A Diagnostic Teaching Intervention for Classroom Teachers: Helping Struggling Readers in Early Elementary School

With the advent of “Response to Intervention” there has been emphasis on preventing reading disabilities. This study examined the effectiveness of a classroom teacher Tier II intervention for struggling readers in kindergarten and first grade called the Targeted Reading Intervention. Three rural schools were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions, with 8 experimental and 12 control classrooms. Five struggling and five non‐struggling readers were randomly selected from each classroom. With the support of biweekly coaching, experimental teachers instructed struggling readers in one‐on‐one sessions in the classroom. Intent‐to‐treat analyses revealed significant kindergarten gains for initial word identification but no significant gains in first grade. Discussion focuses on the use of classroom teachers to prevent reading disabilities.     

Home Language and Literacy Environments and Early Literacy Trajectories of Low-Socioeconomic Status Chilean Children

This study used Latent Class Analysis to identify groups of children exposed to similar Home Language and Literacy Environments (HLLE) and explored whether belonging to a given HLLE group was related to children’s language and early literacy growth from prekindergarten to kindergarten. Participants were 1,425 Chilean mothers and their children (M_age = 52.52 months at baseline) from low-socioeconomic status households. Four HLLE groups were identified, which were associated with different trajectories of language and early literacy development. Children from groups whose mothers either read and talk about past events with them or teach them letters in addition to reading and talking about past events, showed higher relative vocabulary and letter knowledge. Implications for research and interventions are discussed.     

Child Skills and Teacher Qualifications: Associations with Elementary Classroom Teachers’ Reading Instruction for Struggling Readers

This study explored the extent to which kindergarten and first grade teachers provided individualized reading instruction to struggling readers during a unique one‐on‐one reading instruction task. Three outcomes of teachers’ instructional strategies were captured: code‐focused strategies, meaning‐focused strategies, and level of challenge. Child skills in decoding and vocabulary/oral language as well as teacher qualifications of education, experience, and knowledge of reading were examined in relation to the three instructional strategies. Multilevel analyses showed relationships between child skills and reading instructional strategies, with teachers generally using code‐focused and meaning‐focused strategies, as well as an appropriate level of challenge, with children who struggled less with early reading. Although teacher education was not associated with any of the reading instructional strategies, teacher experience and knowledge of reading was associated with meaning‐based instruction and the level of challenge provided to struggling readers.     

Home Literacy Exposure and Early Language and Literacy Skills in Children Who Struggle With Behavior and Attention Problems

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationships between behavior and attention problems and early language and literacy outcomes for 4-year-olds who experienced varied early home literacy environments. Participants were 1,364 children enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Attention problems and early home literacy exposure both significantly predicted language and literacy outcomes when relevant covariates were controlled. There was also a significant interaction between behavior and attention problems and early home literacy exposure in predicting expressive language abilities. Specifically, early home literacy exposure was related to more advanced expressive language achievement for children with behavior problems. In contrast, children with attention problems performed below their peers on expressive language measures even when they received comparable early home literacy exposure. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest the need for further research on the differential role of early home literacy exposure on the development of early language and literacy skills in children with behavior and attention problems.     

Home Environments and Parental Support for Literacy: Children's Perceptions and School Literacy Achievement

This study examined literacy in home environments and how children perceive literate events that occur in their families. Four children were selected from a larger study of 129 children. Two children (one African American and one biracial) were from a low income urban community. The other two were Caucasian and from a small farm community. Ninety-six hours of observations over eight weeks during the summer of the kindergarten school year were conducted. Data collected included field notes, tape recordings, parent questionnaires, awareness interviews and school achievement measures. Domains were identified and analyzed for literacy support in the home, The analysis indicated three major findings: 1) all the parents provided support for literacy but there were differences in the way literacy was constructed, 2) the differences in the children's awareness responses describing how they were learning to read at home reflected their home literacy experiences, 3) the home literacy environments of the four children who were from low income families were conducive to literacy development and school success.     

