The Sensitivity of Value-Added Teacher Effect Estimates to Different Mathematics Achievement Measures

Using longitudinal data from a cohort of middle school students from a large school district, we estimate separate "value-added" teacher effects for two subscales of a mathematics assessment under a variety of statistical models varying in form and degree of control for student background characteristics. We find that the variation in estimated effects resulting from the different mathematics achievement measures is large relative to variation resulting from choices about model specification, and that the variation within teachers across achievement measures is larger than the variation across teachers. These results suggest that conclusions about individual teachers' performance based on value-added models can be sensitive to the ways in which student achievement is measured.     

Grades degrade group coordination: deteriorated interactions and performance in a cooperative motor task

At school, pupils often cooperate on common projects and must coordinate their different individual actions. However, grades are pervasively used even in cooperative situations, which make the pupils’ differences in achievement and their relative rank salient and may reduce their inclination to work constructively with others. Thus, we hypothesized that grades would elicit disruptive interactions and reduce performance in a cooperative cognitive-motor task necessitating inter-individual coordination of members. In a study with 5th graders, grades (vs. a neutral concept) were primed at the onset of a cooperative group interaction. Results showed that, although pupils were set to work cooperatively, priming grades (vs. neutral concepts) harmed inter-individual coordination by eliciting more negative dominant behaviours among pupils during interactions, which decreased group performance.     

The complexity of trauma response: a 4-year follow-up of adolescent Cambodian refugees

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to document the psychosocial adjustment of young refugees during their adolescence and its association with the war-related trauma experienced by their family before migration. METHOD: Data were collected on 57 young Khmer resettled in Montreal and followed from early to late adolescence. The associations between premigratory exposure to political violence and postmigratory mental health and social adjustment were estimated for early, mid-, and late adolescence. RESULTS: The associations between premigratory exposure to political violence and postmigratory psychosocial adjustment fluctuated over the adolescence period. Overall, the adolescents whose families were more highly exposed to political violence tended to report a more positive social adjustment and less mental health symptoms than those less exposed. CONCLUSION: The high expectations of Cambodian parents towards their children and the preservation of traditional values despite the Khmer rouge attempts to eradicate them might contribute to explain the paradoxical association between the families' exposure to political violence and the adolescents' psychosocial adjustment in the host country. Although children and adult refugees seen in clinical setting are reminders of the negative effects of adversity, resilience should be more systematically explored in community samples to further our understanding of the long-term effects of trauma.     

Preweanling handling influences open-field behavior,but not negative contrast or sucrose neophobia

Handling of preweanlings (Days 2–15) had substantial effects on the open-field behavior of rats when tested as adults. In general, handled rats reared more, ambulated more, and defecated less than nonhandled rats. However, the handling manipulation had no effect on the degree of negative contrast that occurred when rats were shifted from 32% to 4% sucrose. Experiments 2 and 3 showed that preweaning handling did not influence sucrose neophobia in two different test situations. These data, in conjunction with those of other studies, suggest that preweaning handling may have powerful but limited effects on adult behavior, and that these effects are probably not best characterized in terms of global concepts such as emotionality.     

Irish student teachers’ beliefs about self,learning and teaching: a longitudinal study

This paper explores the beliefs about self-as-teacher, learning and teaching of preservice elementary teachers during a three-year undergraduate programme. Using a qualitative grounded theory analysis, the study examined the initial beliefs or personal theories of 27 preservice teachers during their first Semester. Longitudinal data were gathered from 7 of these students over the three-year duration of their teacher education programme through iterative interviews and reflective journal analysis. The findings demonstrate expansion in preservice teachers’ understandings of the teacher’s role, the value of reflective practice, the differential needs of learners and approaches to pedagogy. Findings point to lacunae in preservice teachers’ capacity for critical reflective practice and demonstrate how classroom management concerns can cause preservice teachers to adopt more cautious and traditional pedagogical approaches, despite their espoused commitment to child-centred principles.     

Measuring the quality of e‐learning

This paper shows how concept mapping can be used to measure the quality of e‐learning. Six volunteers (all of them 3rd‐year medical students) took part in a programme of e‐learning designed to teach the principles of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Their understanding of MRI was measured before and after the course by the use of concept mapping. The quality of change in individuals' maps was assessed using criteria developed to distinguish between meaningful and rote‐learning outcomes. Student maps were also scored for evidence of conceptual richness and understanding. Finally, each map was compared directly with the content of the electronic teaching material. The results show that many of the student misconceptions were put right in the course of their learning but that many of the key concepts introduced in the teaching were ignored (or sometimes learnt by rote) by the students. This was because the teaching material locked these new ideas in structures and terminology that precluded meaning‐making among non‐experts. Our data suggest that students' prior knowledge is a key determinant of meaningful learning. We suggest that this must be acknowledged if the design and use of electronic teaching material is also to be meaningful. Ultimately, measures of student learning are the only authentic indicators of the quality of teaching through technology.     

THE WINNING WAYS OF A LOSING STRATEGY: EDUCATIONALIZING SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract In this essay, David Labaree examines the paradox of educationalization in the American context. He argues that, like most modern Western societies, the United States has displayed a strong tendency over the years for educationalizing social problems, even though schools have repeatedly proven that they are an ineffective mechanism for solving these problems. He starts by examining the ways in which the process of educationalizing social problems is deeply grounded in American beliefs, social processes, political and organizational tensions, and structural possibilities. These include utility, individualism, optimism, professional interest, political interest, political opportunity, structural limits, and formalism. Then Labaree examines the roots of education’s failure in the role of social reform agent. Finally, he closes with an analysis of why we continue to pursue educationalization in the face of its ineffectiveness.     

Does life satisfaction predict victimization experiences in adolescence?

Longitudinal relationships between adolescents' life satisfaction and peer victimization and prosocial experiences were assessed. A total of 417 students in Grades 6–8 completed the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS: Huebner, 1994) and the Children's Social Experience Questionnaire – Self Report (SEQ‐SR: Crick & Grotpeter, 1996) on two occasions (Time 1 and Time 2), 1 year apart. The results revealed that Time 1 life satisfaction scores did not add to the prediction of Time 2 overt victimization scores but did add to the prediction of Time 2 relational victimization scores and prosocial experiences. Additionally, Time 1 overt victimization, relational victimization, and prosocial experiences did not significantly add to the prediction of Time 2 general life satisfaction. However, the predictive equations for Time 1 relational victimization and prosocial experiences approached significance, suggesting the possibility of bidirectional effects between life satisfaction and relational victimization and prosocial peer experiences. Most interestingly, lower levels of life satisfaction appeared to be a newly identified risk factor for two qualitatively distinct types of adverse peer relationships (relational victimization and lack of prosocial experiences). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Understanding of the alphabetic principle through invented spelling among hearing‐impaired children learning to read and write: experimentation with a pedagogical approach

Given the problems experienced by hearing‐impaired individuals in learning the written language, a pedagogical approach was tested. The study examined the links between the development of representations of alphabetic system and the results in reading and writing of first graders. In the study, there were 31 hearing‐impaired children and 25 hearing ones. Invented spelling was measured three times during the school year. Reading and writing tests were given at the end of the year. The results obtained revealed a similarity between the learning profile of the hearing‐impaired children and that of the hearing children. It also demonstrated the importance of the work done through invented spelling, among the hearing‐impaired children. Thus, like their hearing peers, hearing‐impaired children are able to use procedures to process the written word based on the alphabetic principle, but continuous support‐implying invented spelling constantly adjusted to the progression of their representations must be provided.