Responsiveness‐to‐Intervention: Definitions,Evidence, and Implications for the Learning Disabilities Construct

Longstanding concern about how learning disabilities (LD) are defined and identified, coupled with recent efforts in Washington, DC to eliminate IQ‐achievement discrepancy as an LD marker, have led to serious public discussion about alternative identification methods. The most popular of the alternatives is responsiveness‐to‐intervention (RTI), of which there are two basic versions: the “problem‐solving” model and the “standard‐protocol” approach. The authors describe both types, review empirical evidence bearing on their effectiveness and feasibility, and conclude that more needs to be understood before RTI may be viewed as a valid means of identifying students with LD.     

Rater Agreement in Test‐to‐Curriculum Alignment Reviews

During the development of large‐scale curricular achievement tests, recruited panels of independent subject‐matter experts use systematic judgmental methods—often collectively labeled “alignment” methods—to rate the correspondence between a given test's items and the objective statements in a particular curricular standards document. High disagreement among the expert panelists may indicate problems with training, feedback, or other steps of the alignment procedure. Existing procedural recommendations for alignment reviews have been derived largely from single‐panel research studies; support for their use during operational large‐scale test development may be limited. Synthesizing data from more than 1,000 alignment reviews of state achievement tests, this study identifies features of test–standards alignment review procedures that impact agreement about test item content. The researchers then use their meta‐regression results to propose some practical suggestions for alignment review implementation.     

Face‐to‐face talk to support computer‐mediated discussion in a primary school literacy practice

In this study, Dutch primary school children used a computer‐mediated discussion forum to discuss the concept of horror stories. In such discussion forums children often write their contributions individually. This paper presents an ongoing empirical study in which the contributions to an electronic discussion forum from children working individually were compared to contributions from children working in dyads. Preliminary results indicated that children working in dyads around the computer wrote more contributions to the computer‐mediated discussion and were more attentive to the collaborative process, than children who wrote their contributions individually.     

Designing Knowledge‐In‐Use Assessments to Promote Deeper Learning

Contemporary views on learning highlight that deep learning occurs not simply by accumulating knowledge, but by using and applying knowledge as one engages in disciplinary activity. Increasingly, those concerned with education policy and practice are shifting priorities toward supporting deeper learning by emphasizing the importance of students’ ability to apply knowledge in subject areas. Designers of student assessments are following suit and are taking on the challenge of creating a new generation of assessments. We present a principled approach for designing classroom‐based assessments that not only assess deeper learning, but also provide teachers with critical information about how students are progressing toward achieving ambitious new learning goals. Our approach follows the evidentiary reasoning of evidence‐centered design and builds on research about the important role of knowledge‐in‐use to support student learning. We illustrate our approach in the context of creating tasks that assess students' science proficiency as reflected in the Next Generation Science Standards that are gaining prominence in the United States.     

From IDEA to Implementation: A Discussion of Foundational and Future Responsiveness‐to‐Intervention Research

The IDEA reauthorization of 2004 highlights the application of responsiveness to intervention (RTI) to both early intervention (EI) service delivery and learning disabilities (LD) identification practices, creating the potential for wide‐scale execution. Implementation of any educational reform necessitates more than simply changing practices: It is important to understand the foundation upon which the reform stands, as well as the questions yet unanswered by research. This review of literature, therefore, emphasizes what is known about RTI as well as what remains to be learned, beginning with foundational concepts—model iterations—and moving to applications—EI and LD identification. Ultimately, the complexities of the RTI construct, with its potential for systemic change, necessitate a partnership between researchers and practitioners to both implement and further investigate RTI on a wide scale.     

