Integrating Reform‐Oriented Math Instruction in Special Education Settings

This mixed‐methods study assessed the effects of Enhanced Anchored Instruction (EAI) on the math performance of adolescents with learning disabilities in math (MLD). A quasi‐experimental pretest–posttest control group design with switching replications was used to measure students' computation and problem‐solving skills on EAI compared to control conditions. Scores on the curriculum‐aligned and standardized measures showed improved problem‐solving skills but results were mixed for computation. To augment the numerical data, a qualitative inquiry captured day‐to‐day classroom activities. The findings showed that problem‐based curricula such as EAI have the potential for helping students with MLD develop deeper understandings of math concepts but that considerable effort is required to structure and teach these concepts in ways students with MLD understand.     

Improving seventh grade students’ learning of ratio and proportion: The role of schema-based instruction

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of an instructional intervention (schema-based instruction, SBI) that was designed to meet the diverse needs of middle school students by addressing the research literatures from both special education and mathematics education. Specifically, SBI emphasizes the role of the mathematical structure of problems and also provides students with a heuristic to aid and self-monitor problem solving. Further, SBI addresses well-articulated problem solving strategies and supports flexible use of the strategies based on the problem situation. One hundred forty eight seventh-grade students and their teachers participated in a 10-day intervention on learning to solve ratio and proportion word problems, with classrooms randomly assigned to SBI or a control condition. Results suggested that students in SBI treatment classes outperformed students in control classes on a problem solving measure, both at posttest and on a delayed posttest administered 4 months later. However, the two groups’ performance was comparable on a state standardized mathematics achievement test.     

基于问题的学习与我国的教育现实

基于问题的学习是将学习"抛锚"于具体问题之中的一种情境化了的、以学生为中心的教学方法.它主张问题是学习的起点,注重学生的已有知识、小组合作和教师的指导或促进在学习活动中的作用.PBL与我国新课程改革中倡导的教育观念具有基本的一致性,但要全面实施这种模式,还必须要面对我国的教育现实,处理好教师角色转换与师资培训模式不协调的问题和学生自主学习与教育资源不足的矛盾.     

Effects of different sequences of examples and problems on motivation and learning

Recent research has shown that example study only (EE) and example-problem pairs (EP) were more effective (i.e., higher test performance) and efficient (i.e., attained with less effort invested in learning and/or test tasks) than problem-example pairs (PE) and problem solving only (PP). We conducted two experiments to investigate how different example and problem-solving sequences would affect motivational (i.e., self-efficacy, perceived competence, and topic interest) and cognitive (i.e., effectiveness and efficiency) aspects of learning. In Experiment 1, 124 technical students learned a mathematical task with the help of EEEE, EPEP, PEPE, or PPPP and then completed a posttest. Students in the EEEE Condition showed higher posttest performance, self-efficacy, and perceived competence, attained with less effort investment, than students in the EPEP and PPPP Condition. Surprisingly, there were no differences between the EPEP and PEPE Condition on any of the outcome measures. We hypothesized that, because the tasks were relevant for technical students, starting with a problem might not have negatively affected their motivation. Therefore, we replicated the experiment with a different sample of 81 teacher training students. Experiment 2 showed an efficiency benefit of EEEE over EPEP, PEPE, and PPPP. However, only EEEE resulted in greater posttest performance, self-efficacy, and perceived competence than PPPP. We again did not find any differences between the EPEP and PEPE Condition. These results suggest that, at least when short training phases are used, studying examples (only) is more preferable than problem solving only for learning. Moreover, this study showed that example study (only) also enhances motivational aspects of learning whereas problem solving only does not positively affect students’ motivation at all.     

Associations Between Classroom Language Composition,Teacher Social-Emotional Support,and Dual Language Learning Preschoolers’ Social Behavior

This secondary analysis explored longitudinal associations between the concentration of shared-language peers and the development of prosocial and problem behavior in dual language learning (DLL) preschoolers from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Mixed-effects regression models were used to analyze year-end outcomes of 212 Spanish-speaking students in 73 Head Start classrooms in which English was the only instructional language. Research Findings: Classroom concentration of Spanish speakers was not associated with Spanish-speaking DLLs’ year-end prosocial behavior. For problem behavior, there was a disordinal interaction between teacher social-emotional support and classroom concentration. In classrooms with higher teacher social-emotional support, the proportion of Spanish-speaking classmates was positively associated with Spanish-speaking children’s problem behaviors. In classrooms with lower teacher social-emotional support, the proportion of Spanish-speaking students per classroom was negatively associated with Spanish-speaking children’s problem behaviors. Practice or Policy: Findings highlight the value of shared-language peers in particular classroom contexts and have implications for DLL students’ preschool classroom placements.     

