What It Takes: Promising Practices for Immigrant Origin Adolescent Newcomers

Using a multiple case study approach across seven schools in the United States and Sweden that serve newcomer students exceptionally well, we identified the strategies they implemented across sites that served to meet the educational needs of these students. We found that these schools provided a comprehensive approach to support the socioemotional and academic needs of their newcomer students, identifying many common practices for improving outcomes for newcomer students.     

What It Takes To Be a winner

Rogger Crawford had everything he needed to play tennis--except two hands and a leg. He had no palms (手掌). The baby‘ s arms and legs were shortened, and he had only three toes on his right foot and his left leg was cut off.     

Learning What It Takes to Teach Science: High School Students as Science Teachers for Middle School Students

This study examines the influence of St. John's University Summer Science Experience and Teacher Mentoring Program on African American and Hispanic high school students' interest in science and science teaching as career goals. In the first phase of the program, high school students from six school districts in Suffolk County, Long Island (a suburb of metropolitan New York City) engaged in investigative science experiences that emphasized environmental science, chemistry, and technology and learned about effective science pedagogy. The second phase of the program functioned as a teaching practicum for the high school students, where they planned for instruction and taught middle school students investigations similar to those that they had engaged in during the summer program. Various surveys were developed to assess high school students' attitudes about science and science teaching, knowledge of effective teaching approaches, knowledge of ways to motivate younger students, and the overall impact of the program on the high students' interest in science and/or science teaching as career goals. Program evaluations reveal that over 75% of the students expressed an interest in considering science or science teaching as career possibilities. Implications for minority teacher recruitment are discussed.     

What It Takes for Preschoolers to Learn Sex Abuse Prevention Concepts

We sought to determine why preschoolers struggle to learn abuse prevention concepts that children only a few years older learn easily. We pretested preschoolers' knowledge of sexual abuse prevention, observed them viewing a widely-used sexual abuse prevention program, then post-tested their abuse prevention knowledge. We micro-measured comprehension of specific prevention concepts during instruction in order to compare failures of comprehension with failures of retention and/or application. We also tested the effectiveness of guided participation with an adult co-viewer as a technique for improving children's comprehension of the material. Although subjects watched 50% of the program, they comprehended only 30%. Viewing did not significantly increase their knowledge. Likewise, the presence of an active adult co-viewer did not increase comprehension of abuse prevention concepts. We identified four audio/visual production features that accounted for 59% of subjects' visual attention. Attention predicted comprehension. Comprehension of advanced concepts was predicated upon comprehension of simpler ones. If subjects failed to comprehend a basic concept, they were significantly less likely to attend to or comprehend more advanced concepts. Preschoolers need sexual abuse prevention programs produced specifically for them. Research should focus on programs that (1) are developmentally graduated, (2) present concepts in a logical order and then seek to ensure that subjects comprehend the concept before moving on, and (3) use audio/visual production features that recruit and maintain visual attention.     

What It Takes for Preschoolers to Learn Sex Abuse Prevention Concepts

We sought to determine why preschoolers struggle to learn abuse prevention concepts that children only a few years older learn easily. We pretested preschoolers' knowledge of sexual abuse prevention, observed them viewing a widely-used sexual abuse prevention program, then post-tested their abuse prevention knowledge. We micro-measured comprehension of specific prevention concepts during instruction in order to compare failures of comprehension with failures of retention and/or application. We also tested the effectiveness of guided participation with an adult co-viewer as a technique for improving children's comprehension of the material. Although subjects watched 50% of the program, they comprehended only 30%. Viewing did not significantly increase their knowledge. Likewise, the presence of an active adult co-viewer did not increase comprehension of abuse prevention concepts. We identified four audio/visual production features that accounted for 59% of subjects' visual attention. Attention predicted comprehension. Comprehension of advanced concepts was predicated upon comprehension of simpler ones. If subjects failed to comprehend a basic concept, they were significantly less likely to attend to or comprehend more advanced concepts. Preschoolers need sexual abuse prevention programs produced specifically for them. Research should focus on programs that (1) are developmentally graduated, (2) present concepts in a logical order and then seek to ensure that subjects comprehend the concept before moving on, and (3) use audio/visual production features that recruit and maintain visual attention.     

