Examining the relationship between grit and academic achievement within K‐12 and higher education: A systematic review

In recent years, grit has drawn increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners. As an important noncognitive indicator, grit has been used to understand individual success and performance in various fields. However, past empirical research has shown inconsistent findings on the relationship between grit and academic achievement. This study aims to review and synthesize past empirical findings on the relationship between grit and academic achievement. Forty‐four relevant articles involving a total of 60,133 participants met the inclusion criteria and were synthesized in this meta‐analysis. Our findings suggest that (a) overall grit level and its two facets (consistency of interest and perseverance of effort) are positively associated with academic achievement; (b) the association between grit and academic achievement is moderated by grade level; and (c) perseverance of effort shows the largest effect size on students’ academic achievement when compared with overall grit level and consistency of interest.     

Relations Between Dialect Variation, Grammar, and Early Spelling Skills

Relationships among African American English (AAE), linguistic knowledge, and spelling skills were examined in a sample of 92 children in grades one through three whose speech varied in the frequency of morphosyntactic AAE features. Children were separated into groups of high (AAE speakers) and low (standard American English, SAE, speakers) use of AAE features in speech, and asked to produce, recognize, and spell four inflected grammatical morphemes because variable omission of these endings in speech is a morphosyntactic characteristic of AAE. The groups differed in their spelling and elicited spoken production of inflections, but not recognition of these forms. AAE speakers omitted the inflections more often at each grade. Density of morphosyntactic AAE features in speech was related directly to spelling inflections, but this effect was mediated by children’s understanding of standard grammatical forms.     

实践与创新的相互规定

创新从根本上说属于实践活动，各种类型的创新都可以概括为实践创新。实践是创新之本，是创新的发生前提，创新是实践的基本属性，是实践的精华所在，创新使实验成其为实践。     

Prepracticum Service‐Learning: Examining the Relationship With Counselor Self‐Efficacy and Anxiety

Prepracticum service‐learning is an integral part of the curriculum for counselor education students at a large southwestern university. Service‐learning is accomplished by placing novice students in school or community agency settings to acquire early, practical, field‐based experience. Activities are more structured and supervised than in an internship or practicum. Analysis indicated that prepracticum service‐learning had a positive significant relationship with counselor self‐efficacy and a significant negative relationship with student anxiety. However, substantial counseling course work and experience with counseling‐related work both had a stronger influence than did prepracticum service‐learning, indicating that the latter is more appropriate for novice students.     

我国某地区中小学教师构建师生关系状况调查

文章从师生关系模式角度调查了我国某地区中小学师生关系规范性的状况,分析了导致我国中小学师生关系不规范的主要原因是教育理论在这个领域研究的不深入、不具体及中小学教师这方面教育理论修养低的问题     

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.     

Reciprocal Relations Between Student–Teacher Relationship and Children's Behavioral Problems: Moderation by Child‐Care Group Size

In this Norwegian study, bidirectional relations between children's behavior problems and child–teacher conflict and closeness were examined, and the possibility of moderation of these associations by child‐care group size was tested. Eight hundred and nineteen 4‐year‐old children were followed up in first grade. Results revealed reciprocal effects linking child–teacher conflict and behavior problems. Effects of child–teacher closeness on later behavior problems were moderated by group size: For children in small groups only (i.e., ≤ 15 children), greater closeness predicted reduced behavior problems in first grade. In consequence, stability of behavior problems was greater in larger than in smaller groups. Results are discussed in light of regulatory mechanisms and social learning theory, with possible implications for organization of child care.     

Examining the Relationship Between Teacher Evaluation and Student Assessment Results in Washoe County

In this article, we describe findings from an analysis of the relationship between scores on a standards-based teacher evaluation system modeled on the Framework for Teaching (Danielson, 1996) and student achievement measures in a large Western school district. We apply multilevel statistical modeling to study the relationship between the evaluation scores and state and district tests of reading, mathematics, and a composite measure of reading and mathematics. Using a value-added framework, the teacher evaluation scores were included at the 2nd level, or teacher level, of the model when other student and teacher-level characteristics were controlled. This study provided some initial evidence of a positive association between teacher performance, as measured by the evaluation system, and student achievement. The coefficients representing the effects of teacher performance on student achievement were positive and were statistically significant in 4 of 9 grade-test combinations studied.     

Examining teachers’ perceptions of K‐11 students’ 21st century skills and student performance

This study examined the relationship of teachers’ ratings of students’ 21st century skills (i.e., persistence, curiosity, externalizing and internalizing affect, and cognition) via the Human Behavior Rating Scale: Brief (HBRS: Brief; Eaves & Woods‐Groves, 2011) with student performance. Midwestern K‐11 teachers (n = 96) rated students (n = 1,689) via the HBRS: Brief and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). Students’ academic (i.e., standardized tests) and behavioral (i.e., office discipline referrals [ODRs] and absences) performance was compared with HBRS: Brief ratings. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that teachers’ ratings of students’ 21st century skills were related to the following: (a) Persistence with SDQ conduct problems, academic performance, and absences; (b) curiosity with SDQ emotional symptoms; (c) externalizing affect with SDQ conduct problems, academic performance, and ODRs; (d) internalizing affect with SDQ emotional symptoms and academic performance, and (e) cognition with academics.     

