Using Consulting for Teaching Elementary Statistics

Consulting in statistics is usually deferred until at least near the end of a first degree, but this article shows how some aspects can be effectively taught to students in upper secondary or early tertiary courses in a way which reinforces their learning of standard basic concepts. We suggest that the existence of a real client adds a degree of realism not available in other ways, and emphasizes to students the importance of blending statistical calculations with meaningful communication.     

Visual stress theory and its application to reading and reading tests

This paper presents a theory of visual stress. The theory is applied to the assessment of symptoms of visual stress and its treatment with coloured filters. The theory has implications for standard reading assessments that relate both to the visual skills and the age of the children taking the tests. These implications are reviewed, with the conclusion that insufficient attention is paid to visual factors in reading, particularly in the design of reading tests.     

Consistent occupational preferences and academic adjustment

This study explored the differences in academic adjustment variables between students who made congruent, incongruent, and undecided college major choices. The academic adjustment variables were operationally defined by the College Inventory of Academic Adjustment. Congruent, incongruent, and undecided college major choice groups were defined operationally using the Vocational Preference Inventory. The analysis of variance revealed the main effect of groups (congruent, incongruent, and undecided) to be significant for two academic adjustment variables. The test for the main effect of sex was found to be significant for one adjustment variable. The test for interaction was found to be significant for one variable. The findings suggest that students in the congruent female and male groups tend to be more academically adjusted than students in the undecided male group.     

The effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems on K-12 students' reading comprehension: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of improving reading comprehension for students in K-12 classrooms using intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs), a computer-based learning environment that provides customizable and immediate feedback to the learner. Nineteen studies from 13 publications incorporating approximately 10 000 students were included in the final analysis; using robust variance estimation to account for statistical dependencies, the 19 studies yielded 88 effect size estimates. The meta-analysis indicated that the overall random effect size of ITSs on reading comprehension was 0.60 (using a mix of standardized and researcher-designed measures) with a 95% confidence interval 0.36 to 0.85 (p < 0.001). This review confirms previous studies comparing ITSs to human tutoring: ITSs produced a small effect size when compared to human tutoring (0.20, 0.02–0.38, p = 0.036, n = 21). All comparisons to human tutoring used standardized measures. This review also found that ITSs produced a larger effect size on reading comprehension when compared to traditional instruction (0.86) for mixed measures and (0.26) for standardized measures. These findings may be of interest to practitioners and policy makers seeking to improve reading comprehension using consistent and accessible ITSs. Recommendations for researchers include conducting studies to understand the difference between traditional and updated versions of ITSs and employing valid and reliable standardized tests and researcher-designed measures.     

The influence of price on school enrollment under Uganda's policy of free primary education

This study uses household survey data to estimate determinants of schooling in Uganda, with a model that includes the price of school. Uganda's universal education policy offered free tuition, fees, and supplies to up to four children per family, including two daughters. The empirical method includes an estimation of a child-specific price of schooling. Despite widespread subsidies, the cost of primary school remained an obstacle under this policy, but the effects of price were similar for boys and girls. Regressions by wealth quintile estimate nonlinear effects of wealth and price, suggesting that there are opportunities to expand education through targeted cash transfer and subsidy policies.     

Longitudinal links between spanking and children's externalizing behaviors in a national sample of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American families

This study examined whether the longitudinal links between mothers' use of spanking and children's externalizing behaviors are moderated by family race/ethnicity, as would be predicted by cultural normativeness theory, once mean differences in frequency of use are controlled. A nationally representative sample of White, Black, Hispanic, and Asian American families (n = 11,044) was used to test a cross-lagged path model from 5 to 8 years old. While race/ethnic differences were observed in the frequency of spanking, no differences were found in the associations of spanking and externalizing over time: Early spanking predicted increases in children's externalizing while early child externalizing elicited more spanking over time across all race/ethnic groups.     

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.     

Developing a national information policy—considerations for developing countries

Information and information technology developments are influencing the economies of many countries. Information needs to be made available and accessible in countries for industrial, educational and governmental purposes. Information is also an asset of unpredictable value. For these reasons, governments should acknowledge and value the relevance of such information, and therefore address it through national policies. Many countries have developed national information policies which reflect the values that governments attach to the access to and the availability of information in their countries. The most important influences on the development of a national information policy are based on the country's socio-political circumstances. Developing countries are advised to focus attention in their national information policies on aspects concerning socio-economic development, the application of information and access to information.     

Motion Pictures

The American Film Institute Guide to College Courses in Film and Television (Washington, D.C.: Acropolis. Books, 1973—$5.95, paper)

Joseph McBride, Orson Welles (192 pp.)

Colin McArthur, Underworld USA (176 pp.)

Alan Lovell and Jim Hillier, Studies in Documentary (176 pp.)

Joel E. Siegel, Val Lewton: the Reality of Terror (176 pp.)

Arnold Gassan's A Chronology of Photography (Light Impressions, Box 3012, Rochester, N.Y. 14614, 1972—$10.50/ 7.95)     

General Media and Society

Atwan, Robert, Barry Orton, and Alliam Vesterman. American Mass Media: Industries and Issues (New York: Random House, 1978—$8.95, paper)

Dennis, Everette E., Arnold H. Ismach, and Donald M. Gillmor, eds. Enduring Issues in Mass Communication (St. Paul, Minn.: West P.' _fishing Co., 1978—price not given, paper)

White, David Manning, and John Pendleton, eds. Popular Culture: Mirror of American Life (Del Mar, Calif.: Publisher's Inc., 1977—$11.95/6.25)

Charlene J. Brown, Trevor R. Brown, and William L. Rivers' The Media and the People (New York: Holt, Rinehart a Winston, 1978 —price not given, paper)

Malcolm Muggeridge's Christ and the Media (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977— $5.95)