ABSTRACT

Scientific reasoning competencies are relevant science competencies and therefore the development of assessment instruments for scientific reasoning competencies has become an integral part of science education research. However, some authors have questioned the validity of the instruments available so far, since their psychometric quality has not been evaluated satisfactorily. In this study, an established German multiple-choice instrument to assess scientific reasoning competencies has been translated into English and Spanish and the translated versions were evaluated based on the translation, review, adjudication, pretesting and documentation (TRAPD) approach. Based on samples of German (N = 497), Australian (N = 103), and Chilean (N = 135) pre-service science teachers, statistical analyses (e.g. dimensionality and DIF analyses) provide psychometric evidence for test equivalence between the German and the translated versions of the instrument. Known groups comparisons provide evidence for the valid interpretation of the test scores as measures of scientific reasoning competencies. It is discussed that further studies might evaluate additional sources of validity evidence for the translated versions of the instrument, particularly focusing on cultural specificities. Independent of this need for further research, it is suggested that the three versions can be used to assess the scientific reasoning competencies of pre-service science teachers whose first language is English, German, or Spanish.

摘要

科学推理能力是相关的科学能力，因此开发科学推理能力的评估工具已成为科学教育研究的组成部分。但是，由于尚未对他们的心理测量质量进行令人满意的评估，因此一些作者对迄今为止可用工具的有效性提出了质疑。在这项研究中，已经建立了一套成熟的用于评估科学推理能力的德国多项选择工具，并将其翻译成英文和西班牙文，并根据翻译，审查，裁决，预测试和文献记录（TRAPD）方法对翻译版本进行了评估。基于德语（N = 497），澳大利亚（N  = 103）和智利（N = 135）职前科学教师的统计分析（例如，维数和DIF分析）提供心理计量学证据，以证明该工具的德语版本与翻译版本之间的测试等效性。已知的群体比较为有效解释考试成绩提供了证据，以此作为科学推理能力的衡量标准。讨论的内容是，进一步的研究可能会评估该文书翻译版本的有效性证据的其他来源，尤其是针对文化的特殊性。与需要进一步研究的需求无关，建议将这三个版本用于评估其母语为英语，德语或西班牙语的职前科学教师的科学推理能力。