It Takes a Team

In this column, the editor of The Journal of Perinatal Education (JPE) compares the need for careful planning, preparation, and coordinated teamwork in preparing for a safe, healthy birth with similar needs necessary for putting together each issue of JPE. The editor also describes the contents of this issue, which offer a broad range of resources, research, and inspiration for childbirth educators in their efforts to promote, support, and protect natural, safe, and healthy birth.     

It Takes only Two

Abstract

The Resource Revolution. American Plastics Council, 1275 K Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20005; tel. (800) 243-6780. 1992. Color. 12:15 min. Video, free single copy, $10.00 each additional copy. Reviewed by N. J. Smith-Sebasto

Community and the Politics of Place, Daniel Kemmis. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. 1990. 150 pp. Paperback. Reviewed by Deborah S. Carr     

Traditional Phonics: What It Is and What It Is Not

Recent research into the phonological aspects of children’s early reading development holds that English beginners are more aware of word-sounds at the onset and rime level than at the individual phoneme level. A link is suspected with the comparative irregularity of English orthography. As it is widely assumed that children need to be aware of phonemes before they can benefit from a traditional phonics approach, a ‘new’ phonics or ‘rhyming analogy’ approach has been recommended as an easier route than traditional phonics for English beginning readers. This paper argues, however, that English beginners are just as capable of a phonemic approach as beginners in other languages, that phonemic awareness is not a precondition, that beliefs to the contrary are based on misunderstanding, and that systematically applying grapheme-phoneme correspondences throughout each word is an excellent basis for word-identification even in English. These claims are supported by test results.     

Digital Citizenship in K-12: It Takes a Village

Digital citizenship encompasses a wide range of behaviors with varying degrees of risk and possible negative consequences. Lack of digital citizenship awareness and education can, and has, led to problematic, even dangerous student conduct. If our educational village does not address these issues, the digital culture establishes its own direction, potentially pushing a productive, long-term solution further out of reach. By tapping into the experience of various practitioners and experts in the field this article provides the reader with a number of suggestions that can help the professional to help their students become better digital citizens.     

Treatment Fidelity: What It Is and Why It Matters

Treatment fidelity refers to the extent to which an intervention is implemented as planned. If researchers do not assess and report treatment fidelity, or if treatment fidelity is shown to be low, findings from intervention studies are difficult to interpret, because the intervention may not have been implemented as planned. In this article, our aim is to inform research consumers by discussing treatment fidelity and its primary dimensions, providing guidelines for interpreting treatment fidelity, considering implications of treatment fidelity for research and practice, and illustrating how fidelity is reported in two recent studies. Our take‐home message is that when one is interpreting intervention studies, it is important to consider whether the interventions were applied as planned, or with fidelity.     

赏识教育:应为、难为与可为

赏识教育作为一种颇具活力的教育方法,能否有效实施关乎儿童的全面发展。赏识教育在儿童主体意识激发、生命意识唤醒以及和谐关系维系等方面体现出诸多可为之处。但由于受到多重因素影响,当前中小学生赏识教育存在为难之境。如:赏识教育形式化、物质化、偏差化、泛滥化、片面化等问题,使赏识教育遭到不同程度的批判,致使赏识教育备受质疑。笔者认为,采取多元赏识,注重差异;适度赏识,把握原则;分层赏识,强化互补等措施是应对赏识教育所面临的难为之境的可为之举。     

