Teachers' salient beliefs about a problem‐solving demonstration classroom in‐service program

Each year science teachers have the opportunity to participate in a variety of in‐service programs, with the most traditional yearlong in‐service agendas consisting of a preprogram, program, and follow‐up program. One alternative to the traditional program is the inclusion of demonstration classrooms within the follow‐up segment. This study specifically explored the beliefs of in‐service teachers about one such program; the Problem‐Solving Demonstration Classroom in‐service program. To capture participants' beliefs, open‐ended interviews, focus groups, and observations were conducted throughout a yearlong Problem‐Solving Demonstration Classroom in‐service program. The collected data were inductively analyzed to identify the salient beliefs of participants. The results of this study suggest that the Problem‐Solving Demonstration Classroom in‐service program provided participating teachers an opportunity to address their instructional needs pertaining to problem solving, develop a view of the student in the context of problem solving, redefine their understanding of problem solving, reflect upon their own instructional practice, and engage in a collegial and mentoring dialogue with peers. This preliminary investigation suggests that the demonstration classroom program may be one variation to the traditional yearlong in‐service program that is worthy of further exploration. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 141–158, 1999     

The Findings of the 9‐13 Middle School Survey: a local authority view

This paper presents an illustration of how the regression‐discontinuity design can be used to obtain an unbiased estimate of the causal effect of participating in a university remedial English program on first‐year grade point average. First‐year grade point averages were collected for 197 first‐time, full‐time university students, along with the scores they received on an English placement examination, and a measure of remedial program assignment. Regression discontinuities indicate that first‐year grade point averages were approximately 0.392 points higher for students who participated in a remedial English program as compared to equivalent students who did not participate in the remedial program. We also present various threats to validity and limitations of the regression‐discontinuity design.     

Innovations in Doctoral Education: Distance Education Methodology Applied

This study evaluated the impact of a distance education program to meet the practice learning needs of first‐year doctoral students. The program, a six‐session case‐based telephonic seminar, was taught to 19 first‐year doctoral students. Evaluation of the program included self‐report quantitative and qualitative data gathered pre‐ and postseminar, as well as qualitative data gathered three months postseminar. Quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed increased reports of practice competencies by the conclusion of the seminar. Analysis also illustrated the importance of continued evaluation given the small sample size and pilot nature of this unique distance education program.     

Structural models of antisocial behavior and during‐treatment performance for probationers in a substance abuse treatment program

Prior research has linked substance abuse and antisocial behavior. This study uses structural models to examine developmental stages of antisocial behavior and their relation to during‐treatment performance of probationers in a 4‐month inpatient program. Separate childhood and adulthood antisocial functioning components were identified, and each predicted during‐treatment psychological functioning and program perceptions. Specifically, adulthood hostility predicted psychological functioning, and adulthood risk‐taking predicted program perceptions; the effect of childhood antisocial behavior was completely mediated by adulthood functioning.     

Decreasing Heavy Drinking in First‐Year Students: Evaluation of a Web‐Based Personalized Feedback Program Administered During Orientation

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a web‐based personalized normative feedback program, electronic Check‐Up to Go (e‐CHUG), in decreasing heavy drinking among 1st‐year university students. Results indicated high‐risk students receiving the e‐CHUG program during 1st‐year orientation activities reported significantly greater reductions in heavy drinking and alcohol‐related consequences than did students in an assessment‐only control group at a 3‐month follow‐up. Recommendations for integrating e‐CHUG into orientation activities are discussed.     

Improving the academic outcomes of undergraduate ESL students: the case for discipline‐based academic skills programs

This article examines the impact of an adjunct English language tutorial program on the academic performance of first‐year Architecture students. With increasing numbers of international students enrolling in Australian universities, language and academic skills programs have shifted from generic to more discipline‐specific models; however, there has been little research on the effects of these programs on ESL students' academic performance. This study uses a mixed‐method approach to evaluate the effectiveness of an English as a second language (ESL) intervention program. Findings indicate that students value a highly discipline‐specific approach to language and academic skills support and that regular participation in a content‐based ESL program can lead to positive learning outcomes for students. Preliminary findings also suggest that there are positive longer‐term benefits on students' academic outcomes. The authors suggest the need for longitudinal studies on the impact of discipline‐based programs for ESL students.     

Systematic Self‐Evaluation in Graduate Medical Education

This study seeks to examine the utility and efficacy of the application of a systematic self‐evaluation process in a single graduate medical education residency program and to compare the results of this process to previous program self‐evaluation efforts. This case study examined the impact of using a systematic evaluation process, the “impact evaluation process,” as a means for annual program evaluation in an ophthalmology residency program sponsored by a large health care institution. Three years of outcome data (2011–2013) were analyzed and compared to prior evaluation efforts. Surveys with residency program stakeholders were conducted in 2011 and 2013. The findings suggest that over this time, the number of recommended actions for program improvement increased, were more qualitatively robust, and more action items were completed. Recommendations generated using the systematic evaluation process were actionable (specific and measurable) and aligned to program deficits.     