Development and Evaluation of Food Safety Modules for K‐12 Science Education

Career and educational opportunities in food science and food safety are underrecognized by K‐12 students and educators. Additionally, misperceptions regarding nature of science understanding persist in K‐12 students despite being emphasized as an important component of science education for over 100 y. In an effort to increase awareness concerning career and educational opportunities in food science and food safety and to improve the nature of science understanding among K‐12 students, a series of problem‐based learning modules was developed and pilot tested with a total of 61 K‐12 students. Results of pre‐ and postevaluations and assessments indicated that (1) interest in science, food science, and food safety increased and (2) content knowledge related to the nature of science, food science, and food safety was improved. We further suggest that these modules provide opportunities for educators in traditional as well as extracurricular settings to demonstrate important concepts contained in the newly released Next Generation Science Standards.     

班主任师生沟通能力校本培养的实践研究

有关调查显示,班主任在师生沟通技巧、沟通氛围的创设方面均存有不足,从而影响实际的沟通效果。研究者针对学校实际问题,尝试进行了旨在提高班主任师生沟通能力的校本培养,如开设系列化的心理辅导讲座、加强对班主任的心理督导、组织心理沙龙、开展结对带教等活动。     

Genetic and Environmental Etiologies of the Longitudinal Relations Between Prereading Skills and Reading

The present study explored the environmental and genetic etiologies of the longitudinal relations between prereading skills and reading and spelling. Twin pairs (n = 489) were assessed before kindergarten (M = 4.9 years), post‐first grade (M = 7.4 years), and post‐fourth grade (M = 10.4 years). Genetic influences on five prereading skills (print knowledge, rapid naming, phonological awareness, vocabulary, and verbal memory) were primarily responsible for relations with word reading and spelling. However, relations with post‐fourth‐grade reading comprehension were due to both genetic and shared environmental influences. Genetic and shared environmental influences that were common among the prereading variables covaried with reading and spelling, as did genetic influences unique to verbal memory (only post‐fourth‐grade comprehension), print knowledge, and rapid naming.     

Young Children’s Representations of Spatial and Functional Relations Between Objects

Three experiments investigated changes from 15 to 30 months of age in children’s (N = 114) mastery of relations between an object and an aperture, supporting surface, or form. When choosing between objects to insert into an aperture, older children selected objects of an appropriate size and shape, but younger children showed little selectivity. Further experiments probed the sources of younger children’s difficulty by comparing children’s performance placing a target object in a hole, on a 2‐dimensional form, or atop another solid object. Together, the findings suggest that some factors limiting adults’ object representations, including the difficulty of comparing the shapes of positive and negative spaces and of representing shapes in 3 dimensions, contribute to young children’s errors in manipulating objects.     

Using Online Education to Transition Teaching Assistants to Teacher Certification: Examining the Differences Between Teacher Education Programs

Elementary education teacher candidates who studied under two delivery methods—online and face to face—were compared to determine if there was a significant difference in professional knowledge and skills using Praxis II test scores. The participants included 60 teaching assistant program (TAP) online candidates and 564 face-to-face candidates. The two groups’ perceptions of self-efficacy were also compared. Results indicated a significant difference in professional knowledge based on Praxis II test scores and no significant difference in perceptions of self-efficacy. Although both groups felt confident in their teaching abilities, the traditional candidates outperformed TAP candidates on Praxis II. However, in the ancillary findings of this study, 41.6% of traditional candidates were admitted to the teacher education program with a Praxis I exemption, whereas only 23.4% of TAP candidates were exempt from the requirement. This suggests that traditional candidates entered the program at a more advanced level than the TAP candidates, possibly explaining the significant difference in the finding of the Praxis II test scores.     

Family assessment in K‐12 settings: Understanding family systems to provide effective,collaborative services

Professional school counselors, school psychologists, and other professionals working in K‐12 settings have a complex job of meeting the needs of all students. Often, referral to outside counseling is necessary; however, an effective and comprehensive counseling model advocates for school mental health professionals to employ a wide variety of techniques to ensure equitable distribution of services to all students and their families. This article explores using family assessment tools to support both students' academic achievement and their families within a school context. A case study illustrates how a professional school counselor could employ and collaborate with family assessment tools to support the student, family, and school systems. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

教师职业技能训练实验教学示范中心的建设与发展

坚持以本科教育为基础,以教师教育为主体和优势,为基础教育和社会经济发展服务,2005年我校率先在黑龙江省成立了“教师职业技能训练实验中心”,将“师德高尚、专业过硬、技能娴熟、仪表儒雅”作为培养卓越教师的标准 通过体制管理和实验教学的创新性改革,努力构建符合教师教育发展趋势、引领我省基础教育改革和发展、充满生机与活力的新型教师教育体系,不断提高教师教育的专业化和职业化水平 2009年该中心被评为黑龙江省级实验教学示范中心.     

Examining the Relationship Between Emergent Literacy Skills and Invented Spelling in Prekindergarten Spanish-Speaking Dual Language Learners

The purpose of the present study was to examine associations among English and Spanish emergent literacy skills of prekindergarten (pre-K) Spanish-speaking dual language learners in relation to their English invented spelling. Study participants included 141 Spanish-speaking 4-year-old children enrolled in state-funded pre-K programs in a large urban city located in the Southeast. All children were receiving English-only instruction. Children’s Spanish and English receptive vocabulary and code-related skills were assessed in the fall and spring of their pre-K year, but their invented spelling was assessed only in the spring. Research Findings: Analyses revealed significant correlations among children’s English and Spanish receptive vocabulary as well as English and Spanish early code-related skills in the fall and spring of the school year. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed direct contributions of children’s English vocabulary and growth in Spanish code-related skills across the year to children’s English invented spelling in the spring of the school year. This analysis also revealed that associations between children’s English code-related skills and invented spelling appear to work through Spanish code-related skills. Practice or Policy: In order to promote young dual language learners’ English invented spelling skills, early childhood educators should seek to support children’s English vocabulary and English and Spanish code-related emergent literacy skills.