Home Environments and Parental Support for Literacy: Children's Perceptions and School Literacy Achievement

This study examined literacy in home environments and how children perceive literate events that occur in their families. Four children were selected from a larger study of 129 children. Two children (one African American and one biracial) were from a low income urban community. The other two were Caucasian and from a small farm community. Ninety-six hours of observations over eight weeks during the summer of the kindergarten school year were conducted. Data collected included field notes, tape recordings, parent questionnaires, awareness interviews and school achievement measures. Domains were identified and analyzed for literacy support in the home, The analysis indicated three major findings: 1) all the parents provided support for literacy but there were differences in the way literacy was constructed, 2) the differences in the children's awareness responses describing how they were learning to read at home reflected their home literacy experiences, 3) the home literacy environments of the four children who were from low income families were conducive to literacy development and school success.     

Promotion of Reading and Early Literacy Skills in Schools: a comparison of three European countries

This article gives a short overview based on the EU High Level Group of Experts on Literacy (HLWG) report to address issues and challenges in Europe on improving literacy competencies in schools. Furthermore, an analysis is conducted focusing on the promotion of reading and early literacy skills in schools taking into account psychological and institutional learning conditions in three countries (Denmark, Germany, and France) with different outcomes in PIRLS 2011 (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study). Country comparison is conducted using multiple groups – multilevel structural equation modelling (MG-MSEM). An important finding is that policy action taken in order to evaluate and improve school effectiveness in each country must address particular needs of its educational system. Suggestions for improving reading achievement in schools are derived from the analysis.     

论中小学教师信息素养之培养

“信息素养”概念是从国外发展和演变过来的。随着教育信息化的发展，作为教学设计的中小学教师必须具备较高的信息素养。中小学教师信息素养的内涵特征包括：信息观念素养、信息知识素养、信息能力素养和信息伦理素养。目前，同西方发达国家相比，我国中小学教师的信息素养普遍偏低，因此，我们必须寻求并实施培养中小学教师信息素养的有效策略。     

Philosophy in Primary Schools: Fostering Thinking Skills and Literacy

We read for many reasons and this paper focuses on one of those – reading for thinking. It reports on the Philosophy in Primary Schools project and argues that one of the best ways teachers can add value to their work in literacy is by incorporating philosophical discussion with children through an approach called Stories for Thinking. It outlines what ‘philosophy for children’ is and how it can be used for developing the thinking skills that underpin literacy and higher order reading skills. It argues that a Stories for Thinking approach can enrich thinking and learning in the literacy hour, and uses evidence from teachers and children to illustrate the effects of the programme on classroom practice and on raising levels of pupil achievement     

基于科学素养的小学科学学业测评

科学教育的目的是培养学生的科学素养,这已成为科学教育界的共识。现代科学教育强调学生掌握科学领域的核心知识、发展科学思维、提升运用科学解决问题的意识和能力。目前,小学科学测评仍以考查科学知识识记为主,制约了科学教学改革。本文基于山西省近几年小学科学学业测评实践,分析小学科学学业测评的现状,思考基于科学素养的小学科学学业测评的内容和方法,以期通过有效测评引领科学教学改革,促进学生科学素养提升。     

Evidence for Common Etiological Influences on Early Literacy Skills in Kindergarten

Understanding how the etiology of print awareness and phonological awareness are related to the etiology of decoding can provide insights into the development of word reading. To address this issue, we examined the degree of overlap among etiological influences of prereading skills in 1,252 twin pairs in kindergarten. Genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental factors were significant for all three literacy phenotypes. The majority of genetic and shared environmental influence on decoding was due to common factors that included print awareness and phonological awareness. Notably, only a single genetic factor contributed to all three literacy phenotypes, but there was additional shared environmental influence common to phonological awareness and decoding. Findings suggest commonalities in the etiology of prereading literacy skills that could inform work on the development of reading skill.     

The Home Literacy Environment and Preschool Children's Reading Skills and Interest

Research Findings: This study explored the association between the home literacy environment (HLE), conceptualized as comprising parents’ reading beliefs and home literacy practices, and preschoolers’ reading skills and reading interest. It also identified factors in the HLE that predict emerging reading competence and motivation to read. A total of 193 children age 6 years from 14 preschools across Singapore and their parents participated in the study. The parents completed a reading belief inventory, a family literacy activity inventory, and a demographic questionnaire that surveyed the child's reading interest. The children were administered a battery of standardized literacy tests. The study found a moderate relationship between the HLE and children's reading competencies and a strong relationship between the HLE and children's reading interest. When parents’ education level and children's age were controlled, hierarchical multiple regression analyses found that family literacy activities contributed more unique variance to children's reading outcomes and reading interest than did parents’ reading beliefs. Active parental involvement was the strongest component of the HLE, with parent–child engagement in reading and writing emerging as the best predictor of both the child's emerging reading skills and reading interest. With respect to reading beliefs, parents’ efficacy in supporting literacy development before their child attended school positively predicted reading competence, as did parents’ affect and verbal participation in fostering reading interest. However, verbal participation negatively predicted Singapore children's reading competence. Practice or Policy: The implications of the results were discussed.     

