Leveraging Socio-Emotional Assessment to Foster Children's Human Rights. The book emphasized integrating socio-emotional assessment into education to foster children's human rights. [5]
Leighton's interdisciplinary research has focused on human development,cognition,critical thinking,research methodology,and educational measurement of learning. In 1997 she addressed the computational and visualization challenges in ANCOVA with three covariates by proposing a specialized GLM design and using Mathematica for symbolic computation and four-dimensional contour plotting to identify regions of significance and orthogonal contrasts. [12] Her PhD thesis focused on the Wason Selection task,a classic task to measure logical reasoning,and how its traditional abstract presentation often misrepresented the reasoning capacities of human participants. Her collaborative work with MJ Gierl and others explored K. Tatsuoka's rule-space model,elucidating its application in educational assessment for categorizing examinees' responses into cognitive skill patterns and examining its implications,controversies,and unresolved issues. [13] In related research,she and Gierl introduced the Attribute Hierarchy Method (AHM),a cognitive item response theory model,demonstrating its application in bridging cognitive theory and psychometric practice for the development and analysis of educational and psychological tests,particularly showcasing its differences from Tatsuoka's rule-space approach and its use in evaluating cognitive competencies in syllogistic reasoning tasks. [14]
Examining the intersection of cognitive psychology and educational measurement,Leighton's research focused on the value of verbal reports in elucidating cognitive models for test performance,addressing concerns regarding their trustworthiness,and proposing avenues for enhancing their utility in educational assessment. [15] Her 2007 research explored the role and significance of different cognitive models underlying educational tests,advocating for their explicit identification in test development to improve diagnostic inferences about examinees' thinking processes. [16] In 2010,she investigated secondary teachers' beliefs regarding the effectiveness of classroom tests versus large-scale tests in providing information about student learning processes,influencing meaningful learning,and eliciting learning or test-taking strategies. The study found that teachers generally perceive classroom tests as more informative,influential,and conducive to genuine learning. [17] Her 2016 collaborative research with VJ Shute and others explored the evolution and future prospects of assessment practices in education,focusing on the influence of instructional technology and learning science theory. The study also advocated for comprehensive assessment systems that measure the entire student learning experience. [18] In 2022,she conducted a systematic review of data literacy assessments across various educational levels and audiences,with the goal of evaluating definitions,competencies,assessment types,and reliability,ultimately concluding the necessity for high-quality assessment tools to support teaching and learning in this emerging domain. [19]
Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes,from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives,allows researchers to understand individual differences in intelligence,cognitive development,affect,motivation,self-regulation,and self-concept,as well as their role in learning. The field of educational psychology relies heavily on quantitative methods,including testing and measurement,to enhance educational activities related to instructional design,classroom management,and assessment,which serve to facilitate learning processes in various educational settings across the lifespan.
Psychometrics is a field of study within psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. Psychometrics generally covers specialized fields within psychology and education devoted to testing,measurement,assessment,and related activities. Psychometrics is concerned with the objective measurement of latent constructs that cannot be directly observed. Examples of latent constructs include intelligence,introversion,mental disorders,and educational achievement. The levels of individuals on nonobservable latent variables are inferred through mathematical modeling based on what is observed from individuals' responses to items on tests and scales.
Educational Testing Service (ETS),founded in 1947,is the world's largest private educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township,New Jersey,but has a Princeton address.
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This is an index of education articles.
William Burton Michael,a student of J. P. Guilford,earned his Ph.D. in quantitative psychometric methods from the University of Southern California. He started his teaching career at Princeton University,and in 1952 joined the faculty at University of Southern California,where he received a joint appointment as an associate professor in psychology and education and as the director of the USC Testing Bureau. Michael authored over 500 publications on test construction,measurement and evaluation,and personality assessment. He also co-chaired a joint committee of the American Psychological Association (APA),American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) that published Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing,which is the national and international standard of professional guidelines for testing and measurement in research and practice. One of his most widely read books is entitled "Handbook in research and evaluation :a collection of principles,methods,and strategies useful in the planning,design,and evaluation of studies in education and the behavioral sciences".
Patricia A. Alexander is an educational psychologist who has conducted notable research on the role of individual difference,strategic processing,and interest in students' learning. She is currently a university distinguished professor,Jean Mullan Professor of Literacy,and Distinguished Scholar/Teacher in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology in the College of Education at the University of Maryland and a visiting professor at the University of Auckland,New Zealand.