重庆医科大学口腔实习生情绪智力与冲突管理方式的调查研究

目的:调查重庆医科大学口腔实习生情绪智力和冲突管理方式现状,并分析其情绪智力和冲突处理模式的关系。方法:采用黄氏和罗氏情绪智力量表及荷兰式测试问卷(遇到冲突时的对策)在我校口腔实习生中进行问卷调查,最终对调查结果进行统计学分析。统计分析采用SPSS 22.0软件包进行。结果:共回收有效问卷162份。我校口腔实习生整体情绪智力水平为中等水平;使用频率最高的冲突管理方式是压制,最不常使用的冲突管理方式是解决问题;冲突管理方式与情绪智力水平有关,情绪智力水平高的实习生更倾向于科学地处理冲突。结论:我校口腔实习生的冲突管理方式需要进行科学的引导,管理水平需要提高。     

The ontologies of complexity and learning about complex systems

This paper discusses a study of students learning core conceptual perspectives from recent scientific research on complexity using a hypermedia learning environment in which different types of scaffolding were provided. Three comparison groups used a hypermedia system with agent-based models and scaffolds for problem-based learning activities that varied in terms of the types of text based scaffolds that were provided related to a set of complex systems concepts. Although significant declarative knowledge gains were found for the main experimental treatment in which the students received the most scaffolding, there were no significant differences amongst the three groups in terms of the more cognitively demanding performance on problem solving tasks. However, it was found across all groups that the students who enriched their ontologies about how complex systems function performed at a significantly higher level on transfer problem solving tasks in the posttest. It is proposed that the combination of interactive representational scaffolds associated with NetLogo agent-based models in complex systems cases and problem solving scaffolding allowed participants to abstract ontological dimensions about how systems of this type function that, in turn, was associated with the higher performance on the problem solving transfer tasks. Theoretical and design implications for learning about complex systems are discussed.     

Applying an Activity Theory Lens to Designing Instruction for Learning About the Structure,Behavior, and Function of a Honeybee System

This article reports on a study in which activity theory was used to design, implement, and analyze a 10-week curriculum unit about how honeybees collect nectar with a particular focus on complex systems concepts. Students (n = 42) in a multi-year kindergarten and 1st-grade classroom participated in this study as part of their 10 regular classroom activity. The curricular unit was composed of 4 specific activity types, each of which was intended to focus students on a particular dimension of the content: (a) Inquiry with BeeSign software was intended to help students explore the benefit of individual nectar-collecting behaviors for the hive as a whole; (b) traditional drawing activities were intended to help students learn the structures of 15 the bees; (c) participatory representation activities, in which students enacted the behavior of the bees as they collect nectar, were intended to help students link bee structures to individual behaviors; and (d) an embodied nectar-gathering game was intended to help the students recognize the challenges of finding nectar for individual bees. Pre- and posttest interviews reveal a shift in individual student understanding 20 as students progressed from discussing the superficial structures of the system to discussing both behaviors and functions.     

Proportional Reasoning among 7th Grade Students with Different Curricular Experiences

Contextual problems involving rational numbers and proportional reasoning were presented to seventh grade students with different curricular experiences. There is strong evidence that students in reform curricula, who are encouraged to construct their own conceptual and procedural knowledge of proportionality through collaborative problem solving activities, perform better than students with more traditional, teacher-directed instructional experiences. Seventh grade students, especially those who study the new curricula, are capable of developing their own repertoire of sense-making tools to help them to produce creative solutions and explanations. This is demonstrated through analysis of solution strategies applied by students to a variety of rate problems.     

