Call for Papers: Computer-Based Assessment of Cross-Curricular Skills and Processes

• March 1, 2013: Full manuscript submission deadline
• May 31, 2013: Reviewers' feedback sent to authors
• June 28, 2013: Revised manuscripts due
• July 12, 2013: Reviewers' feedback sent to selected authors
• August 2, 2013: Final revised manuscripts due. Final decision on publication shortly thereafter
• 2014: Publication

With this Call for Papers, we intend to attract manuscripts that are outstanding exemplars of empirical research involving computer-based assessment of cross-curricular skills and processes.

Such manuscripts may fall into one of three categories:

1. research on the assessment of cross-curricular skills;
2. research on the use of process data collected in computer-based assessment contexts; and
3. research that comprehensively combines the two topics.

However, manuscripts must be related to assessment issues in education, preferably with strong ties to international or national large-scale efforts. Examples of suitable topics include, but are not limited to:

• Assessments of interactive and complex problem solving
• Assessments of collaborative problem solving, teamwork, and collaborative learning
• Assessments of social skills, metacognition, and strategic knowledge
• Educational data mining efforts
• Innovative use of computer-generated process data to infer process-related skills
• Theoretical (computational or cognitive) modeling of process data of cross-curricular skills

Manuscripts may report on either the development of theoretically sound and scientifically validated assessment instruments for cross-curricular skills or on the benefit of methodological advances associated with computer-based assessment such as logfile analyses. Relevant manuscripts might, for example, uncover behavioral interaction patterns that are not reflected in final performance data and relate these patterns to psychological theories and relevant educational outcomes.

We hope to include research conducted in a number of educational settings, but studies conducted in laboratory settings involving diverse populations of learners across a number of domains may also be eligible.

Full manuscripts will be limited to 45 standard manuscript pages (including all figures, tables, and references) and will be due March 1, 2013. Manuscripts will undergo a regular process of review. Final acceptance/rejection decisions will be made in early August 2013.

All submissions should be prepared in accordance with the Journal of Educational Psychology Instructions for Authors and be submitted through the journal's Manuscript Submission Portal.

Please indicate in your cover letter that you would like to have the paper considered for the special section "Computer-Based Assessment of Cross-Curricular Skills and Processes."

For more information, please feel free to contact Samuel Greiff.

The cognitive and interpersonal skills necessary for successful participation in society have undergone great changes during the last decades. Studies have shown that tasks at school, at university, and at work have become more demanding and less bound to single subject matters or domains. They now more often involve cross-curricular, non-routine, dynamic, and complex skills and processes that are applicable in diverse situations.

The development of valid assessment instruments to measure these skills and processes has proven to be very difficult. Specifically, their dynamic and interactive nature implies that their assessment may not lie within reach of classical paper-and-pencil instruments.

To this end, the advent of computers in virtually any setting of educational assessment has allowed for the emergence of innovative assessment procedures. In addition to offering increased flexibility, computer-administered tests record log file data during task execution, thus providing further insight into behavioral processes not captured by final performance data.

Computer-based assessment environments and the use of generated log file data for cross-curricular skills are now found in an increasing range of educational settings (e.g., international large-scale assessments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment; PISA; or the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies; PIAAC).

There, cross-curricular skills (e.g., interactive or collaborative problem solving, problem solving in technology rich environments, electronic reading assessment, ICT literacy) have become integral parts of the assessment framework. Further, process data are now partly implemented in the PISA and PIAAC scoring procedures.