Log jammed by standard assessment tests: how feedback can help writers

Standard assessment tests have been part of the literacy practice in English primary schools for many years. While educators point to the dangers of ‘teaching to the test’, politicians continue to believe that the best way of achieving accountability is by retaining league tables of these test results. Currently the curriculum is too readily restricted by what can be tested with little time allowed to stimulate children's imaginative thinking. This article looks critically at practice in an English junior school that has been in the top 9 per cent of performing schools and the effect on two Level 5 writers. The author offers a more complex approach for consideration, with herself as the teacher assessor concentrating on what is good in the writing as well as what is weak and offering interactive, followed by remedial, feedback to the writer.     

Foregrounding Intersectionality in Considerations of Diversity: Confronting Discrimination in Science Teacher Education

Research in Science Education - This paper contributes to a small but significant body of research addressing issues of prejudice in science education. It is written in the form of a critical...     

Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions for Preschoolers: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose: The purpose of the meta-analysis was to examine the effectiveness of physical activity interventions on physical activity participation among preschoolers. A secondary purpose was to investigate the influence of several possible moderator variables (e.g., intervention length, location, leadership, type) on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Method: Nine databases were systematically searched for physical activity interventions. Studies were included if they contained statistics necessary to compute an effect size (ES), were written in or translated into English, examined physical activity in preschoolers, incorporated a physical activity intervention, and targeted preschool-aged children. Fifteen studies satisfied these criteria. ESs were calculated using a random-effects model. Results: Results indicated that overall, interventions had a small-to-moderate effect on general physical activity (Hedges g = 0.44, p < .05, n = 73 ESs) and a moderate effect on MVPA (Hedges g = 0.51, p < .05, n = 39 ESs). The greatest effects for MVPA were identified for interventions that were less than 4 weeks in duration, were offered in an early-learning environment, were led by teachers, involved outdoor activity, and incorporated unstructured activity. Conclusions: This meta-analysis provides an overview and synthesis of physical activity interventions and highlights effective strategies for future interventions aimed at increasing physical activity levels among preschoolers.     

An action research strategy for selecting and conducting program evaluations

Program evaluation is part of the expanding role of the professional school psychologist. Existing strategies for program evaluation, however, are insufficient to meet the needs of school psychologists interested in evaluating school-related programs. The diversity of educational programs necessitates a more comprehensive, integrated, and flexible model. In the present paper, dimensions of program evaluation—target, purpose, and stage—relevant to school psychologists are described and defined, and then combined into a conceptual framework indicating 48 different types of program evaluation. The present model incorporates relevant aspects of existing program evaluation strategies and action research, affording practitioners a strategy for selecting and conducting program evaluations. Suggested steps for implementing the action research strategy, as well as a hypothetical example of its use, also are offered.     

Evidence-based health promotion in nursing homes: A pilot intervention to improve oral health

ABSTRACT

Nursing home residents over the age of 65 years are at high risk for poor oral health and related complications such as pneumonia and adverse diabetes outcomes. A preliminary study found that Massachusetts’ nursing homes generally lack the training and resources needed to provide adequate oral health care to residents. In this study, an intervention targeting Certified Nurses’ Aides (CNAs) was developed and tested. We hypothesized that following the training, CNAs would have increased knowledge and self-efficacy toward providing oral health care to the residents in their charge.

This pilot study used a one-group pretest-posttest design to test the effectiveness of a psycho-educational training intervention. Utilizing the constructs of knowledge and self-efficacy from the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Social Cognitive Theory, we framed the content of a training intervention and administered a 21-item instrument. The survey was distributed to the CNA staff of a single midsize nursing home immediately prior to and after the intervention. The 1-hour training intervention was empirically supported by formative data and delivered by dental faculty researchers.

Findings indicate increases in two areas of oral health knowledge: toothbrush position and frequency of brushing. Self-efficacy, however, did not significantly change. Although the results marginally supported our hypothesis, this pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of delivering interventions to CNAs who have direct responsibility for promoting the oral health of long-term care facility residents.     

A case analysis of knowledge sharing implementation and job searching in Malaysia

The aim of this research is to consider an analysis through case studies on how knowledge sharing may be successfully implemented. The study will clarify a conceptualisation that provides a new understanding of the relationship between unemployed graduates and the human capital concept. The cases adopted web documentation for the research technique, and an interpretive approach was used as the research paradigm. Two online recruitment agency sites were analysed through qualitative analysis. The connections show how knowledge sharing can be used as a medium to help unemployed graduates to get jobs through online recruitment agencies. High quality candidates must have good soft skills, problem-solving skills and employable value added skills to get the best jobs. The findings will be expressed as qualitative results from the two online recruitment agencies researched as the case studies for the paper. From these case studies, the findings will contribute to the ongoing study on how to implement knowledge sharing among undergraduates after they finished their studies.     

俚语和成语,让你走出英语学习的黑暗

[接上期]Should Teachers Teach Naughty Words?After years of presenting to numerous teachers and leading discussion groups, I have found that the vast majority of teachers feel that familiarizing students with slang, idioms and even some vulgarities is much more desirable than having students pick up this type of language haphazardly on the street.     

俚语和成语.让你走出英语学习的黑暗

We don't use that much slang…or do we? When I was working out at the gym with a French friend of mine, Pascale, a friend of his came up and enthusiastically inquired, "What's up?"Pascale paused a moment, took a step backward and looked up, checking out the ceiling.     

Pushing the boundaries of interaction in videoconferencing: A dialogical approach

Building on experiences with a group of Masters students in 1994, videoconferencing was used the following year to enhance delivery to distance education students in Hong Kong. Following six weeks intensive study on‐campus in Brisbane, students returned to their base in Hong Kong and were connected to their fellow students in Brisbane via videoconference. Employing a dialogical approach, the lecturers used these sessions to push the boundaries of videoconferencing for interactive higher order discussions.     

Serving our colleagues: reference and history of medicine services from the National Library of Medicine

Most biomedical librarians are frequent users of the major online services provided by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. These services include MEDLINE/PubMed, MedlinePlus, ClinicalTrials.gov, PubMed Central, document delivery, and other key biomedical resources. This article highlights less well-known services from reference, to historical information, to training and other services which librarians may not be aware the NLM offers to them. NLM encourages librarians to consider that NLM's unique and unsurpassed collection can help when local resources may be too limited to serve the needs of their patrons. doi:10.1300/J115v26n01_07.