A Quasi-Experiment Examining Expressive and Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge of Preschool Head Start Children Using Mobile Media Apps

This study examined the efficacy of using different types of mobile media apps to increase the receptive and expressive vocabulary development of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old preschool children living in economically disadvantaged communities. Children and teachers in four Head Start classrooms participated in the quasi-experimental study, which included an 8-week intervention in which the children interacted with one of two types of apps: one classroom used four scaffolding-like vocabulary apps for an average of 1.8 h per day (n?=?16) and one classroom used four open-ended vocabulary apps for an average of 1.3 h per day (n?=?15). Two classrooms served as comparison groups (n?=?18; n?=?14) which used apps that were chosen by the Head Start program with no specific instructional method for approximately 1 h per day. Children’s vocabulary was assessed pre- and post-intervention using the PPVT-4, the EVT-2, and iPad Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Assessments. Using a repeated measures analysis of variance with split plot analysis, children who used scaffolding-like vocabulary apps performed statistically significantly higher on the PPVT-4 than children who used open-ended vocabulary apps. There were no significant differences between groups on the EVT-2. The study contributed to the literature on teacher instruction of utilizing scaffolding-like apps to increase preschool vocabulary knowledge.     

The construction of abstract units in geometric and numeric settings

The main thesis of this paper is that the construction and coordination of abstract units is central to mathematical activity in both numerical and geometric settings. Data were gathered from students in grade three through six, with four students being observed over a three year period. A consistent parallel was found in the sophistication of the types of units constructed in a geometric setting (tiling the plane) with their numeric activity. The tiling activity of the students was analyzed for evidence of the construction and coordination of units. Some students constructed rather sophisticated abstract composite units to facilitate their tiling with a particular shape while others had difficulty making a covering. Students who constructed abstract composite units in tiling did so also in adding and subtracting whole numbers. Evidence of unitizing and coordinating the units constructed was associated with advances in mathematical thinking. Unitizing seems to be a fundamental mental operation in coming to act mathematically. As mathematics activities are planned, it is important to provide opportunities for students to construct abstract composite units in both geometric and numeric settings. Emphasis on prescribed procedures such as subtracting with two-digit numerals may inhibit this construction process.     

Perceptions of the Value of Quality Assessment in Scottish Higher Education

The 1992–93 session in Scottish universities saw the introduction of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council's (SHEFC) statutory requirement to introduce quality assessments of teaching and learning. This paper looks at some of the issues that have arisen from the experience of staff at Napier University in terms of being assessed. It focuses on the issues that have arisen from the first and second round of visits to institutions. The key questions and problems associated with the process are considered in the context of the following headings: (1) defining quality; (2) the role of the lead assessor; (3) the framework for the visit; (4) the role of the student; (5) the quality of the reports; (6) the cost benefit analysis. SHEFC's stated aims for assessment are evaluated in the light of the above.     

Reframing ‘well-being’ in schools: the potential of recognition

In Australia and internationally, the well-being of children and young people is a core focus of social policy, with a growing imperative to locate well-being within the sphere of education. However, the term ‘well-being’ remains ambiguous and the implementation of educational approaches to promote and improve it appears fragmented and ad hoc. In Australia, little is known about how well-being is understood and supported in schools, particularly from the perspective of students themselves. This article reports on key findings from an ambitious mixed-methods study funded by the Australian Research Council that investigated conceptualisations and practices around well-being in schools. Underpinned by theoretical interests linked to Childhood Studies and recognition theory, the research investigated policy, student and staff perspectives on well-being. The findings point to the key role of relationships, providing considerable scope for analysing the salience of Honneth’s modes of recognition for well-being in schools.     

Learning to Learn to Teach: An ``Experiment' Model for Teaching and Teacher Preparation in Mathematics

This paper describes a model for generating andaccumulating knowledge for both teaching andteacher education. The model is applied firstto prepare prospective teachers to learn toteach mathematics when they enter theclassroom. The concept of treating lessons asexperiments is used to explicate theintentional, rigorous, and systematic processof learning to teach through studying one's ownpractice. The concept of planning teachingexperiences so that others can learn fromone's experience is used to put into practicethe notion of contributing to a sharedprofessional knowledge base for teachingmathematics. The same model is then applied tothe work of improving teacher preparationprograms in mathematics. Parallels are drawnbetween the concepts emphasized for prospectiveteachers and those that are employed byinstructors who study and improve teacherpreparation experiences. In this way, parallelsalso are seen in the processes used to generatean accumulating knowledge base for teaching andfor teacher education.     

Interaction between conflicting memories in the rat: Contextual pretest cuing reverses control of behavior by testing context

Two experiments were run in order to investigate the influence of external contextual cues on the interaction between two conflicting memories. Rats were trained, in the same apparatus, on a passive-avoidance task and, 10 min later, on an active-avoidance task, then submitted to a 24-h delayed test (without reinforcement). When contextual cues remained unchanged throughout these three phases, the animals exhibited proactive interference, as shown by longer response latencies than those of control animals that had learned only the active-avoidance task (Experiment 1). When training contexts were made slightly different from one task to the other (by the presence of a continuous tone during either the first or the second task), the animals behaved at subsequent testing in accordance with the response contingencies present in the context exactly similar to the test context; this control of behavior by testing context was demonstrated both when the tone was absent (Experiments 1 and 2) and present (Experiment 2) at testing. A cuing procedure—a 90-sec exposure to the tone in the experimental room 5 min prior to testing—led the animals to behave in accordance with the response previously acquired in the presence of the tone (Experiments 1 and 2), exactly in the same way as animals tested in the presence of the tone (Experiment 2). The same cuing treatment was ineffective when administered 1 h before testing (Experiment 2). These results are interpreted in terms of a dual function of contextual cues at the time of retrieval: the general contextual information present during testing or during pretest cuing is assumed to induce concurrent reactivation of both memories. Consequently, the experimentally manipulated contextual cue (the tone) would have a discriminative function, leading the animals to choose between the two equally available representations.     

Argument and Authority in the Visual Representations of Science

The focus of workplace communication research on visual rhetoric has tended to be the efficient and unproblematically “effective” functioning of visual texts. By suggesting ways in which the visual representations of science are construed by expert readers, this article responds to a call within our discipline for more critically focused contributions to the study of visual literacy. A former editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Botany was asked to explain his interpretation of visuals appearing over an 80-year period in that journal; his responses illustrate how visual explanations testify to their creators' authority and how, once established, such authority actuates the rational arguments of science. Rhetorical appeals within and arrangement of visual texts are considered, as is the persuasive power of legends and captions.     

Taking care of youth mentoring relationships: red flags,repair, and respectful resolution

Mentoring is portrayed in the literature as benefiting young people, but ineffective or early termination of youth mentoring relationships can be detrimental. Researchers have not adequately explored issues surrounding the breakdown of youth mentoring relationships. Underpinned by a socio-ecological perspective, in this exploratory study we consider the various contexts within which these important relationships exist and identify early warning signs or red flags that a mentoring relationship is struggling. We interviewed mentees, mentors, and coordinators from four Western Australian youth mentoring programs about their experiences of mentoring relationships. Our findings suggest that red flags and repair strategies may be specific to particular programs, and that program coordinators play an important role in supporting relationships. Our research will help youth mentoring programs work toward early intervention strategies or appropriate and respectful termination of a relationship.