The effectiveness of supplemental phonics instruction employing constant time delay instruction for struggling readers

This study examined the provision of supplemental instruction using constant time delay for struggling readers who had fallen behind in developing word‐blending skills. Additionally, the study examined the utility of adding a material reward contingency to the instructional program with a contingency derived from percentile‐shaping procedures. Procedures were compared in a withdrawal design applied across blocks of letters with word blending as the target response. Participants exhibited substantial learning gains when provided constant time delay instruction in phonics skills as compared to baseline demonstrating clear experimental control. Results for the constant time delay plus reward contingency conditions were clearly differentiated from baseline but undifferentiated from the other instructional conditions. The implications of the findings for intervention for struggling readers and future research relevant to more comprehensive reading interventions are discussed.     

Evaluating the effectiveness of supplemental instruction using a multivariable analytic approach

Supplemental instruction (SI) is a widely implemented peer-led academic support program. Assessments of SI's effectiveness are often confounded by student ability, achievement, motivation and demographic characteristics, and frequently limited by available resources. We modelled the impact of SI attendance on the grades, pass rates and retention of over 4000 university students. Percentage grade increases of up to 10.4% were associated with a full semester of SI attendance, and largest for males, younger students and those who had not previously engaged with the program. Furthermore, pass rates were 10% higher for full attendees. Finally, full attendance was associated with a 3% and 9% increase in the probability of reenrolling the following year for students who had and had not previously engaged, respectively. These estimates were calculated controlling for measures of ability, achievement and motivation, plus several demographic factors. Our methods can be applied to evaluate any opt-in academic support program.     

Reducing student procrastination in a personalized system of instruction course

This study examined the effects of three pacing procedures on student withdrawal rate, rate of progress, final examination performance, and attitude in a personalized system of instruction course. Undergraduate students (N = 100) who were enrolled in an introductory speech communication course were randomly assigned to either a reward, penalty, or control condition. Those students in the penalty group proceeded through the course at a more rapid pace than students in the control group. There were no significant differences in student withdrawal rate, final examination performance, and attitude. Final examination performance was not affected by the interaction between pacing procedures and student perception of locus of control. The benefits of reducing student procrastination, and appropriate means of doing so, are discussed in light of these results.     

Relationship of changes in student motivation to student evaluations of instruction

Research has demonstrated that student evaluations of instruction are influenced by variables extraneous to the instructional procedures being evaluated. One of the most important of these is the student's motivation to take the course. The Instructional Development and Effectiveness Assessment (IDEA) system controls this variable by comparing a course evaluation to a norm group of courses having students with similar motivation. The present study examined the possibility that the IDEA procedure of having students rate their precourse motivation at theend of a course might be unacceptable, because the rating would be influenced by experiences within the course itself. The data indicated that postcourse ratings of precourse motivation do deviate somewhat from actual precourse ratings, but the deviation is not of an order of magnitude which would seriously distort the interpretation of the ratings.     

Parental involvement in a science program

Conclusion The response of the parents to the request for yet more of their time to take part in the evaluation indicates the commitment of these parents to their involvement in the life of the school. This in itself argues for the effectiveness of their participation. One would hope that the nature of the evaluation in which the evaluator sought to establish not just what they gave to, but also what they gained from, the program would contribute to them feeling valued members of the school community.     

Awards program for outstanding achievements in instruction development

Educational technology research and development -     

Validation of a research-based student survey of instruction in a college of education

As a preparer of students for the profession of teaching, a college, school, or department of education in higher education has an expectation that instructors teach competently. In higher education, the student survey of instruction is one of the most important among other indicators of teaching effectiveness. This article presents a validation of a new student survey of instruction in a college of education. In this validation, we found the new survey to be as troublesome as the previous survey. Four major findings emerged from this study that offer hope for a new and improved survey of instructional effectiveness. These findings involve estimating reliability, subscore validity, course relevance and rigor of the instructor, and construct-irrelevant variables that threaten validity. Given the failed validation, many cogent observations provide guidance for the design and development of improved forms that may overcome these threats to validity and guide others in validating teaching effectiveness surveys.     

Expectancy violation and student rating of instruction

This study examined whether violations that are incongruent with student expectations are significantly different than congruent violations of expectancy in relation to student ratings of instruction. Analysis using the Scheffe' post ANOVA test revealed that college students having high expectations/high experiences evaluated teachers more favorably than students with low expectations/high experiences, low expectations/low experiences and high expectations/low experiences. Reasons why these findings did not coincide with the expectancy violation model are offered.     

A preliminary discourse analysis of constructivist-oriented mathematics instruction for a student with learning disabilities

Reform efforts in mathematics education arose, in part, in response to constructivist works on conceptual learning. However, little research has examined how students with learning disabilities (LD) respond to constructivist-oriented instruction in mathematics, particularly in moment-to-moment interactions. To understand the nature of constructivist-oriented mathematics instruction involving students with LD, the authors conducted a case study to analyze teacher–student interactions during constructivist-oriented small group instruction involving a student with LD. The student demonstrated, to a certain degree, the ability to reason mathematically when provided with appropriate opportunities and prompting. However, given the limited intervention time, his reasoning and problem solving did not seem to go beyond the semiconcrete level of operation, which may have inhibited his solving of complex word problems with large numbers. Findings indicate that more efforts are needed to support students, those with LD in particular, in their transitions from concrete or semiconcrete to abstract conceptual understanding and problem solving.     

Growth in written academic word use in response to morphology-focused supplemental instruction

Reading and Writing - The aims of the current project were to: (1) describe average change in the use of academic words across the school year in writing and (2) examine potential predictors of...     

Transforming student engagement in COVID-19 remote instruction: a research perspective

This paper was developed in response to the article titled, “A design framework for enhancing engagement in student-centered learning: Own it, learn it, share it,” by Eunbae Lee and Michael J. Hannafin (2016). Their work is examined through a research perspective. The authors’ discovery of the lack of a comprehensive framework to guide the design, development, and implementation of student-centered learning prompted them to develop the model. The result advances a three-stage model known as, Own It, Learn It, and Share It. The impact of the model can be understood through the simplicity of the OLSit model by how it affords educators a clear pathway for transforming instructional planning. Given the many uncertainties associated with the “shift to digital” as a result of COVID-19, the OLSit model is very applicable for action research by teachers, student teachers, and teacher educators. A critique of the model is provided along with suggested applications to extend the OLSit research base.