Cognitive Psychology

1
Cognitive Psychology AssessmentCourse Overview

• Robert J. Mislevy
• University of Maryland
• January 31, 2005

2
Plan for Today

• Part I Introduction to class each other
• The class web site
• What the course is about
• Introductions
• Part II Quick overview of Cog Psych
• Contents of a typical intro course
• What well emphasize, what well skip

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Course Website

• www.education.umd.edu/EDMS/mislevy/CogPsychSpring2
  005/
• Class news. Always check here first.
• Calendar
• Overheads. Added to most weeks.
• Assignments. Added to most weeks.
• Readings.

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Readings

• Textbooks
• National Research Council (2002). Knowing what
  students know. J. Pellegrino, N. Chudowsky, R.
  Glaser (Eds.). Washington, D.C. National
  Academy Press.
• Ericcson, K.A., Smith, J. (Eds.) (1991). Toward
  a general theory of expertise. Cambridge,
  England Cambridge University Press.
• Common Readings
• Some online pick up others from EDMS office.
• Individual Readings
• Binder with one copy with all in EDMS office.

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Fall 2003, Fall 2005Foundations of Assessment
6
Fall 2004 Fall 2006(?)Bayesian Inference and
Measurement Models
7
Spring 2004 Spring 2006(?)Theory-Based Task
Design
Theory-based task design
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Spring 2005Cognitive Psychology and Assessment
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Topics

• Cognitive Psychology
• Evidence-Centered Assessment Design
• Assessment as evidentiary argument
• Domain modeling layer
• Focus on conceptual, not technical, framework
• How they fit together Cog psych informs ...
• What you want to make inferences about
• What you need to see
• How to make sense of it
• How to structure tasks to provide the evidence
  you need

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Assignments

• One paragraph about you (before next class)
• Questions on evidence-centered design models
• Short assignment most weeks
• In class presentation / discussion
• Summarize for class the key ideas in one/two
  readings
• Final paper Your example, through the lens of
  cog psych and evidence-centered design
• Prospectus
• Final version

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Final Project

• Choose an assessment you are familiar with, know
  something about, and/or want to learn about.
• Applying the ideas from readings to your
  assessment
• Describe your assessments purpose(s) form
• Relate your assessment to perspectives on
  psychology.
• Give an example or two of tasks.
• Explain aspects of your assessment in terms of
  argument structure and/or design patterns, either
  existing ones or new ones you develop.
• Target length 15 pages.
• You can work in teams on the same assessment, but
  write up your assignments individually.

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Potential shared examples

• WebLAS A web-based language assessment being
  developed at UCLA. Prof. Bachman and his
  students, from the Department of Applied
  Linguistics
• http//www.weblas.ucla.edu/
• GLOBE The GLOBE Classroom Assessment site,
  designed and developed by the Center for
  Technology in Learning (CTL) at SRI
  International, provides sample student assessment
  tools and frameworks to provide teachers and
  students with evidence about inquiry in science.
• http//globeassessment.sri.com/