Response‐to‐intervention in high‐risk preschools: Critical issues for implementation

This article summarizes the current knowledge of response‐to‐intervention (RTI) models in preschool settings, with an emphasis on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of our current research base. Particular attention is given to the unique challenges of high‐risk preschool settings. Presently, sufficient empirical support exists to begin establishing tiered intervention systems and building teacher capacity. Lacking, however, are valid and reliable assessment tools and insufficiently trained personnel to support a data‐based decision‐model within high‐risk preschools. We conclude that organizational development should focus on building teacher capacity, establishing high‐quality classroom instruction, and planning for sustainable programs, with adoption of a full RTI service delivery model serving as a long‐range aspirational goal. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Benchmarking as a Meaning Approach to Learning in Online Settings

Reforms currently taking place in organisations and their implications for education, training and learning in these organisations requires new and different ways of understanding. The recent focus on workplace learning and notions of "the learning organisation" raise challenges to understanding their significance as "technologies of training" applied within organisations. In social services organisations struggling with decades of reforms pushing them to be more "competitive and business-like", these reforms are even more complex. This paper, based on a study of child protection agencies in the state of New South Wales, Australia, indicates the ways in which the notion of the "learning organisation" is used to "govern" child protection services and workers. Rather than being a technique for encouraging team-work and increased participation by workers as part of post-Fordist forms of work organisation, as described by many commentators, this research indicates the ways in which it has been adopted as a technique in making neoliberal reforms practicable in organisations. It opens new questions in how we understand new "technologies of training", the way they are made practicable in work organisations and the changes demanded in the identity and character of the worker.     

运用思维导图促进职校学生英语学习能力

近年来,职业教育受到了党和政府的高度重视,在教学改革中培养和提高学生的自主学习能力迫在眉睫而又任重道远。与普通中学相比,职业学校的学生,特别是高职学生需要涉猎的知识非常广泛,而教师在课堂上难以面面俱到,通常只讲授重点、难点,其余部分知识由学生自己去阅读和钻研。因此,教师必须在课堂中不断探索方法,帮助学生提升学习兴趣,培养学生自主学习的能力,使学生养成终身学习的习惯。     

Comparison of most‐to‐least to error correction for teaching receptive labelling for two children diagnosed with autism

Prompting systems are guidelines of when to provide learners with prompts and when to fade prompts. Today, there are several prompting systems implemented to teach receptive labeling to individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and other disabilities. This study compared most‐to‐least prompting to an error correction procedure involving feedback and remedial trials for teaching two children with autism a variety of receptive labels. All teaching was implemented in a one‐to‐one instructional setting. Researchers taught each participant how to receptively identify 18 pictures; nine were taught using error correction and nine were taught using most‐to‐least. The researchers utilized an adapted alternating treatment design nested into a multiple probe design to evaluate the two procedures. Results indicated that participants were able to reach mastery criterion on 100% of skills taught using the error correction and were able to reach mastery criterion on 88.9% of skills taught using most‐to‐least. Additionally, error correction tended to require fewer trials for participants to reach mastery criterion.     

One World,Two Languages: Cross‐Language Semantic Priming in Bilingual Toddlers

The interconnectedness of bilingual memory remains a topic of great debate. Semantic priming provides a powerful methodological tool with which to investigate this issue in early bilingual toddlers. Semantic priming effects were investigated in 21 bilingual toddlers (2.5 years) within and across each of their languages. Results revealed the first evidence of cross‐language and within‐language semantic priming in bilingual toddlers. However, priming effects were only observed when the prime was presented in the dominant language and were comparable in magnitude within and across languages. Findings point to high interconnectivity across languages; however, there appear to be strong influences of language dominance on semantic facilitation. Findings serve to inform and refine developmental models of bilingual memory.     

