Using PISA 2015 Log File Data to Identify Profiles of Students' Performance on Simulated Inquiry Tasks

• In Event: Novel Developments in the Use of Response Process Data in Assessment

Abstract

This study aims to detect patterns of students’ interactions with computer-based inquiry tasks and to determine whether unique characteristics of these interactions emerge as distinct profiles of their inquiry performance. We used the Norwegian PISA 2015 log-file data (N = 1222 students) and focused on two inquiry tasks. The analyses of mixture modeling approach revealed three distinct profiles of students’ inquiry performance: strategic, emergent, and disengaged. Students’ assignment to these profiles also varied according to their demographic characteristics (gender, socio-economic status, and language at home), attitudes (enjoyment in science, self-efficacy, and test anxiety), and science achievement. Our study contributes to understanding how students interact with complex simulated inquiry tasks and showcases how log-file data can aid this understanding.

Authors

• Nani Teig, University of Oslo

• Ronny Scherer, University of Oslo

• Marit Kjaernsli, University of Oslo