This study investigated whether design guidelines for computer-based learning can be applied to computer-based testing (CBT). Twenty-two students completed a CBT exam with half of the questions presented in a split-screen format that was analogous to the original paper-and-pencil version and half in an integrated format. Results show that students attended to all information in the integrated format while ignoring information in the split format. Interestingly, and contrary to expectations, they worked more efficiently in the split format. A content analysis of the ignored information revealed that it was mostly not relevant to answering the questions, unnecessarily taxed students' cognitive capacity and inefficiently increased the mental effort they expended. Further comparisons of different mental effort measures indicate that mental effort had an explicit (ie, self-reports, explicit utterances) and an implicit component (ie, silent pauses in thinking-aloud, eye tracking parameters). Consequently, when designing CBT environments, not only the design of the tasks but also the content of the given information and their effect on the different aspects of mental effort must be considered. IntroductionAs technology use in learning increases, the use of technology for assessment is also becoming more common. In the Netherlands, for example, computer-based testing (CBT) is making its way into the national exams used in secondary education (De Boer, 2009) by the Dutch Institute of Educational Measurement (CITO; www.cito.nl) that develops standardized tests for schools on behalf of the government. CBT provides the possibility to include a mix of different presentation formats, such as videos, text, pictures, etc. (ie, multimedia: Mayer, 2005a), which is increasingly being implemented (cf. Parshall, Harmes, Davey & Pashley, 2010). Researchers, however, have emphasized that it is important to appropriately design CBT environments so that students can focus on test content and are not impeded by difficulties relating to its design. For instance, Parshall, Spray, Kalohn and Davey (2002, p 5) stated that ". . . examinees need to know clearly to what part of the screen they must attend to, how to navigate, and how to indicate a response.

No abstract

Successful use of ICT in the classroom requires thoughtful integration of technology and pedagogical processes during lesson preparation. This study investigated whether the information format of technological and pedagogical support affects pre-service teachers' technology integration in lesson plans. One group of pre-service teachers (n = 37) received support materials that presented technological, pedagogical and content information separately; another group (n = 36) received a version of these materials in which the technological and pedagogical information was integrated. Pre-service teachers used these support materials to create a technology-infused lesson plan. As expected, the pre-service teachers who received integrated support had relatively more design justifications in which technology and pedagogy were combined than their peers from the separate support group. However, this more advanced reasoning did not materialise in higher-quality lesson plans. Future research should investigate whether pre-training in the use of ICT could improve the effects of integrated support.

Scientific reasoning refers to the thinking skills involved in conceiving and conducting an investigation. This study examined how proficiency in performing these skills develops during the upper-elementary school years. A sample of 157 children (age 7-10) took a performancebased scientific reasoning test in three consecutive years. Four distinct developmental patterns emerged from their annual test scores, which were independent of prior domain knowledge and sociodemographic characteristics except gender. Developmental patterns in scientific reasoning and reading comprehension, but not math, were related such that many children with a high entry level or accelerated growth in scientific reasoning also performed better and progressed more in reading comprehension. These results indicate that scientific reasoning develops differently in same-age children, largely independent of personal characteristics but generally comparable with reading comprehension.

The present study compared the effectiveness of two types of just‐in‐time support for lesson planning. Both types contained the same technological information but differed regarding pedagogical and content information. The first type presented this information separately (i.e., separate support); the second type presented this information in an integrated way (i.e., integrated support). In an experimental design pre‐service biology teachers received either the integrated support (n = 26) or separate support (n = 27). They were instructed to create a technology‐infused lesson plan and justify their design decisions. Results showed that pre‐service teachers who used the integrated support had more integrated pedagogical and content‐related justifications and higher quality lesson plans than the group who received separate support. Both groups had few technology‐related justifications, and technology integration was of low quality. These findings confirm the alleged superiority of integrated support over separate support, and suggest that additional guidance is needed for pre‐service teachers to fully integrate technological, pedagogical and content information during lesson planning.