Examining peer acceptance in verbal and non-verbal interaction during computer-supported collaborative learning: implications for inclusion

This paper discusses the results of peer acceptance in a study investigating the interactions of pairs of disabled and non-disabled pupils working together on computer-based tasks in mainstream primary schools in Cyprus. Twenty dyads of pupils were observed and videotaped while working together at the computer. Data analyses were based on the collaborative nature of events for the non-verbal interaction and the functional–structural approaches for the verbal interaction. Findings gave an important insight into the interactions among disabled and non-disabled pupils working together at the computer, indicating that peer (non)acceptance came through: (1) response to the peer, articulated through verbal moves that included reply, feedback, evaluation, agree and justify, in both collaborative and non-collaborative events; (2) peer involvement, reflected in requesting involvement of the peer, mainly in collaborative and socio-emotional positive events; (3) individualistic behaviour, present through ignoring the peer in situations of on-and off-task non-collaboration; and (4) peer rejection, containing reaction and protest towards the peer in non-collaborative on-and off-task events as well as socio-emotional negative situations.     

EUROPEAN DISSERTATION SUMMARIES

Co‐operative learning means shared leadership where there is not just one leader in a group but where each member of the group is a leader. A leader demonstrates academic as well as collaborative skills in helping the group achieve a goal. Some academic skills are verbal interactions such as initiating ideas, responding by summarizing or suggesting procedures. Collaborative skills that build and maintain a good working relationship within the group include verbal interactions of praising group members and inviting others to get involved. The purpose of this study was to examine the verbal interactions and non‐verbal behaviours within unstructured learning groups. The verbal interactions were classified as positive if they aided the group to accomplish its goal and negative if they inhibited the group accomplishing its goal. Twenty‐eight students from seven intermediate‐grade level classrooms, grouped heterogeneously for sex and race and homogeneously for their ability in science, were selected for observation as they were doing a science activity. In general students’ verbal interactions were positive (i.e., there were more than four times more positive interactions than negative interactions). Further, in reviewing the positive interactions, students presented ideas more than four times as much as any of the other types of interactions. Females encouraged other members to participate in the activity significantly more than the males did. There was a trend in the number of times the equipment (clay) was handled; the males handled it more than the females as a function of race. Qualitative analyses revealed consistent patterns of interactions within groups of black and white males and females.     

Harsh parenting and peer acceptance in Chinese early adolescents: Three child aggression subtypes as mediators and child gender as moderator

This study examined the mediating roles of three types of child aggression in the relation between harsh parenting and Chinese early adolescents’ peer acceptance as well as the moderating role of child gender on this indirect relation. 833 children (mean age = 13.58, 352 girls) with their parents were recruited as participants from two junior high schools in Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China. The results showed that paternal harsh parenting was only associated with boys’ aggressive behaviors and maternal harsh parenting was only associated with boys’ and girls’ verbal aggression. Adolescents’ verbal and relational aggressions were negatively associated with their peer acceptance. Verbal aggression was more strongly and negatively associated with girls’ peer acceptance. The results imply that in the Chinese cultural context, paternal harsh parenting may compromise boys’ peer acceptance through boys’ verbal and relational aggression as mediators, whereas maternal harsh parenting may impair children’s peer acceptance through children’s verbal aggression as a mediator, especially for girls. These results provide a theoretical basis for ameliorating the negative effect of harsh parenting on early adolescents’ peer acceptance by reducing their aggressive behaviors, with different strategies between boys and girls.     

Refugee-Teacher-Train-Refugee-Teacher Intervention Research in Malaysia: Promoting Classroom Management and Teacher Self-Care

ABSTRACT

Given the current refugee crisis, the development of sustainable postconflict refugee education systems and supports is essential. The present study reports Resilient Refugee Education (RRE) intervention effects on refugee teacher confidence and knowledge of classroom management, in addition to refugee teacher self-care in Malaysia. We compared effects on (a) peer trainers, who were refugee teachers trained by consultants (n = 38), and (b) peer trainees, who were refugee teachers trained by peer trainers (n = 78). The sample included teachers who were refugees (n = 97; mean age = 30; 78% Burmese) and nonrefugees (n = 19; mean age = 48; 44% Chinese-Malaysian). Significant effects on teacher knowledge, confidence, and self-care were found for both trainers and trainees, including interactions with gender and education. Implications for sustainable promotion of the emotional context in refugee education are discussed.     

How socioeconomic status,executive functioning and verbal interactions contribute to early academic achievement in Chinese children

The present study investigated the relative importance of executive functioning, parent–child verbal interactions, phonological awareness and visual skills on reading and mathematics for Chinese children from low-versus middle-socio economic status (SES) backgrounds. A total of 199 kindergarten children were assessed on executive functioning, verbal interactions, phonological awareness, visual skills, mathematics and word reading in Chinese and English. Results revealed that low-SES children exhibited lower levels of cognitive-linguistic skills, verbal interactions, reading and mathematics achievement than their middle-SES counterparts. Path analyses also indicated that executive functioning and verbal interactions made significant and direct contributions to mathematics, and indirect contributions to reading through phonological awareness. These results suggest that executive functioning and verbal interactions provide the foundation for phonological awareness and visual skills, which in turn affect reading and mathematics achievement. Overall, findings underscore the potential importance of SES inequalities, cognitive-linguistic skills and parental verbal input to their children for early reading and mathematics achievement.     

Consultant Verbal Control and Consultee Perceptions

High verbal control is a way of exercising interpersonal power and may be an important influence on consultation process and outcome. In this study, two groups of public school teachers were shown videotapes depicting either high or low levels of consultant verbal control. Dependent measures included a consultation-acceptance rating, a behavioroid measure assessing consultee commitment to future consultation meetings, and a thought-listing technique soliciting covert cognitive responses occurring while the teachers viewed the consultation exchanges. Results indicated that the verbal control manipulation produced differences in teachers' perceptions of the consultant's level of verbal control. After viewing the vignettes, 16% of the teachers expressed willingness to commit to future consultation. However, there was no apparent detrimental effect of high consultant verbal control: Of those teachers willing to commit, differences between high and low control were not significant. Post hoc analysis of acceptance scale items indicated that participants thought the consultee learned more about the problem discussed during the consultation under the high consultant verbal control condition. Advantages and limitations of high consultant verbal control as a consultation process variable are discussed, and recommendations for future consultation research are offered.     

Characteristics of Excellent Trainers: A Psychological and Interpersonal Profile

Little information exists regarding the psychological and personal makeup of excellent private sector trainers. The purpose of this study was to identify the personality traits associated with excellent trainers. Managers from 500 large companies were asked to describe, by completing a standardized instrument (Adult Personality Inventory), the best trainer in their organization. Four major points were indicated. First, the personal characteristics of excellent trainers are different from the general population on all psychological variables except extroversion. Second, both males and females possess the traits necessary to be excellent trainers. In contrast to the general population, excellent female trainers were rated as more competitive than male trainers, but confounding factors may play a role. Third, excellent trainers possess the traits describing people who are warm, open, outgoing, and positive as well as being humanistic managers and team players. Fourth, while both young and mature trainers are excellent in their own ways, they differ in that young trainers are more aggressive. As with the general population, aggressive behavior declines with age.     

Modeling emotional,cognitive, and behavioral predictors of peer acceptance

Integrating principles of differential emotions theory and social information-processing theory, this study examined a model of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral predictors of peer acceptance in a sample of 201 early elementary school-age children (mean age = 7 years, 5 months). A path analytic model showed that social skills mediated the effect of emotion knowledge on both same- and opposite-sex social preference, but social skills and verbal ability were more strongly related to opposite-sex peer acceptance. These findings suggest that adaptive social skills constitute a mechanism through which children express their emotion knowledge and achieve peer acceptance. Results also supported findings of previous studies that showed that emotion knowledge mediated the effect of verbal ability on social skills. Findings from the present study have specific implications for emotion-centered prevention programs that aim to improve children's socioemotional competence and enhance the likelihood of peer acceptance.     

An Observational Study of Social Communication Skills in Eight Preschoolers with and Without Hearing Loss During Cooperative Play

Early peer relationships and interactions influence social acceptance and a child’s ability to form social relationships later in life (Ladd 2005). Although it has been reported that some children with profound hearing loss who have experienced the oral approach since diagnosis display language skills similar to children with typical hearing (DeLuzio and Girolametto 2011), many may still be excluded socially and have subtle communication differences that impact friendships. More information is needed about how differences and similarities are manifested in young children with hearing loss. This investigation observed the frequency of three social communicative behaviors displayed by eight preschoolers with and without hearing loss as they played in dyads during unstructured table activities. The results revealed that the children with hearing loss produced about a quarter as many initiated verbal comments; however, they engaged in more verbal and play turns than their playmates with typical hearing. Implications for teaching young children with hearing loss in inclusive preschool settings are discussed.     

Nonverbal learning disability,school behavior,and dyslexia

The aims of the study were to investigate whether children showing a low nonverbal/high verbal (LNV) WISC-R profile are more likely to exhibit behaviors conducive to school failure than children with a low verbal/high nonverbal (LV) profile, and to examine the relationships among these behaviors, the LNV/LV profiles, and reading ability. The 65 subjects included 27 LNV and 38 LV children, aged 5 to 11 years. Results confirmed earlier findings (Badian 1986) that LNV children are perceived by their teachers as significantly poorer than LV children in many behaviors associated with school success. There was a dichotomy, however, between LNV good and poor readers. All LNV subjects displayed problems in organizational skills, but those who were dyslexic were poorer in social behavior (e.g., acceptance of criticism and peer relationships) than either LNV good readers or LV good or poor readers. It was concluded that children with a low nonverbal/high verbal profile and a probable right hemisphere dysfunction, who appear to be dyslexic in the early school years, are at high risk for both social behavior problems and school failure, and that these children are a more high-risk group than poor readers with a low verbal/high nonverbal profile.     

Enhancing the quality of early childhood education: A follow-up evaluation of an experiential, collaborative training model for head start

The study is a follow-up evaluation of a Collaborative Training curriculum for Head Start. The previous curriculum was enhanced by adding parent exemplars and demonstrations in trainees' classrooms. Two Head Start teachers and two parent volunteers from each of 70 classrooms were randomly assigned to either the enhanced Collaborative Training (CT) or Workshop Training (WT) approach. CT teachers and parents were involved conjointly in experiential training that included receiving guided practice and feedback from exemplary peers. WT consisted of a series of workshops conducted by outside trainers for separate groups of parents and teachers. Training methods were compared with respect to (a) trainees' reports of satisfaction with training and collaboration, and (b) observed levels of adult-adult and adult-child classroom interactions. CT teachers and parents reported significantly greater levels of satisfaction with the training, as well as significantly greater levels of collaboration than WT participants. Teacher-teacher and parent-teacher observations indicate that CT trainees showed higher levels of positive classroom interactions than WT trainees. With respect to adultchild classroom interactions, CT teachers demonstrated significantly more praise, supportive physical contact, and positive interactions in instruction than WT teachers. CT parents showed higher levels of adult-child classroom interactions across all observed categories compared to their WT counterparts. Implications of these findings for further research were discussed.     

A NATIONAL INVESTIGATION OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY TRAINERS’ ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS ABOUT EVIDENCE‐BASED PRACTICES

The present investigation examined 460 school psychology trainers’ attitudes and beliefs about the conditions for the education and training of evidence‐based practices (i.e., assessments and interventions) in training programs in the United States and Canada using an online survey. Trainer attitudes and beliefs about education and training in evidence‐based practices were measured using a 24‐item five‐point Likert scale. Overall, trainers had positive views of evidence‐based practices, as well as program and organizational support for such training. However, trainers rated the education and training of evidence‐based assessments more favorably than evidence‐based interventions. In general, trainer characteristics nor program accreditation status, model, or type of degree offered were found to influence trainers’ perceptions about evidence‐based practices. However, trainers with prior experience teaching evidence‐based intervention courses were found to have more supportive views of evidence‐based assessments and interventions than those without such experience. Implications for future training and school practice are discussed.     

Disseminating Improved Practices: Are Volunteer Farmer Trainers Effective?

Abstract

Purpose: This paper assesses the effectiveness of volunteer farmer trainers in promoting adoption of agricultural technologies in western Kenya. Specifically, the purpose was to assess the type of information they disseminated, farmer trainers' characteristics desirable to farmer trainees, and how trainees evaluate farmer trainers.

Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through focused group and open discussions, and interviews with 44 farmer trainers (32% women) and 91 trainees (63% women). Effectiveness of training was assessed based on level of learner satisfaction and attributes pertaining to knowledge, skill, attitude and application of the learning on farms. Other topics examined included selection of farmer trainers, organization of training, type, how and to whom information is disseminated, and farmer trainers' constraints and opportunities.

Findings: Farmer trainers played important roles such as mobilizing and training fellow farmers, hosting demonstration plots, bulking and distributing planting materials. They were, however, rated slightly lower in follow-ups and seed bulking. Farmer trainers disseminate on average two to four different types of technology. Crop-based technologies were disseminated more than livestock-based ones because of their simplicity. Technical backstopping from extension workers remains a challenge, which may compromise quality of information disseminated. The survey showed that the approach is sustainable, with farmer trainers continuing their work several years after project support had ended.

Practical implications: The results from this study are of use to development programmes keen on using low-cost, community-based dissemination approaches. Recommendations are also given on selecting farmer trainers, organizing training, types of technologies to disseminate incentives, and sustainability.

Originality/value: The added value lies in filling information gaps in the use and effectiveness of the farmer trainer approach in promoting technology dissemination.     

Attitudes of Turkish parents, pediatric residents, and medical students toward child disciplinary practices

OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were to: determine the attitudes of parents, pediatric residents, and medical students from a Turkish population toward childhood disciplinary methods; ascertain the association of participants' abusive childhood history with their attitudes toward discipline; and assess their attitudes about disciplinary actions, which should be reported as abuse. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Ankara University School of Medicine, Department of Social Pediatrics. Sixty-five parents, 39 pediatric residents, and 106 medical students completed a questionnaire (Survey of Standards of Discipline). This questionnaire was designed to measure sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes toward childhood disciplinary practices, and abusive childhood experiences. There were 43 different disciplinary acts in this questionnaire. The participants were expected to give responses to these acts in three categories: (a) acceptable as discipline; (b) unacceptable as discipline; and (c) unacceptable as discipline-would report to authorities as child abuse. Based on the responses to this questionnaire, we developed the Severity Scale. Using this scale, physical severity scores, verbal severity scores, and total severity scores were measured for each participant. RESULTS: None of the participants accepted life-threatening practices as discipline, but some declared certain abusive disciplinary practices as acceptable. Some forceful disciplinary methods were not considered as reportable by participants. All severity scores of both residents and students were found to be higher than those of the parents (for verbal severity scores p=.042). Also, both verbal and physical severity scores of parents with one child were higher than those of parents with two children (for verbal severity scores p=.044). Ninety-one participants (43.3%) indicated that beating was an acceptable form of discipline. Of parents, 66.9% reported abusive childhood history by their own criteria. Of medical students with an abusive childhood experience, 56.5% accepted beating as appropriate (p=.001). Both verbal and physical severity scores were found to be higher in participants with abusive childhood history. CONCLUSIONS: Abusive childhood history and lack of education regarding appropriate discipline techniques are linked to the acceptance of certain physical discipline practices. Turkey's cultural and traditional norms may be associated with the use of physical punishment, and in some cases, physical abuse. The lack of awareness of abusive discipline methods among physicians constitutes problems for child protection and must be addressed. Thus, educational programs on child disciplinary practices are required to provide an increased awareness of child abuse among health professional trainees and parents in Turkey.     

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A TAIWANESE COMMUNICATION PROGRESSION IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

Today, early science education is a well-accepted view. Enhancing children’s curiosity about the natural world and fostering positive attitudes toward science are primary goals of science education. However, questions remain regarding the appropriate ways to identify, nurture, and study these emotional states in pre-schoolers. This study examines the potential of using pre-schooler’s verbal (e.g. self-generated figurative expressions) and behavioral (sensorimotor interactions) responses while participating in a scientific activity, as indicators of curiosity and attitudes toward science. The responses of 41 pre-schoolers were documented via a response questionnaire developed for this study. An integrated quantitative–qualitative approach was utilized for data analyses. Results show that pre-schoolers utilize figurative expressions to express various emotional valences. Generation of verbal expressions that entail positive emotional valences and the desire to engage in sensorimotor interactions during a scientific activity were identified as positively correlated. Additionally, girls were more likely to express curiosity and positive attitudes toward science than boys in the context of this study. The findings suggest that these verbal and behavioral measures may serve as indicators of attitudes and curiosity toward science among pre-school children.     

