Decoding the phonics screening check

The statutory ‘phonics screening check’ was introduced in 2012 and reflects the current emphasis in England on teaching early reading through systematic synthetic phonics. The check is intended to assess children's phonic abilities and their knowledge of 85 grapheme–phoneme correspondences (GPCs) through decoding 20 real words and 20 pseudo words. Since the national rollout, little attention has been devoted to the content of the checks. The current paper, therefore, reviews the first three years of the check between 2012 and 2014 to examine how the 85 specified GPCs have been assessed and whether children are only using decoding skills to read the words. The analysis found that out of the 85 GPCs considered testable by the check, just 15 GPCs accounted for 67% of all GPC occurrences, with 27 of the 85 specified GPCs (31.8%) not appearing at all. Where a grapheme represented more than one phoneme, the most frequently occurring pronunciation was assessed in 72.2% of cases, with vocabulary knowledge being required to determine the correct pronunciation within real words where multiple pronunciations were possible. The GPCs assessed, therefore, do not reflect the full range of GPCs that it is expected will be taught within a systematic synthetic phonics approach. Furthermore, children's ability to decode real words is dependent on their vocabulary knowledge, not just their phonic skills. These results question the purpose and validity of the phonics screening check and the role of synthetic phonics for teaching early reading.     

Measuring the Early Adulthood Outcomes of Young Adults with Disabilities: Developing Constructs using NLTS2 Data

Secondary data analysis was used to develop and examine disability-related differences in outcome constructs from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2. Findings suggest that outcome constructs could be created that represented key elements of quality of life domains including social relationships, financial independence, financial supports, employment, emotional well-being, postsecondary education, independent living, health status, access to services, and advocating for needs. The constructs could be measured equivalently across disability groups, but young adults with high incidence disabilities, generally, experienced more positive outcomes than those with more severe disabilities, despite the finding that those with more severe disabilities have greater access to services and financial supports. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

The Willed Body Donor Interview project: Medical student and donor expectations

The Anatomical Donations Program at the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) has begun a multiphase project wherein interviews of donors will be recorded and later shown to medical students who participate in the anatomical dissection course. The first phase of this project included surveys of both current UMMS medical students and donors concerning their perceptions of such a program. A five‐question survey administered via Qualtrics software was electronically mailed to all current medical students at UMMS, and a survey was mailed to registered and potential donors requesting information from the UMMS on anatomical donations. A total of 224 medical student responses (response rate 33%) and 54 donor responses (response rate 27%) were received. Seventy‐four percent of students and 81% of donors reported they would participate in this program if it existed. Students and donors supported the implementation of this program for varying reasons, though many felt strongly they would not want to participate in a donor interview program. These qualitative results support those of previous studies that show a majority of students desire a closer personal relationship with the donor, and these are the first results to be reported on donor perceptions of a donor interview program. Although many students and donors are in favor of instituting this program, others feel strongly that such an experience could be traumatic. The causes of these differing reactions need to be further explored, and the opinions of those who object to this study will be respected by maintaining voluntary participation in future phases of this study. Anat Sci Educ 6: 90–100. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

Implications of legal and organizational issues for urban digital government development

This paper discusses implications of the convergence of legal and organizational issues in the context of developing and implementing digital government projects in large urban settings. By the convergence of legal and organizational issues we refer to two important aspects of urban government: (1) the close relationship between legal/policy structures and the way government is organized and functions, and (2) the way the legal/policy elements interact with organizational dynamics and work cultures to influence digital government projects (and government activities generally). It is our contention that convergence in the organizational and legal/policy context is a powerful determinant of how these projects develop and how likely they are to succeed. Therefore the understanding of this convergence and related dynamics is critically important to planning and designing both policy to promote digital government and particular digital government projects themselves. Illustrations of this convergence and its consequences are presented. They are based on research involving two digital government projects in urban settings: development of a management information system for homeless shelter administration and a developing a system for sharing information among New York City agencies.     

Organizational change in the Medical Library Association: evolution of the continuing education program

"Change" is a critical dimension of contemporary experience. Library associations are not exempt, and they change in ways similar to other organizations. According to some authorities, four phases typify the process: diagnosis, design, implementation, and incorporation. Focusing on changes in the Medical Library Association's longstanding program of continuing education, the authors utilize the "phase framework" to chart that association's movement from a management system depending primarily upon volunteers to one in which professional staff figure prominently. The historical review serves a heuristic purpose for individuals and institutions in identifying characteristic features of the change process.     

Using mindfulness to teach perception

Using the philosophy of mindfulness is an innovative way to teach about perception. By participating in a mindfulness awareness practice, engaging in an activity with all your senses and being in the moment without judgment, students learn about the concepts of perception and mindfulness; analyze their personal perception process before and after the activity; and reflect individually and in group discussion on how mindfulness can change the perception process.

Courses: Any course where perception and the perception process are taught including: Introduction to Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication, and Health Communication.

Objectives: Students will (a) learn about the concepts of perception and mindfulness, (b) apply their knowledge by participating in a hands-on mindfulness awareness practice, (c) analyze their personal perception process before and after the activity, and (d) reflect individually and in group discussion on how mindfulness can change the perception process.     

A mentoring programme based on competency development at a Spanish university: an action research study

This article describes an action research (AR) project for designing and implementing a structured mentoring programme in a Spanish university. A student affairs unit, a team of researchers, faculty-mentors and student-protégés worked together on three cycles of AR. The result is a programmatic mentoring programme for the development of non-technical personal and professional competencies for undergraduate students. This paper describes the original situation that sparked the project, the iterative process followed, the tools and guides developed and the final programme designed. In addition to the increase in the level of satisfaction perceived by the entire university, the paper outlines the five critical factors that emerged from the AR project: the competency development process, programme value added, trust between mentors and protégés, the prominence of the student-protégé in the improvement plans and the continuous improvement culture generated.