Emotional and psychological reactions of Jordanian medical students to the dissecting room (DR) were assessed. A questionnaire was distributed to 200 students in preclinical years in the academic year 2002-2003 in the faculty of medicine at Jordan University of Science and Technology; 145 students have responded. Varying degree of fear on first entering the DR was reported by 28.4%. The most frequent reactions were recurring visual images of cadavers 28.9% and palpitation 19.3%. Students' reactions were most commonly elicited by smell of the DR 58.5% and by fear of infection 50.3%. The most frequent method of coping with such fears was by rationalization 89.8%. Significant gender differences (P<0.05) were found in the most aspects of DR experiences. Female students showed higher level of fear, reported recurring visual images of cadavers more often than males, were more disturbed by certain stimuli in the DR and used religious books and praying as coping methods more frequently than their male peers. The need for appropriate psychological preparation of students before DR practical on human cadavers is discussed.

The study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of mathematics achievement test using two versions (paper-pencil and online). The two versions of three mathematics achievement tests were applied on a sample consisting of 958 students distributed to lst, 2nd and 3rd preparatory grades. Each test consisted of 30 items with four alternatives to measure students' problem solving skills and the scientific concepts. The sample of the study was randomly stratified and clustered selected. Item difficulty coefficients of the paper-pencil mathematics achievement test ranged between O.28-0.70, 0.38- 0.62, 048-070 for the lst, 2nd and 3rd preparatory grades respectively. There was between O.40-O.68, 0.48-0.66, 0.50-0.68 for the online version. Item discrimination coefficients of the paper-pencil mathematics achievement test ranged between 042-095, 048-094, 047-099 for the lst, 2nd and 3rd preparatory grades respectively. The ranged between 040-097, 055-098, 043-099 for the online version. Results of the study showed that there was a significant difference at a=0.05 between the validity coefficients of the mathematics achievement test due to the version of the test, in favor of paper-pencil version for the 2nd and 3rd preparatory grades. However, there was no significant difference at a=0.05 between the reliability coefficients of the mathematics achievement test due to the version of the test for all of the lst, 2nd and 3rd preparatory grades.

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The present study aimed at constructing an attitude scale toward school science using the generalized graded unfolding model (GGUM). A 47-item scale (24 positive, 23 negative) with 4-point response format was used to measure attitudes toward science among 9th (n=424) and 10th (n=420) grade students in 38 sections distributed randomly over 22 schools in Irbid district. Respondents selected one of four options to represent their level of agreement with each item. The findings support the hypothesis that the data form a single unidimensional unfolding model. Furthermore, the findings showed that the GGUM didn’t fit the data of 7 items, leaving the final scale with 40 items, where accurate estimates of these item parameters were derived and the GGUM was appropriate. Cronbach's alpha for the internal consistency, and the test retest reliability coefficients of the final scale were 0.932 and 0.875, respectively.