农村中小学心理健康教育探究

农村中小学长期以来受应试教育、师资水平、办学条件的限制,对学生的心理健康教育比较落后。加强农村中小学心理健康教育,提高学生的心理素质和心理健康水平,是亟待探究的重要课题。在对学生进行心理辅导时,应遵循发展性原则,以提高全体学生的学习、生活、人际交往和社会适应等方面的心理素质,从而提高全体学生的心理健康水平。     

行动研究从这里起航——县级教科所与农村中小学合作研究的实践探索

行动研究符合教师研究的特点,在推进课程改革的大环境中,已成为县级中小学科研人员与教师合作研究的主要形式。在行动研究中,教师自我发展动力由缺失走向主动,教师眼中的“研究”在实践探索中转变,教师校本研究在客观条件的限制下也在寻求突破。而科研态度暧昧、研究行动淡漠、研究经费无着、缺乏政策支持是开展校本行动研究的突出问题。     

对农村中小学课程改革困境的几点思考

面对全国基础教育课程改革的全面推进,农村中小学因受各方面条件的限制,陷入了前所未有的困境.本文对当前农村学校实施新课程所处困境作了简要分析,并提出了解决困境的有效途径.     

Early Literacy Skills in African-American Children: Research Considerations

The poor reading achievement of African-American children in urban schools is well established. African-American children from low-income homes may be at particular risk for reading difficulties, although middle-income children often fare poorly as well. Intervention efforts have focused on children in kindergarten through fifth grade. This article suggests that prevention efforts must begin prior to kindergarten entry. Several key variables that may influence young children's performance, including poverty, general oral language skills, dialectal variations, home literacy practices, standardized testing bias, and teacher expectations, are explored. Future directions for research addressing emergent literacy in African-American children are discussed throughout.     

Classroom Learning Environments in Urban Elementary,Middle, and High Schools

The purpose of the present study was to investigate student gender, subject area, and grade level differences in students' perceptions of their classroom learning environment. Over 13,000 students from 96 urban elementary, middle, and high schools that served predominantly minority students completed a modified version of the Classroom Environment Scale (CES) and the Instructional Learning Environment Questionnaire (ILEQ). Female students generally reported higher scores for their perceptions of the learning environment than did male students. There were very few differences by subject area, but there were many statistically and educationally significant differences by grade level. In general, middle school classes had less favorable perceptions of their learning environment than did either elementary or high school classes.     

中小学科学教师专业化素养分析

公众科学素养水平低下已成为严重制约中国经济发展和社会进步的瓶颈之一。国务院发布了《全民科学素质行动计划纲要》,旨在提高公众素养,而未成年人是实施《纲要》的重中之重。要提高未成年人的科学素养,建设一支专业化素养高的中小学科学教师队伍尤为关键。中小学科学教师队伍存在种种问题,分析论证科学教师应具备科学素养、教育素养和人文素...     

The Importance of Early Vocabulary for Literacy Achievement in High-Poverty Schools

Although research documents a key contribution of print skills to early literacy, vocabulary and other language skills also provide an important foundation. Focusing on a sample of several hundred low-income children in 16 urban schools that were implementing literacy interventions, 1st-grade predictors of literacy development were traced over time. Beginning-of-1st-grade letter–word identification and word attack skills were the strongest predictors of reading comprehension at the end of 1st grade. However, vocabulary was the best predictor of reading comprehension at the end of 2nd and 3rd grades. The predictive power of early print-related and phonemic-awareness skills diminished over time, yet vocabulary scores remained an important predictor. Results support an early emphasis on developing meaning skills to prepare low-income children for success in literacy.     

文学教育在小学语文教育中的失落

近些年来关于语文教育改革的呼声越来越高,总有人批评小学语文教育存在只强调语言文字学习而忽视文学教育的现象。造成小学语文教学中文学教育失落的原因是多方面的：应试教育的负面影响;教材编纂未能完全体现儿童文学化;教师的整体素质偏低,尤其是文学素养欠缺等。