The effects of a problem solving strategy on the achievement of earth science students

A review of the stated goals for education reveals a consistent emphasis on problem solving. Problem solving is compatible with the investigative nature of science and with higher order thinking. Consequently, a problem solving strategy was developed to improve the achievement of eighth grade students enrolled in earth science. The sample consisted of 287 eighth grade students randomly assigned to fourteen sections taught by four teachers. This resulted in seven control sections and seven experimental sections. The students in the treatment groups received approximately six weeks of instruction with the experimental groups receiving a variety of problem solving activities. A forty item posttest consisting of four subtests was administered to all students. The results indicate that the problem solving approach was useful in improving the overall achievement of students. It was particular effective in facilitating application of earth science subject matter. This problem solving approach appears to be a feasible strategy to use in most secondary science classrooms.     

Using invention to change how students tackle problems

Invention activities challenge students to tackle problems that superficially appear unrelated to the course material but illustrate underlying fundamental concepts that are fundamental to material that will be presented. During our invention activities in a first-year biology class, students were presented with problems that are parallel to those that living cells must solve, in weekly sessions over a 13-wk term. We compared students who participated in the invention activities sessions with students who participated in sessions of structured problem solving and with students who did not participate in either activity. When faced with developing a solution to a challenging and unfamiliar biology problem, invention activity students were much quicker to engage with the problem and routinely provided multiple reasonable hypotheses. In contrast the other students were significantly slower in beginning to work on the problem and routinely produced relatively few ideas. We suggest that the invention activities develop a highly valuable skill that operates at the initial stages of problem solving.     

Design‐based science and student learning

Design‐Based Science (DBS) is a pedagogy in which the goal of designing an artifact contextualizes all curricular activities. Design is viewed as a vehicle through which scientific knowledge and real‐world problem‐solving skills can be constructed. Following Anderson and Hogan's (1999) call to document the design of new science pedagogies, this goal of this article is twofold: (a) to describe DBS, and (b) to evaluate whether significant science knowledge was constructed during consecutive enactments of three DBS units. In this study, 92 students participated in the consecutive enactments of three different DBS units. The development of their scientific knowledge was assessed through posters and models constructed during the curricular enactments and by identical pre‐ and post‐instruction written tests. The posttests showed considerable gains compared with the pretests, while the models and posters show application of this newly constructed knowledge in solving a design problem. These positive results support efforts being made to restructure school science around inquiry‐based curricula in general and design‐based curricula in particular. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1081–1110, 2004     

PARENT‐TEACHER COMMUNICATION ABOUT CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: AN EXAMINATION OF COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM‐SOLVING

Effective parent‐teacher communication involves problem‐solving concerns about students. Few studies have examined problem‐solving interactions between parents and teachers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a particular focus on identifying communication barriers and strategies for improving them. This study examined the problem‐solving behaviors of parents and teachers of children with ASD. Participants were 18 teachers and 39 parents of children with ASD. Parent‐teacher dyads were prompted to discuss and provide a solution for a problem that a student experienced at home and at school. Parents and teachers also reported on their problem‐solving behaviors. Results showed that parents and teachers displayed limited use of the core elements of problem‐solving. Teachers displayed more problem‐solving behaviors than parents. Both groups reported engaging in more problem‐solving behaviors than they were observed to display during their discussions. Our findings suggest that teacher and parent training programs should include collaborative approaches to problem‐solving.     

Fostering conceptual change and critical reasoning about HIV and AIDS

One of the challenges of science education is for students to develop scientific knowledge that is personally meaningful and applicable to real‐life issues. This article describes a middle‐school science intervention fostering adolescents' critical reasoning in the context of HIV by strengthening their conceptual understanding of HIV biology. The intervention included two components: critical reasoning activities that fostered knowledge integration and application to real‐world problem solving, and science writing activities that promoted argument building. Two seventh‐grade classes participated in the study. One class participated in the critical reasoning and writing activities (CR&W); the other class participated in critical reasoning activities only (CR group). Results demonstrate significant pre‐ and posttest improvements on measures of students' HIV knowledge, HIV understanding, and critical reasoning about realistic scenarios in the context of HIV, with the improvements being greater in the CR&W group. The discussion focuses on the role of conceptual knowledge in health reasoning, the role of science writing in fostering knowledge integration, and the benefits of a “thinking curriculum” approach to integrated health and science education. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 844–863, 2007     