Education sciences,also known as education studies,education theory,and traditionally called pedagogy,seek to describe,understand,and prescribe education including education policy. Subfields include comparative education,educational research,instructional theory,curriculum theory and psychology,philosophy,sociology,economics,and history of education. Related are learning theory or cognitive science.
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The attribute hierarchy method (AHM),is a cognitively based psychometric procedure developed by Jacqueline Leighton,Mark Gierl,and Steve Hunka at the Centre for Research in Applied Measurement and Evaluation (CRAME) at the University of Alberta. The AHM is one form of cognitive diagnostic assessment that aims to integrate cognitive psychology with educational measurement for the purposes of enhancing instruction and student learning. A cognitive diagnostic assessment (CDA),is designed to measure specific knowledge states and cognitive processing skills in a given domain. The results of a CDA yield a profile of scores with detailed information about a student’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses. This cognitive diagnostic feedback has the potential to guide instructors,parents and students in their teaching and learning processes.
Lloyd Bond was an American researcher in the field of psychometrics. As of 2009,he was a consulting scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Stanford,California;he served as a senior scholar at the foundation from 2002 to 2008.
Norman “Fritz”Frederiksen (1909-1998) was an American research psychologist and leading proponent of performance assessment,an approach to educational and occupational testing that focused on the use of tasks similar to the ones individuals actually encounter in real classroom and work environments. In keeping with the philosophy underlying this approach,Frederiksen was a critic of multiple-choice testing,which he felt negatively influenced school curricula and classroom practice. Much of his research centered upon creating and evaluating alternative approaches to the measurement of knowledge and skill,which he pursued over a 40-year career at Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton,NJ. For his work,he received the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Knowledge in 1984 and,by the time of his retirement from ETS,had attained the position of Distinguished Scientist,the organization's highest-ranking scientific title at that time.
Automatic item generation (AIG),or automated item generation,is a process linking psychometrics with computer programming. It uses a computer algorithm to automatically create test items that are the basic building blocks of a psychological test. The method was first described by John R. Bormuth in the 1960s but was not developed until recently. AIG uses a two-step process:first,a test specialist creates a template called an item model;then,a computer algorithm is developed to generate test items. So,instead of a test specialist writing each individual item,computer algorithms generate families of items from a smaller set of parent item models. More recently,neural networks,including Large Language Models,such as the GPT family,have been used successfully for generating items automatically.
Lynn Fuchs is an educational psychologist known for research on instructional practice and assessment,reading disabilities,and mathematics disabilities. She is the Dunn Family Chair in Psychoeducational Assessment in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University.
Michelene (Micki) T. H. Chi is a cognitive and learning scientist known for her work on the development of expertise,benefits of self-explanations,and active learning in the classroom. Chi is the Regents Professor,Dorothy Bray Endowed Professor of Science and Teaching at Arizona State University,where she directs the Learning and Cognition Lab.
Carol McDonald Connor was an educational psychologist known for her research contributions to the field of early literacy development in diverse learners,in particular for work on individualized student instruction interventions and the lattice model of reading development. She held the position of Chancellor's Faculty and Equity Advisor in the School of Education at the University of California,Irvine.
Randy Elliot Bennett is an American educational researcher who specializes in educational assessment. He is currently the Norman O. Frederiksen Chair in Assessment Innovation at Educational Testing Service in Princeton,NJ. His research and writing focus on bringing together advances in cognitive science,technology,and measurement to improve teaching and learning. He received the ETS Senior Scientist Award in 1996,the ETS Career Achievement Award in 2005,the Teachers College,Columbia University Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016,Fellow status in the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2017,the National Council on Measurement in Education's (NCME) Bradley Hanson Award for Contributions to Educational Measurement in 2019,the E. F. Lindquist Award from AERA and ACT in 2020,elected membership in the National Academy of Education in 2022,and the AERA Cognition and Assessment Special Interest Group Outstanding Contribution to Research in Cognition and Assessment Award in 2024. Randy Bennett was elected President of both the International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA),a worldwide organization primarily constituted of governmental and NGO measurement organizations,and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME),whose members are employed in universities,testing organizations,state and federal education departments,and school districts.
Matthias von Davier is a psychometrician,academic,inventor,and author. He is the executive director of the TIMSS &PIRLS International Study Center in Lynch School of Education and Human Development and the J. Donald Monan,S.J.,University Professor in Education at Boston College.