Controlling empirical factors to measure educational achievement in invariant units. Over a million students take part in National and State assessments which are used to compare schools and to determine tertiary entrance. The aim of the project is to study and control the factors that affect the unit in which achievement is measured so that such comparisons and decisions are based on more valid and precise information.
Investigation of recognition memory in behavioural, electrophysiological, and functional neuro-imaging domains using state-trace analysis. This project utilises a novel methodology to investigate human recognition memory across three separate domains - behavioural, electrophysiological and functional neuro-imaging. The aim is to determine how these three aspects of memory are related and if they can be united by a single theory.
Advancing the application of Rasch models to the level of tests: estimating person parameters independently of all test parameters. The project advances recent theoretical work on Rasch models which makes it possible to compare estimates of person locations on a scale independently of all properties of the tests to which they have responded. The project aims to circumvent the current methods of test equating where various distribution assumptions are implied.
Towards an integrated model of reasoning and reasoning development. This project aims to identify the core cognitive processes that underlie different forms of reasoning and how they develop. The project intends to use a signal detection framework to derive detailed computational models of reasoning which can then be tested through Bayesian computational modelling as well as the first systematic investigation of developmental change in reasoning processes. Expected outcomes include a more princi ....Towards an integrated model of reasoning and reasoning development. This project aims to identify the core cognitive processes that underlie different forms of reasoning and how they develop. The project intends to use a signal detection framework to derive detailed computational models of reasoning which can then be tested through Bayesian computational modelling as well as the first systematic investigation of developmental change in reasoning processes. Expected outcomes include a more principled and comprehensive computational model of reasoning in both adults and children. The project should provide significant benefits by helping to resolve long-standing debates about how humans reason complex arguments relevant to everyday lives and guide development of more effective methods for teaching reasoning.Read moreRead less
State-trace analysis: theory and application. A fundamental question for the science of psychology is: how can we identify the functional components of the human mind from observed behaviour and bodily states? This project explores this question through a new methodology called state-trace analysis and apply it to a basic cognitive ability - the capacity to learn to classify different objects.