Investigative interviews of alleged sexual abuse victims with and without anatomical dolls

Verbal and nonverbal responses by alleged victims of child sexual abuse were coded for length, amount of information, and the manner in which they were elicited by the interviewer. In 16 of the interviews, anatomical dolls were employed for the purposes of demonstration, whereas they were not used in another eight cases matched with respect to other characteristics of the children and the alleged events. Children interviewed with dolls provided an equivalent number of details and spoke as many words in the substantive portion of the interview as did children interviewed without dolls, and interviewers in the two groups used similar probes to elicit information. However, the average responses by the children were significantly longer and more detailed when dolls were not used. Children gave longer and more detailed responses to open-ended invitations when dolls were not used. Caution is necessary when interpreting these findings.     

Predictors of Delinquent Behaviors Among Latino Youth

This study used an ecological framework to examine predictors of delinquent behaviors among 91 sixth-grade Latino youth. Both proximal and distal contextual factors were assessed to determine their impact on various forms of delinquency, such as violent behaviors, violent thoughts, substance abuse, and general delinquency (e.g., skipping school). Attitudes toward school, mobility (number of moves to new schools and neighborhoods), and exposure to community violence were distal variables, whereas attachment to parents and attachment to peers were considered more proximal variables. Environmental experiences or exposure to distressing community violence was the strongest predictor of delinquent outcomes. The results were discussed in terms of school officials' developing linkages with the community to promote safe environments for youth.     

The case for democratic governance in Canada's community colleges

Although the tradition of bicameral governance is well established in Canada's universities, in no province do community colleges operate under a similar principle. In fact, there is no statutory role for college faculty in governance, either through a senate or a senate-like body. This article argues the case for greater democracy in the governance of colleges and, in doing so, analyzes the role of college governance. The conclusion reached is that, while more democratic and participatory governance may be argued on conceptual grounds, it would also improve morale, trust, and communication within the college sector.     

Teaching about Cold Cases Experientially: Creating Meaningful Learning Experiences and Products

This paper discusses three separate educational projects which involved students working side-by-side with homicide investigators in an effort to conduct cold case investigations. Each project resulted in two different products, one for agency use and the other for public consumption. The cold case investigative reports produced for each case became part of the investigative file and are confidential documents. The video PSAs were for public consumption and were designed to provide additional exposure to the cases with the hope of generating productive tips. Each project was carried in collaboration with local Crime Stoppers programs, law enforcement agencies, and coroner’s offices.     

Reading Rescue: A follow-up on effectiveness of an intervention for struggling readers

The authors examined whether Reading Rescue continues to be an effective literacy intervention and factors that impact its effectiveness. Data were collected on 143 first-grade students, tutored by 104 tutors at 38 schools. There was significant growth on all foundational skills (ps?ps?d?=?1.62 sight words, d?=?1.68 oral reading/comprehension). Student-level factors of Individualized Education Program status, program completion, number of session, and invented spelling; tutor-level factors of sessions delivered and years of experience; school level factors of school size and percentage of language minority students all predicted grade-level passage or word reading (all ps?2007 Ehri, L. C., Dreyer, L. G., Flugman, B., &; Gross, A. (2007). Reading rescue: An effective tutoring intervention model for language-minority students who are struggling readers in first grade. American Educational Research Journal, 44(2), 414–448.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) study. Efforts should focus on ensuring program completion and increasing program exposure in neediest schools.     

Power,Perceptions, and Relationships: A Model of Co-Teaching in Higher Education

Co-teaching has historically been used in K–12 education to provide students with disabilities access to general curriculum; therefore, much of the co-teaching literature has focused on the K–12 population. Research on collegiate co-teaching has been more limited and largely focused on the advantages and disadvantages of co-teaching, omitting important factors that affect relationships between partners. This qualitative study involved seven interviews of co-teachers of graduate and undergraduate classes in order to better understand interactions between college-level co-teaching dyads. Data analysis revealed themes of power and authority structures, dynamics of co-teaching relationships, and co-teachers' perceptions related to advantages of co-teaching, disadvantages of co-teaching, and student experiences. The researchers developed the Circular Model of Collegiate Co-Teaching, an original model to explain how these themes and subthemes are interrelated and affect each other. Specific best practices and new insights for collegiate co-teaching practice are discussed.     

A Behavioural Evaluation of Dance Instruction with Students Who Have Special Needs

A dance programme for a class of students with special needs was evaluated using a multiple baseline across behaviours design where the behaviours were movements representing aspects of the elements of dance: Space, Body Awareness, Relationships, Levels, Effort, Speed and Shape. Observational data showed that the instructional dance programme was successful in extending the variety of movements performed by the students and that the observational methodology designed for the study was a useful strategy for evaluating teaching in dance.     

Developing a smart classroom infrastructure to support real-time student collaboration and inquiry: a 4-year design study

Instructional Science - K-12 classroom settings are not yet incorporating emerging technologies such as ubiquitous computing, augmented reality, nor even touch surfaces, despite the significant...