Towards an integrated model for developing sustainable assessment skills

One of the goals of current education is to ensure that graduates can act as independent lifelong learners. Graduates need to be able to assess their own learning and interpret assessment results. The central question in this article is how to acquire sustainable assessment skills, enabling students to assess their performance and learning throughout life, and preparing them to meet their own future learning needs. This article presents an integrated model for developing sustainable assessment skills, consisting of three components: conditions necessary for the development of sustainable assessment skills, elements of sustainable assessment and instructional methods for guiding students in the development of sustainable assessment skills. The article concludes with suggestions for future research to further develop the proposed model.     

Fairness,the Pursuit of Happiness,and LD/ADHD

The model of moral functioning scaffolded in the 2008 JME Special Issue is here revisited in response to three papers criticising that volume. As guest editor of that Special Issue I have formulated the main body of this response, concerning the dynamic systems approach to moral development, the problem of moral relativism and the role of emotion in moral functioning. Five 2008 Special Issue authors contribute reflections: Darcia Narvaez, Jeremy Frimer and Lawrence Walker, Helen Haste and Ann Higgins‐d’Alessandro. The Dynamic Systems Approach proposed by Kim and Sankey is commended, with some reflections on potential problems. The challenge of Gibbs et al. is answered. And the concerns of Kristjánsson are recognised as pointing toward needed work though failing to appreciate the way the Special Issue authors frame the role of emotion in moral functioning. The outline of the multi‐level model of moral functioning offered in the Special Issue is clarified and reaffirmed in response to these three critiques.     

Perception of nonverbal social cues by regular education,ADHD, and ADHD/LD students

The current study examined the ability of children diagnosed as having Attention‐Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) with and without a learning disability to perceive nonverbal social cues in comparison to their non‐ADHD peers. In addition, teacher ratings of students' social perceptions were obtained. Participants in the study were 45 students between the ages of seven and ten years who were identified as 1) ADHD only, 2) ADHD with a learning disability (ADHD/LD), and 3) a control group with no diagnosis. The Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy(DANVA) and the Social Perception Behavior Rating Scale(SPBRS) were used to measure social perceptions. The DANVA was administered twice to each child in the ADHD and ADHD/LD groups: once while the ADHD and ADHD/LD participants were on medication and once off medication. The ADHD/LD group demonstrated significant difficulty in comparison to their peers in perceiving paralanguage cues effectively. The ADHD/LD group also showed significant improvement on the Postures and Paralanguage subtests during on‐medication conditions. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Team-teaching in an integrated classroom: perceptions of deaf and hearing teachers

This study examined the perceptions of teams of two teachers, one deaf and one hearing, team-teaching students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) in co-enrolled classrooms. Five teachers who had worked in teams and their supervisor were interviewed about their team-teaching experiences and their perception of the effectiveness of this approach. Informants' responses were videotaped, transcribed, and analyzed. From the interview data, four main categories were identified: (1) philosophy of education, (2) perception of roles, (3) benefits of team-teaching, and (4) challenges. Findings revealed that team-teaching in co-enrolled classrooms gave all students access to their own and each other's cultures, languages, and social identities; deaf and hearing people were seen to have equality of status and students who are D/HH were seen to benefit from teachers' high expectations.     

Redesigning the preparation of all teachers within the framework of an integrated program model

It is incumbent on universities to reflect current research on effective teacher preparation and respond to the changing needs of the 21st century. These needs include the knowledge and skills to instruct diverse students; an increasing emphasis on standards and an integrated curriculum model; and the call for all educators to work together to improve the performance of students. In the spring of 2006, University of Utah set out to restructure its teacher programs. The design phase of this restructuring was completed in 2008, and the first cohort of teacher candidates has entered the program.     

Cognitive Styles: an integrated model

Abstract Cognitive styles are potentially useful in education as a means of characterizing stable individual differences that influence the effectiveness of teaching and learning. However, anyone interested in using styles in either research or practice is faced with a literature that is not only disorganized but also dated. Little basic research is being done to clarify the conceptual and measurement problems that bedevil the field. One way to revive interest in basic research would be to link ‘traditional’ conceptions of cognitive styles with the more vigorous field of cognitive psychology. This might result in new ways of conceptualizing individual styles, as well as resolving the problem of the relationships between styles. In this paper, I take a step in this direction by integrating some of the more common conceptions of cognitive styles into an information processing model of cognition.     

The advantages of an ADHD classification from the perspective of teachers

ABSTRACT

In Western countries, the number of ADHD diagnoses and medical treatments of children has risen spectacularly over the last decennia, as has the amount of criticism about this trend. Various studies have shown that children receiving an ADHD classification often follow from initial signals that were raised in a school context. Hence, it becomes important to investigate precisely what advantages attach to ADHD classification in educational practice. In this qualitative study, 30 teachers were interviewed about their experiences and views of ADHD. The results suggest that a small number of interviewees sees no advantages to ADHD classification: the classification does not practically help them as teachers, they are familiar with the drawbacks of ADHD classification, and they take issue with the idea of labelling children. The greater number of interviewees, however, suggest ambivalence about ADHD classification: they are aware of its drawbacks while experiencing mainly advantages. According to the interviewees, ADHD classification explains undesirable behaviours and disappointing academic achievement. Classification thereby removes blame from pupils, parents and teachers, and so can be a starting point for productive agreement and collaboration. We will discuss the implications of these findings in the light of the concept of reification, child-centred problematisation and the development of more inclusive education.     

Discriminative validity of the WRAML with ADHD and LD children

The Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML; Sheslow & Adams, 1990) is a nationally standardized instrument designed to assess memory and learning skills in children and adolescents. This study assessed the relationship of WRAML scores to WISC-III and WJ-R results in three groups: (a) LD children with reading difficulties, (b) ADHD children, and (c) nonhandicapped referred children. Total sample size was 120. Discriminant function analysis demonstrated that the WRAML provided little distinguishing information for ADHD and LD children. Likewise, the usefulness of the Learning subtests is questionable. It is suggested that inclusion of working memory tasks that require reconfiguration of material, problem solving, and more complexity may be more beneficial in identifying processing weaknesses with suspected ADHD and LD youngsters. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Collaboration among teachers,researchers and in-service trainers to develop an integrated science curriculum

The German contribution to the OECD SMTE Project is based on an evaluation of the PING Project (Practising Integration in Science Education) where teachers, researchers and in-service trainers collaborate in the development of an integrated school science programme emphasizing the relationship between humanity and nature. Collaboration among teachers, administrators, a research institute and in-service activities allowed the development of materials whichreflect the students' relationship withnature, promote responsible action, andare sensitive tothe cultural aspects of the topic. There is acoordinating networkwhich gives teachers information and access to materials, and a coordinating center for organizational development, information exchange, collection of relevant literature, revision of existing materials and subsequent distribution. Workshops are heldfor teacher education andfor dissemination.     

Substance use, substance abuse, and LD among adolescents with a childhood history of ADHD

A clinic-referred sample of 109 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was followed into adolescence for the ascertainment of alcohol and other drug use and abuse. Learning disability (reading or math) in childhood was examined as a predictor of adolescent substance use and substance use disorder for alcohol and marijuana. No statistically significant group differences for children with LD versus those without LD emerged even after using different methods to compute LD. IQ/achievement discrepancy scores were similarly not predictive of later use or abuse. However, children with ADHD who had higher IQs and higher levels of academic achievement in childhood were more likely to try cigarettes, to smoke daily, and to have their first drink of alcohol or first cigarette at an early age. Children with ADHD who had higher reading achievement scores were less likely to have later alcohol use disorder. Although these findings are necessarily preliminary, due to the small number of children interviewed, the pattern of results suggests that level of cognitive functioning--rather than discrepancy between IQ and achievement--is important for the prediction of later substance use and abuse, at least in this clinic-referred sample of children with ADHD. Further, different mechanisms of risk related to cognitive functioning may be operating for experimentation with legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, regular cigarette smoking, and problematic alcohol use.     

College Students With ADHD and LD: Effects of Support Services on Academic Performance

Two relatively common disabilities reported by college students are attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities (LD). Many questions remain regarding how best to support these students and whether services such as advising, coaching, and tutoring lead to significant academic gains. The current study examined the effect of support services on the GPA of students with LD and/or ADHD at a campus that specifically serves this population by tracking students’ support service usage and GPAs over a 5‐year period. Results indicate that although most students who choose to receive coaching support experience academic gains, it is students with ADHD who obtain the greatest gains in GPA as a result of this support. Additionally, although tutoring can be of benefit to all students, significant GPA gains were obtained only for students with an LD diagnosis. Thus, there is a need to provide targeted supports aimed at addressing students’ specific areas of challenge.     

Towards an understanding of dynamics among teachers,teacher leaders,and administrators in a teacher-led school reform

A substantial amount of professional development and implementation has moved towards teachers and teacher leaders in recent years. Previous works have examined how teachers, teacher leaders, or administrators perceive teacher leadership in school reforms, but few have advanced all three perspectives simultaneously. Drawing upon over 200 interviews, we examine how leadership is distributed and the tensions and dynamics arising among these three groups in a teacher-led school reform. Two main themes emerged from our analysis: minimizing conflicts with teachers was important to teacher leaders, and the distribution of leadership between administrators and teacher leaders changed the status and normative roles of teacher leaders.     

Why teachers cooperate: an expectancy-value model of teacher cooperation

European Journal of Psychology of Education - While cooperation among teachers is considered an important indicator of school quality, the empirical evidence on the efficacy of teacher cooperation...     

Towards an optimal teacher salary schedule: Designing base salary to attract and retain effective teachers

This study presents the literature’s first estimates of the effect of teacher pay on the distribution of experience among teachers hired by public school districts. Overall, a 1% increase in base salary for teachers of a particular experience level increases the proportion of the targeted teachers hired by 0.04–0.08 percentage points. Pay increases have the largest effect on hire rates among teachers with 2–3 years of experience and the effect diminishes with experience. I show that higher teacher salaries provide a dual benefit of retaining and attracting a more effective distribution of teachers. Districts may also improve student achievement growth at no cost by reshaping their salary schedules so that they are increasing and concave in teacher experience.