精心组织物理自主学习活动

新课标提出了“自主、合作、探究式学习”的新理念。所谓“自主学习”是指学生在教师引导启发、扶持下,积极主动地参与教学活动,通过与教师及同学的合作,探究科学知识,提高解决问题的能力,形成和发展学生正确的价值观和良好个性。     

精心组织物理自主学习活动

新课标提出了“自主、合作、探究式学习”的新理念。所谓“自主学习”是指学生在教师引导、启发、扶持下，积极主动地参与教学活动，通过与教师及同学的合作，探究科学知识，提高解决问题的能力，形成和发展学生正确的价值观和良好个性。也就是说学生应把学习看作是自己的事情，是自身发展的需要，是为终身学习奠定基础。近几年来的大胆探索，积极实践，我在培养学生自主学习能力方面作了一些尝试，下面与老师和同学作一些介绍：[第一段]     

Advice from Rural Elders: What it Takes to Age in Place

Older adults prefer to age in place (AIP), and there are psychological, physiological, and economic benefits in doing so. However, it is especially challenging to AIP in rural communities. AIP models have been tested in urban settings and age-segregated communities, but they are not appropriate for rural communities. This paper presents rural AIP variables identified in the literature as well as those described by 39 older adults in five focus groups.     

Creativity:What Is It? Can You Assess It? Can It Be Taught?

This article takes the subject of visual arts in Sweden as the point of departure in a discussion of how, with the help of portfolios, assessments may extend to include both the unpredictable and the ambiguous. The notion that assessments of learning outcomes must be either limited to superficial knowledge or completely arbitrary is shown to be a misconception. The author has made a study of the progression of young people's creativity in the visual arts from preschool to upper secondary school. The assessment was based on both product criteria and process criteria (investigative work, inventiveness, ability to use models, capacity for self‐assessment). The materials assessed were portfolios of work containing sketches, drafts and finished works, log books, sources of inspiration and videotaped interviews with the students. Is there any progression in students' visual design, in their ability to work independently and assess their work? What is the degree of correlation in the assessments of different judges of student portfolios? These are some of the questions that this article attempts to answer, which concludes with a discussion of how schools can build a culture of learning that fosters the creative powers of young people.     

职业教育地位"应然"与"实然"的冲突

职业教育作为一种独特的教育类型,既是教育适应社会发展需要的产物,也是教育适应人的发展需要的结晶,具有客观的、不以人的意志为转移的、附着于自身的"应然"地位.但从我国职业教育发展的实践分析,存在着明显的"认识"与"行动"的反差、"元价值"与"隐价值"的冲突以及"成本"与"收益"的错位等现象,需要以制度创新为突破口,进一步提升职业教育地位,创设有利于职业教育发展的良好环境.     

It Takes Two to Tango: Multi-Directional,Dynamic Influences on Parenting Behavior

SYNOPSIS

It is natural to feel upset when two sets of responsibilities clash, and it is important to identify characteristics that predict parenting behaviors in the context of work-family conflict. Here, I examine the other side of the coin, reviewing inborn features of infants that likely impact parents’ feelings and behaviors. Some infants are less socially responsive, more reactive, and harder to soothe than others, contributing to increased parental stress that might be exacerbated by work-family conflict. I further argue that shared genetics and socio-cultural context account for additional variance in the dynamic interplay between parents and infants.     

Science Teaching: What Does It Mean?

This study considers the relationship between science, science teaching and the philosophy of science perceiving these three cultural phenomena as a semantic triad. This approach presents science teaching as being a form of a scientific reflection. The relationship of science teaching to the philosophy of science is advocated to be essential, revealing the conceptual meaning of science in the science curriculum and thus removing the semantic degeneracy taking place when the philosophy of science is ignored in science education. The study points at the bricolage as well as magic nature of the science curriculum preserving as long as science teaching preserves semantic degeneracy. Different types of meaning of Schwab’s commonplaces were recognized. The study challenges the common view of the relationship between science, science teaching and pedagogy and suggests effective representation of individual knowledge of science educators.