Effects of an Online Mathematics Curriculum for English Language Learners

This study measured the effects of an online supplementary mathematics curriculum designed for middle school English language learners who speak Spanish as a first language. A randomized experiment measured the achievement differences between middle school English language learners who used the Web-based HELP Math (Help with English Language Proficiency) curriculum and students who used other technology-based programs. Three hundred and ninety-six students participated. Both groups made statistically significant gains from pretest to posttest within their respective curricula, but no main effect was found between the two groups. Post hoc analyses revealed that students with higher levels of English proficiency, who participated in the comparison condition, performed significantly better than students in the HELP Math condition, while students with lower levels of English proficiency performed better in the HELP Math program (although these differences were not statistically significant). Findings are interpreted with caution due to the truncated length of the intervention.     

Empowering educationally disadvantaged mathematics students through a strategies-based problem solving approach

A major impediment to problem solving in mathematics in the great majority of South African schools is that disadvantaged students from seriously impoverished learning environments are lacking in the necessary informal mathematical knowledge to develop their own strategies for solving non-routine problems. A randomized pretest–posttest control group design was used to empirically investigate the effectiveness of a strategies-based problem solving approach on the problem solving performance of 9th grade disadvantaged students. In this approach students receive explicit instruction on a wide repertoire of problem solving strategies. The results reported in this study show a significant improvement in problem solving performance when a strategies-based approach to problem solving was being implemented. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the responses to the items showed how the treatment group students had internalized as part of their problem solving repertoire the strategies on which they had been explicitly instructed on. The findings of this study make a case for the adoption of this approach so that the gap between the student’s existing problem solving competence, and the cognitive demands of a problem solving task can be bridged.     

Teachers’ empathy: can it be predicted by self-efficacy?

Teachers’ social-emotional competencies seem to play a significant role in promoting social-emotional learning in schools. Empathic teachers were found to possess a higher level of morality; to communicate more successfully with their students; to encourage them to forge empathic relationships; and to successfully motivate their students. Yet, there is a dearth of literature on how to develop such empathy in teachers. The present study, which is based on a large body of research, investigated the contribution of teachers’ self-efficacy and emotional self-efficacy to teacher empathy. The sample comprised 543 teachers from the central region of Israel who completed self-report questionnaires. Findings indicated that both types of self-efficacy contribute to empathy in teachers, but the contribution of teacher self-efficacy is greater. These findings can benefit teacher educators, principals and others involved in teacher performance and well-being throughout the world. Findings may suggest that both efficacies are compelling variables that need to be addressed and enhanced in relation to teacher empathy. In addition, the findings strengthen the notion that social-emotional competence in teachers is strongly associated with teachers’ self-beliefs regarding their teaching efficacy.     

Collaborating With a Skilled Peer: The Influence of Achievement Goals and Perceptions of Partners' Competence on the Participation and Learning of Low-Achieving Students

The authors examined whether motivational goals influenced the participation and performance of low-achieving students during collaborative problem solving with a high-achieving partner. Thirty-five pairs of 4th- and 5th-grade students were randomly assigned a set of instructions designed to induce students to adopt a learning goal or a performance goal. The following day, the students were individually given a posttest on problems similar to those worked on collaboratively. The low-achieving students given learning-goal instructions performed better on the posttest problems and perceived their partner's competence as more similar to their own than did the low-achieving students given performance-goal instructions. No differences in overall amount or level of low achievers' participation during collaborative problem solving were observed. Implications of the findings for the use of peer learning in heterogeneous classrooms are discussed.     

A social skills intervention programme for kindergarten children at risk of developing behavioural problems

ABSTRACT

A programme for training social skills to a group of 6‐year‐old children was developed and evaluated. The group consisted of eight children, four boys and four girls; three of these were considered to be at risk of developing emotional and behavioural problems. The targeted skills were supporting, cooperating, establishing social contacts, participating, reducing aggression and handling conflict situations. The theoretical framework underlying the social skills intervention programme was based on cognitive‐social learning theory and scaffolding. The programme consisted of nine, 30‐35 minute, training sessions which were presented over a one and a half month period. Pretest/posttest assessment indicated that the intervention programme was effective in increasing some positive and reducing some negative behaviours. The sociometric assessment, however, showed few changes from pre‐training to posttraining.