A pilot study of the Australasian Readwell program

Abstract

The “Readwell” program is an Australian‐designed approach to remediation of children's reading difficulties. Although used in most Australian states, the program has not been evaluated. This quasi‐experimental pilot study reports on a first phase of an evaluation of the program. It involves a preliminary examination of the program with a group of 18 grade six and seven students with significant reading delays. It was conducted over a ten‐week period during which students received 45‐minute group instruction with the Readwell program each day. In addition, interviews with the students and their teachers were conducted to examine perceived outcomes of the program. Surveys with selected parents of students who had completed the program 12 months previously were also conducted to gauge the endurance of students’ gains in reading competence. Some comparisons with the literature reporting on Reading Recovery programs are also included and some initial conclusions are draw in relation to the place of the Readwell program in remediation practices for students with a reading difficulty.     

Evaluation of a Computer‐based Program to Teach Reading and Spelling to Students with Learning Difficulties

Abstract

There are a number of computer‐based programs to enhance spelling skills. This paper reviews literature on the relationship between spelling, typing, and computer‐based instruction, and demonstrates the plausibility of such programs improving skills in students for whom conventional instruction has failed. The paper reports a small study on the effects of an integrated touch‐typing, spelling and reading program on the reading and spelling skills of a group of students aged between 8 and 16. The results showed improvements in spelling and some aspects of reading, and in touch typing ability. Variation in Individual results seemed likely to be owing to program administration rather than to the program itself. The results support the efficacy of integrating visual, auditory and kinaesthetic inputs in a computer‐based spelling program, and also emphasises the importance of continual positive reinforcement in a program for previously unsuccessful students.     

Does one size fit all? The induction experience of beginning science teachers from different teacher‐preparation programs

The number of induction programs available to teachers is increasing rapidly, and by necessity these programs are designed to meet the needs of all teachers regardless of their preparation and academic background. This study examines the impact of a science‐focused induction program on secondary science teachers from different preparation programs. The 16 teachers were first‐year secondary science teachers who graduated the previous year from one of four different teacher‐preparation programs. All teachers were monitored during their first year of teaching, as they participated in the induction program, to understand their teaching beliefs, instructional practices, and experiences in the classroom. The analysis of data revealed that the preservice training of a science teacher influenced the type of support the teacher derived from the science‐focused induction program. Teachers from a preservice program with an extended student‐teaching experience and two science methods courses held beliefs aligned with student‐centered practices and implemented more reform‐based lessons than did other teachers during the year. This study reinforces the importance of induction programs for teachers and suggests that there is a need for specialized support programs for beginning science teachers. The study also provides specific suggestions for improving the preparation of secondary science teachers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 963–985, 2006     

The Influence of Student Development Level on Improving Counselor Student Empathy

This cross‐sectional study explored the influence of student development and year‐in‐program on the improvement of affective/trait‐based empathy and cognitive/skill‐based empathy. Two 2 × 2 analyses of variance between 1st‐ and 2nd‐year counseling students revealed mixed findings on the relationship between cognitive development and empathy levels. Results demonstrated clearly, however, that students' affective and cognitive empathy increased from their 1st to 2nd year in a counseling program.     

Evaluation of the peacemakers program: School‐based violence prevention for students in grades four through eight

This study evaluated the violence prevention effects of The Peacemakers Program, a school‐based intervention for students in grades four through eight. The program includes a primary prevention component delivered by teachers and a remedial component implemented by school psychologists and counselors with referred students. The teacher‐delivered component consists of a psychoeducational curriculum and procedures for infusing program content into the school environment. The study included almost 2,000 students in an urban public school system, with pre‐ and post‐program assessment and comparison to a control group. There were significant, positive program effects on six of the seven variables assessed, including knowledge of psychosocial skills, self‐reported aggression, and teacher‐reported aggression, with a 41% decrease in aggression‐related disciplinary incidents and a 67% reduction in suspensions for violent behavior. On some outcome variables, intervention effects were stronger for boys than girls and for middle school compared to upper elementary school students. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Testing the Engagement Theory of Program Quality in CACREP‐Accredited Counselor Education Programs

This study examined the engagement theory of program quality ( Haworth & Conrad, 1997 ), which highlights positive student learning outcomes that result from stakeholder involvement in program evaluation within master's‐level graduate programs. A total of 481 master's‐level counseling students and 63 faculty members, representing 68 Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)–accredited counselor education programs, participated in the study. Findings reveal that engagement theory is a potentially useful quality assessment resource for CACREP‐accredited programs in their efforts at enhancing and sustaining program quality.     

Building an evaluation framework for a competency‐based graduate program at the University of Southern Mississippi

This article describes an ongoing project to build an evaluation framework for a competency‐based graduate program at The University of Southern Mississippi. Many traditional methods of evaluating performance at academic institutions provide only a partial assessment of individual program performance. In an increasingly competitive global economy, program evaluations should also consider the perspectives of students, graduates, and employers in order to develop curricula that will address the critical skills sets needed for strategic and value‐added performance improvement work in the 21st century.     

Student Motivation and Internet Technology: Are Students Empowered to Learn Science?

