Adapting the Civic Online Reasoning Assessment Cross-Nationally Using an Explicit Functional Equivalence Approach

• In Event: 28.092 - Sheraton Roundtable Two - Osgoode Ballroom
  In Roundtable Session: 28.092-10 - Centering Students' Knowledges in Institutional Assessment

Abstract

One way to address post-truth tendencies is to foster and assess students’ skills in evaluating online information. The Civic Online Reasoning Assessment (CORA) was designed to this end and was validated comprehensively in the U.S. (Wineburg & McGrew, 2016). To adapt CORA for German higher education, we followed the recommended TRAPD adaptation approach (Harkness, 2003) and Test Adaptation Guidelines (International Test Commission, 2017). However, CORA’s culturally specific, multimodal, open web search items rather required a redesign. We derived a new adaptation approach from functionalist translation theory (Nord, 2018) making functional equivalence claims (Braun, 2006) explicit. Adapted items were tested in recommended pre-validation with experts (N=4) and students (N=12), yielding preliminary qualitative evidence of suitability for national and cross-national use.

Authors

• Dimitri Molerov, Humboldt University of Berlin

• Susanne Schmidt, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

• Olga Zlatkin-Troitschanskaia, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz