Issues in the definition and diagnosis of learning disabilities: a perspective on Guckenberger v. Boston University

This article reviews issues related to the definition of learning disabilities in the context of the Guckenberger v. Boston University case. Four major questions are addressed: (a) Who is learning disabled? (b) How should learning disabilities be assessed? (c) Who is qualified to make a decision about whether or not an individual has a learning disability? and (d) What accommodations should be provided by a postsecondary institution and how should they be selected? Although these are complicated and difficult questions, it is possible to develop a simple, reasonable classification system for learning disabilities, and to conduct assessments based on a coherent and relevant set of achievement tests in which individuals who score below a cutoff are considered learning disabled. Scores on IQ tests are irrelevant and not useful and may even be discriminatory. The issues of decision making regarding learning disabilities and appropriate accommodations remain significant dilemmas for the field; resolution of these issues seems virtually impossible without agreement on appropriate procedures for the definition, identification, and assessment of learning disabilities.     

Helping children build self-esteem

Children in day care and early childhood programs are becoming more at-risk in the development of appropriate self-esteem. This is evidenced by a number of inappropriate practices in some programs. These practices include a heavy emphasis on testing, homogeneous grouping, the use of a large number of worksheets, heavy drill, and long periods of sitting and listening (Manning & Manning, 1981). Teachers and day care providers can have a great impact on a child's self-esteem. This article is concerned with helping teachers by answering the following questions: What is self-esteem? What are the requirements for high self-esteem? What can a teacher do to encourage appropriate self-esteem?     

Roles of definitional and assessment models in the identification of new or second language learners of English for special education

This article examines the efficacy of current definitional perspectives on learning disabilities (LD) and related assessment models to support appropriate instructional and support services for learners of English with learning-related difficulties. A revised framework for defining LD and an associated assessment model, curriculum-based dynamic assessment (CDA), are proposed. The results of a teacher assessment study are reported to exemplify how this revised framework may be studied. The study examined the following questions: (a) Can curriculum-based dynamic assessments of authentic learning tasks help educators to differentiate between the work of students with limited English proficiency and their peers identified as having LD? (b) What are the characteristics of curriculum-based work samples of limited English proficient students with LD that may predictably differentiate them from their peers without LD?     

贵州省小康水平浅析

全面建设小康社会已成为全国人民的根本任务,作为地处西部地区的贵州而言,小康程度如何?与全国小康水平的差异表现在哪些方面?怎样加快贵州小康建设的步伐?章文对此作了一定的探讨。     

UNIVERSITY TEACHERS’ CONCEPTIONS OF GOOD TEACHING IN THE UNITS OF HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION

This article explores teachers in the units of high quality education in Finland. It focuses on three questions. First, What are conceptions of good teaching of teachers teaching in the quality units? Second, What do they consider important in their teaching? And third, What is the relation between teachers’ conceptions and the criteria used in the quality unit selection? Findings reveal that teachers’ conceptions of good teaching are in line with the theories of good teaching and with the main selection criteria of the quality units in Finland. Still, the role of appropriate assessment is not emphasised by the teachers.     

The bridge between the learning laboratory and the classroom: Discussion 1

This article uses theoretical concepts from self-efficacy theory, goal theory, expectancy value, and intrinsic motivation theory as a way to organize the vast and largely atheoretical literature on academic cheating. Specifically, it draws on 3 particular questions that students encounter when deciding whether to cheat: (a) What is my purpose?, (b) Can I do this task?, and (c) What are the costs associated with cheating? This article reviews both experimental and nonexperimental evidence related to each of these questions and offers suggestions for future research and instructional practices that will lessen the likelihood of cheating.     

'I Did it My Way': some thoughts on autonomy

This paper addresses three questions raised by recent literature on the concept of ‘autonomy’. (I) Should the value of autonomy more properly be seen as a moral constraint or as a goal of action? (2) Is autonomy either possible or desirable, given the ways in which human beings are located within a situation and a community? (3) If autonomy is a desirable goal, is it a universal value or merely one appropriate to modern liberal-democratic societies? Use is made of the distinction between ‘weak’ and ‘strong’ versions of the concept of ‘autonomy’, which helps to provide an answer to the first question. It is also important, however, to recognise the continuity between the weak and strong versions, and this recognition helps to supply answers to the second and third questions.     

Consultation Training: 26 Years and Three Questions

The purpose of this article is to further graduate-level training in school consultation. Three questions that the first author has encountered throughout the last 26 years while teaching consultation are illuminated in this article: (1) What criteria should be used in selecting a consultation placement? (2) What criteria should be used in selecting a field supervisor? (3) What criteria should be used in evaluating the work of the consultants in the consultation course? Placing these questions into currency in the school psychology training literature may ensue more thinking around these critical issues. A case example provided by the second author is used in synergy with the questions and serves to expound on them.     

对付黑客的常规武器--防火墙

近年来，网络犯罪的递增、大量黑客网站的诞生，促使人们思考网络的安全性问题。各种网络安全工具也跟着在市场上被炒得火热。其中最爱人注目的当属网络安全工具中最早成熟，也是最早产品化的网络防火墙产品了。目前防火墙产品已经进入战国时代，在全球至少有千种以上的防火墙，那么防火墙到底是什么？它有那些技术指标？我们应该怎样选择一个合适的防火墙呢？本文将就这些问题对防火墙进行探讨。     

The role of intuition in the solving of optimization problems

This article presents the partial results obtained in the first stage of the research, which sought to answer the following questions: (a) What is the role of intuition in university students' solutions to optimization problems? (b) What is the role of rigor in university students' solutions to optimization problems? (c) How is the combination of intuition and rigor expressed in university students' solutions to optimization problems? (d) Is there really an optimizing intuition? In the first part, we provide reasons that make it plausible to consider intuition as a vector (metaphorically speaking) with three components: idealization, generalization, and argumentation. In the second part, we present the experimental design of the research and analyze the data to answer the questions previously asked. The experimental design does not allow us to falsify the hypothesis that some students have an optimizing intuition.     

Computer Science in Liberal Arts Colleges

When a liberal arts college decides to include computer science as one of its academic disciplines, a number of questions arise. What is an appropriate curriculum? What sort of laboratory support does this new discipline need? How does a small liberal arts school attract, retain, and evaluate faculty in this area? Do computer science faculty become a separate department or remain joined with mathematics or some other discipline? In short, what must be done to put computer science on equal footing with mathematics and other scientific disciplines? This paper addresses these questions.     

关于欧洲一体化研究的几点思考

针对近年来对欧洲一体化研究的状况，章提出了三个值得思考的问题：（1）什么是“一体化”？（2）欧洲一体化就是欧盟一体化吗？（3）欧盟一体化仅包含其深化吗？，并对此作出了初步的回答。     

试论开架借阅中出现的问题及其对策

在信息化、网络化时代,高校图书馆大多实现了网络办公自动化,开架借阅作为一种新的读者服务方式,极大地方便了读者,有效地利用了图书馆的馆藏资源,可是由于各种原因,在实施过程中出现了不少问题,如何避免或解决这些问题呢？本文就此进行了探讨。     

The State of Research in Technical Communication

There have been many attempts to assess the state of research in our field. This article is our attempt to both (1) synthesize recent analyses, opinions, and conclusions concerning the status of technical communication research and (2) propose an action plan aimed at redirecting our field's agenda for its research. We explore these questions: What are the recent research trends in our field? What is and is not promising about our recent approaches to research? Where do we need to go next? What are the critical components for a new agenda for our research?     

组合数的倒数公式的一些运用

解题是数学学习的一个重要方面,而在诸多解题方法中,用哪种方法解题较为简便?作者于此介绍运用导出的一些组合数公式简化解题过程的一种方法。     

Trying to Get Ahead of the Curve: Raising and Understanding Current Themes in New Literacies Practices

Abstract

This article addresses the following questions: What impact does using the theoretical framework of new literacies have on understanding language, literacy, and learning practices today as technologies are constantly being developed and used? What is the state of research in this area? What are some new directions the field might take in order to develop in new ways? The conclusion suggests some possibilities for new research questions and positions in relation to new technologies.     

Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Culture,Curriculum, Connections

This study explores the implications of developmentally and culturally appropriate practice for early childhood education. Selections from classroom journals and personal narratives of 30 early childhood educators are presented to provide the context for the examination of the use of developmentally appropriate practice as a curricular base for early childhood programs. The capability of developmentally appropriate practice to respond to cultural diversity is analyzed and several questions are addressed Whose experiences are represented by developmentally appropriate practice? Whose ways of knowing are validated by developmentally appropriate practice? Teachers participating in this study noted that developmentally appropriate practice often failed to acknowledge the roles of culture, care-taking, inter-connectedness, and multiple ways of knowing in the teaching-learning experiences of young children. Their voices add the critical perspective of the practitioner to the consideration of what constitutes "appropriate" early childhood curriculum.     

Reading vocabulary knowledge and deafness

With respect to reading vocabulary knowledge and deafness, this article addresses two broad questions: (1) Why is vocabulary knowledge related to reading comprehension ability? (2) How is reading vocabulary (i.e., word meanings) acquired? The article argues that the answers to these questions are best addressed by a vocabulary acquisition model labeled the knowledge model. In essence, this model asserts that both breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge are critical. It is necessary to teach vocabulary, especially to poor readers, who are not likely to derive many word meanings from the use of context during natural or deliberate reading situations. On the basis of theoretical and research syntheses, the article offers implications for vocabulary instruction for deaf children and adolescents.     

Asian Students in the United States: Lessons That Can be Learned

This article is the result of a research review of Chinese-American students' academic performance. The key research questions are: 1) How are Asian students, especially Chinese-American students, doing academically in the United States compared with other American students? 2) How do they do well and why do they excel? 3) What are the main factors that contribute to their outstanding performance? In answering these questions, endeavours and attempts are made to explain reasons why they are doing well and to provide findings in search of factors affecting their advantages. The major purposes are to present to Singaporean and other Asian students the lessons they can learn from Chinese-American students to succeed academically and socially.