The Kids as Global Scientists (KGS) project engages students in the study of atmospheric science through the use of current imagery and on‐line communication in a reform‐minded, inquiry‐based curricular program. This article presents case study data on one sixth‐grade classroom of KGS participants during the 8‐week program. Six students representing three motivation levels were selected for intensive study to help illustrate how different students view learning science and the use of technology both before and after a technology‐rich program. Pre‐ and postassessment scores were analyzed for the entire class, and the six students' comments from individual interviews served as one example of voices for each motivation group. Results indicated that students made significant gains in weather content knowledge as measured by written assessments, and interviews revealed a high level of student motivation and satisfaction with the project. We conclude with a discussion of the program characteristics we believe are important for creating a learning environment that fosters the motivation and achievement we observed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 37: 459–479, 2000.     

Perceptions as Measures of Training Transfer

This study investigated the extent to which trainees' perceptions of the applicability of what they learned, gathered immediately after training, can predict their perceptions of actual application of the training six months after they return to the job. It also investigated whether support to apply what trainees learned during training after they returned to the job affected their six‐month perceptions. The study found that in all cases, the six‐month perceptions were statistically significantly lower than the immediate after‐course perceptions. However, using a three‐point Likert scale, with “good” being the highest rating, the actual practical judgments about the training program retained the same rating (good) for the program that received the most job environment support. For the training program that received less support, the decisions made from the initial data and the follow‐up data were different. The initial ratings were “good,” and the follow‐up ratings were “fair.” This study suggests that the immediate after‐course perceptions of training are a reasonable estimate of the six‐month perceptions when there is substantial reinforcement from the home job environment.     

THE EFFECTS OF A SOCIAL–EMOTIONAL LEARNING PROGRAM ON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN: THE ROLE OF PUPILS’ CHARACTERISTICS

This quasi‐experimental exploratory study investigated whether a social–emotional learning program, implemented during a 1‐year period, could lead to gains in social–emotional competencies and a reduction in internalizing and externalizing problems. Furthermore, it showed which pupils would benefit most from the program. The program was applied to 213 fourth‐grade Portuguese pupils. One hundred five controls followed an Origami curriculum during the same period. Sixteen teachers also participated in this study. Self‐report (pupils) and hetero‐report (teachers) questionnaires were administered before and after the intervention. There were significant intervention gains in some social–emotional competencies, namely, peer relations and social competence, but no gains were found in internalizing and externalizing problems. Intervention pupils with average pre‐test scores profited more in self‐management and peer relations than controls. Boys showed greater gains in self‐management, aggressiveness, and social problems than girls. There were no significant differences regarding socioeconomic status.     

The student departure puzzle: do some faculties and programs have answers?

University attrition prevention strategies are typically generic, centrally managed, whole of university strategies that have emerged from an examination of whole of university attrition data. This paper takes an intra‐organisational comparative approach, through the examination of faculty and program attrition rates of students who joined an Australian university in the first term of 2004. The faculty with the highest attrition had a rate two‐and‐a‐half times that of the faculty with the lowest rate, and in programs with 40 or more students enrolled the program with the highest attrition had a rate over five times that of the program with the lowest rate. The paper identifies five practical implications of these findings and concludes that investigating the causes of these differences will help in understanding student attrition. It also suggests that universities wishing to reduce student attrition may benefit from adopting integrated and situated strategies that take into account faculty and program differences.     

The impact of a Framework‐aligned science professional development program on literacy and mathematics achievement of K‐3 students

This study investigates the effect of a Framework‐aligned professional development program at the PreK‐3 level. The NSF funded program integrated science with literacy and mathematics learning and provided teacher professional development, along with materials and programming for parents to encourage science investigations and discourse around science in the home. This quasi‐experimental study used a three‐level hierarchical linear model to compare the Renaissance STAR Early Literacy, Reading, and Mathematics scores from 2015 to 2016 of K‐3 students in treatment and control classrooms in a large Midwestern urban school district. The statistically significant results indicate that, on average, every year that a student has a program teacher adds 8.6 points to a student's spring STAR Early Literacy score, 17.0 points to a student's STAR Mathematics score, and 41.4 points to a student's STAR Reading score compared to control students. Implications for early elementary teacher education and policy are discussed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 54:1174–1196, 2017     

Case‐based Long‐term Professional Development of Science Teachers

Reform efforts are often unsuccessful because they failed to understand that teachers play a key role in making educational reforms successful. This paper describes a long‐term teacher professional development (PD) program aimed at educating and training teachers to teach interdisciplinary topics using case‐based method in science. The research objective was to identify, follow and document the processes that science teachers went through as they assimilated the interdisciplinary, case‐based science teaching approach. The research accompanied the PD program throughout its 3‐year period. About 50 teachers, who took part in the PD program, were exposed to an interdisciplinary case‐based teaching method. The research instruments included teacher portfolios, which contained projects and reflection questionnaires, classroom observations, teacher interviews, and student feedback questionnaires. The portfolios contained the projects that the teachers had carried out during the PD program, which included case studies and accompanying student activities. We found that the teachers gradually moved from exposure to new teaching methods and subject matter, through active learning and preparing case‐based team projects, to interdisciplinary, active classroom teaching using the case studies they developed.