An Aging Game Simulation Activity for Allied Health Students

The Aging Game, a simulation activity, has been used successfully with medical students in the development of empathetic attitudes toward older adults. To date, the Aging Game has not been used extensively with allied health students. It has been viewed as too costly, time-consuming and labor-intensive. The purpose of this study was to examine the administrative feasibility of implementing a modified version of the Aging Game for use with allied health students. The study showed that the Aging Game can be easily modified for use with allied health students, and it can deliver positive results for improving empathetic attitudes toward older adults.     

Field-Based Evaluation of Two-Tiered Instruction for Enhancing Kindergarten Phonological Awareness

Research Findings: This study reports on the outcomes of a multisite, two-tiered, response-to-intervention instructional model for delivering phonological awareness instruction and intervention to kindergartners. Fifty-seven kindergartners from 3 classrooms participated in a supplemental phonological awareness program, and 56 kindergartners from 3 classrooms received the prevailing school-adopted literacy curriculum. All children in the supplemental condition received supplemental classroom-based phonological awareness instruction in addition to the adopted literacy curriculum. At mid-year, 6 low literacy achievers were identified in each supplemental classroom (n = 18) to participate in an additional 12-week small-group intervention. The classroom-based supplemental curriculum did not produce statistically significant gains for typically achieving children on measures of letter–sound knowledge, word recognition, or developmental spelling. However, an add-on tier of supplemental instruction exerted a substantial advantage for low-achieving children on a measure of developmental spelling. Practice or Policy: Results suggest that a 2-tiered intervention model provides an effective means for improving the literacy outcomes of low-achieving kindergarten children.     

Technical Communication Teachers as Mentors in the Classroom: Extending an Invitation to Students

In this article, we argue that mentoring of technical communication students must occur within the classroom. In our survey of students, we found that most students felt they had not been mentored. In our ethnography, we found that although students could define the term “mentor”, many were conflicted about its value. This confusion made students less likely to seek out or recognize mentoring opportunities. Students recognized mentoring practices that teachers implemented; however, they did not necessarily identify those practices as “mentoring”. We conclude that confusion arose from students' ambiguous views about mentoring and the lack of standard mentoring practices in the humanities. Therefore, teachers who intend to mentor in the classroom must (a) be more explicit in implementing elements that distinguish mentoring from teaching (e.g., intent and involvement), (b) extend an invitation to students to be mentored, and (c) help students develop a professional identity.     

Improving the Human Condition: Leadership for Justice-Oriented Service-Learning

The Banneker History Project (BHP) reconstructed the history of the Benjamin Banneker School, which operated as a segregated school for African Americans from 1915 to 1951. It was a project in social justice education with community service as its base. Here, the authors provide an insider perspective of group dynamics among core leaders for the BHP. Building relationships, working for social justice, and confronting racism are key themes for the group. Leaders recall moments of discomfort, particularly related to issues of race and racism, and describe ways they worked through them. Based on their wisdom of practice, authors offer suggestions for those who might do similar work.     

Mentoring the mentors: student teachers' contributions to the middle school classroom

This study presents three case studies of teacher candidates in a Masters in Teaching (MIT) Program who interned in a well‐established middle school Professional Development School (PDS) in Washington State. Each of the three portraits reveals how student teachers can positively influence the learning outcomes of middle school students by bringing intellectual excitement and teaching renewal into the literacy classrooms of mentor teachers. Teacher interviews, teacher candidate reflections, and observations document the strengths brought to the classroom by teacher candidates, as well as the challenges they and their mentor teachers faced. The researchers conclude that flexibility and openness to learning on the part of mentor teachers are conditions that provide optimal support to teacher candidates and increase the opportunities for learning to occur for both mentor and mentee. This study also investigates outcomes for mentor teachers involved in collaborative inquiry with student teachers during an internship within the larger context of a partnership with education faculty at a university. The intention was to extend preliminary research by exploring more deeply the potential benefits of collaborative inquiry for the mentor teachers involved in partnership with a university.     

Change trajectories for parent-child interaction sequences during parent-child interaction therapy for child physical abuse

ObjectiveParent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) has been found to reduce future child abuse reports among physically abusive parents. Reductions in observed negative parenting behaviors mediated this benefit. The current study examined session-by-session interaction sequences in order to identify when during treatment these changes occur and how much the trajectory varies from case-to-case.MethodSession-by-session parent-child interaction sequences, using the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System-II (DPICS-II) categories, were coded for 22 child welfare involved parent-child dyads undergoing PCIT for child physical abuse. A total 5,436 interactions across PCIT were coded and analyzed using growth curve analysis.ResultsAt pre-treatment baseline, negative and positive parental responses were about equally likely to follow a child positive behavior. This pattern changed rapidly during PCIT, with rapid increases in positive parental responses and decreases in negative parental responses to appropriate child behavior. A quadratic growth pattern accounted for 70% of observed variance and virtually all change occurred during the first three sessions.ConclusionChanges in observed abusive parent-abused child interaction patterns can occur early in PCIT, a parenting intervention that involves direct coaching and practice of skills. These benefits sustained throughout treatment.Practice implicationPrior to receiving behavioral parent training (PCIT), parents who have physically abused their children failed to match their parental response to their children's behavior. This pattern of interaction improved rapidly and substantially during the first three sessions of PCIT. The changes in the patterns of interaction also remained relatively stable for the remainder of treatment while parents continued to practice positive parental responses as well as began practicing effective discipline techniques. This suggests that use of immediate parent feedback through coaching, explicit directions to parents in how to respond to child behavior, and customization of the application of skills to the problems that arise in session are important components to effective parenting programs with physically abusive parents. Targeting these behaviors with PCIT has been found to reduce rates of recidivism, further supporting clinical application of PCIT in these cases.     

Perspectives of elders in thriving marriages on why their marriages thrive

Lengthy lifespans prompt research on how aging adults thrive in their marriages. This qualitative research study explored the perspectives of 14 elder couples nominated as thriving in their marriages. The 28 participants, living in the United States, ranged in age from 70 to 89. Twelve couples were in first marriages that ranged from 43–67 years. Two couples were in second marriages for 27 and 29 years. The participant group was diverse in race, ethnicity, religion, and birthplace but not in socio-economic-status and formal education level. Together the two researchers, also over 70, conducted two interviews with each couple, also together, in the two-year study. The in-depth, semi-structured interviews were the major source of data; secondary sources were a values-ranking inventory, a self-anchoring scale activity, an exercise on findings from other studies, and two small focus group discussions. The findings were: a) thriving couples experienced significant and pervasive in-depth love, b) shared extensive commonalities, c) teamed mutually, d) solved problems and confronted challenges well, d) welcomed caring gestures and expressions of appreciation, and e) valued physical affection and sexual intimacy. The insights and advice shared could benefit not only married elder couples, but also single elders in their social relationships, couples considering marriage, and those who work with elders in hospitals, healthcare facilities, and counseling services.     

远望(英文)

Just look beyond today for blessings,Look past the skies of somber grey,And look beyond the trials and heartaches When God will turn your night to day.Dear one, just trust Him in the shadow.He wants the very best for you.