Identification of gifted students with learning disabilities in a Response‐to‐Intervention era

The identification of children who are twice‐exceptional—those who are gifted and have concomitant learning disabilities (LDs)—has historically posed a number of challenges for school psychologists and other school personnel. With the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act and the shift to the use of a Response‐to‐Intervention (RtI) model to identify students with LDs, the task of identifying those who are twice exceptional is even more daunting. This article proposes an integrated model for the identification of gifted children with LDs that blends standardized assessment methods with practices consistent with RtI. This balanced approach brings together the best of both worlds to more accurately identify twice‐exceptional students and better meet their educational needs. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

从概念基元空间到语义基元空间的映射——HNC联想脉络与词汇语义结构表述研究

本文从HNC理论的两个重要假设入手,通过“空间”和“概念”的讨论,论述了从语言信息处理理论研究延伸至语言处理研究的意义,阐述了词汇平面的延伸方式,即将HNC概念表达式与“词群-词位变体”理论的词义基元结构式进行对接。并认为这种延伸在工程上表现为面向语言信息处理技术的语义网建设,在理论上可概括为“概念基元空间到词汇语义基元空间的映射”。     

Learn to Lead: Mapping Workplace Learning of School Leaders

In recent years policy makers’ interest in the professional development of school leaders has grown considerably. Although we know some aspect of formal educational programs for school leaders, little is known about school leaders’ incidental and non-formal learning in the workplace. This study aims to grasp what workplace learning activities school leaders value most, what work-related questions incite them to learn, what outcomes they achieve through workplace learning and what conditions support workplace learning of school leaders. In order to generate answers to the research questions, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 Dutch school leaders in secondary education, which also served as a form of reflection for the respondents. Results show that school leaders mostly value workplace learning through working on improvement and innovation and through reflection. In addition to outcomes for the school leader, working on improvement and innovation also leads to learning outcomes for teachers, and seems to provide opportunities for teachers to influence changes in the school. On the other hand, teachers take little or no part in reflection. Here, school leaders find peace and stability to reflect with fellow school leaders. If adjusted to a specific context, the methods used in this study might be transferred to other contexts, to study workplace learning of all kinds of leaders.     

Inclusion of Mobility‐Impaired Children in the One‐to‐One Computing Era: A Case Study

In recent times many developing countries have adopted a one‐to‐one model for distributing computers in classrooms. Among the various effects that such an approach could imply, it surely increases the availability of computer‐related Assistive Technology at school and provides higher resources for empowering disabled children in their learning and communicating abilities. New environments are created in which technology is no more a specific solution, but a matter of fact. This article describes three case studies involving children from Uruguayan special schools undergoing integration projects in mainstream schools. The children could count on a computer technology which did not mark them as “those who need some different tools,” but as special users of the same tools as the rest of the students.     

Science education as a civil right: Urban schools and opportunity‐to‐learn considerations

In this article I make the case that urban science education is a civil rights issue and that to effectively address it as such we must shift from arguments for civil rights as shared physical space in schools to demands for high‐quality academic preparation that includes the opportunity to learn science. The argument is organized into two sections: first, a review of the school desegregation literature to make the case that urban science education for all is a civil rights issue; and second, an examination and critique of opportunity‐to‐learn literature, including an analysis of three opportunity‐to‐learn constructs to illustrate their potential as civil rights tools in science education. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 1015–1028, 2001     

Teachers' Spatial Anxiety Relates to 1st‐ and 2nd‐Graders' Spatial Learning

Teachers' anxiety about an academic domain, such as math, can impact students' learning in that domain. We asked whether this relation held in the domain of spatial skill, given the importance of spatial skill for success in math and science and its malleability at a young age. We measured 1st‐ and 2nd‐grade teachers' spatial anxiety (N = 19) and students' spatial skill (N = 132). Teachers' spatial anxiety significantly predicted students' end‐of‐year spatial skill, even after accounting for students' beginning‐of‐year spatial skill, phonological working memory, grade level, and teachers' math anxiety. Since spatial skill is not a stand‐alone part of the curriculum like math or reading, teachers with high levels of spatial anxiety may simply avoid incorporating spatial activities in the classroom. Results suggest that addressing teachers' spatial anxieties may improve spatial learning in early elementary school.