What students learn in problem-based learning: a process analysis

This study aimed to provide an account of how learning takes place in problem-based learning (PBL), and to identify the relationships between the learning-oriented activities of students with their learning outcomes. First, the verbal interactions and computer resources studied by nine students for an entire PBL cycle were recorded. The relevant concepts articulated and studied individually while working on the problem-at-hand were identified as units of analysis and counted to demonstrate the growth in concepts acquired over the PBL cycle. We identified two distinct phases in the process—an initial concept articulation, and a later concept repetition phase. To overcome the sample-size limitations of the first study, we analyzed the verbal interactions of, and resources studied, by another 35 students in an entire PBL cycle using structural equation modeling. Results show that students’ verbal contributions during the problem analysis phase strongly influenced their verbal contributions during self-directed learning and reporting phases. Verbal contributions and individual study influenced similarly the contributions during the reporting phase. Increased verbalizations of concepts during the reporting phase also led to higher achievement. We found that collaborative learning is significant in the PBL process, and may be more important than individual study in determining students’ achievement.     

Gender,Pair Composition and Computer Versus Paper Presentations of an English Language Task

The aim of the study was to compare the verbal and physical interactions of same-gender pairs and mixed-gender pairs when equivalent tasks were presented on a computer and on paper. Children aged between 13 and 14 years old (24 boys and 24 girls) were placed into either same-gender or mixed-gender pairs and worked on a computer presentation and a paper presentation of an English language task. The main finding of the study was that the children's verbal interactions and manipulation of the physical materials were mediated by the mode of presentation. There were no significant differences between mixed-gender pairs and same-gender pairs in the paper presentation of the task. However, in the mixed-gender computer-based pairs, boys dominated both the amount and type of verbal interaction and the control of the mouse. These findings are explained in terms of gender differences in perceived expertise with computers and theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Adolescent Parenting and Attachment During Infancy and Early Childhood

Objective. Prenatal parenting attitudes and parenting behaviors during infancy and early childhood were used as predictors of attachment in children of adolescent mothers at ages 1 and 5. Design. Seventy-eight adolescent mother - child dyads participated. Data were collected at five time points from the third trimester of pregnancy through the children's 5th year. Results. A high percentage of children exhibited disorganized and insecure attachment during both infancy and early childhood; only 30% were securely attached at 1 year and 41% at 5 years. Quality of maternal interactions and cognitive readiness to parent predicted attachment stability; however, only verbal encouragement-stimulation predicted the transition from insecure to secure attachment. Prenatal cognitive readiness to parent independently predicted attachment security at 1 year and accounted for the relation between early maternal interactions and 1-year attachment. Maternal interactions during infancy but not early childhood, predicted 5-year attachment security. Conclusions. Early parenting had a unique and persistent effect on attachment security. However, verbal stimulation during early childhood attenuated the effects of early maternal unresponsiveness on attachment security at age 5.     

The head start teaching center: An evaluation of an experiential,collaborative training model for head start teachers and parent volunteers

Forty-eight Head Start teachers and 48 parent volunteers from 24 classrooms were randomly assigned to either the Collaborative Training (CT) or Workshop Training (WT) approach. CT teachers and parents were involved conjointly in experiential training which included receiving guided practice and feedback from exemplary peers. WT consisted of a series of workshops conducted by outside trainers for separate groups of parents and teachers. Training methods were compared with respect to (a) teacher and parent reports of their level of involvement in training and satisfaction with the training experience, (b) teacher and parent reports of parent classroom activity, and (c) observation of adult-child classroom interactions. CT teachers and parents reported significantly greater levels of active involvement in and satisfaction with the training, as well as significantly greater levels of parent classroom activity than WT participants. With respect to adult-child classroom interactions, CT teachers demonstrated significantly more positive initiations and praise than WT teachers. Parent reports of their perceived role in the classroom as well as parent levels of initiation with children did not differ between training groups. Implications of these findings for further research were discussed.