Re-Culturing Educator Preparation Programs: A Collaborative Case Study of Continuous Improvement

Teacher educators at one institution of higher education collaborated to reculture systems for a focus on continuous improvement even within mounting accountability pressures. A framework of social network theory allowed for themes to develop around layered interactions of faculty, processes, and professional capital. Findings focused on people, groups, and systems for sustaining a culture of continuous improvement.     

The role of school psychology in preventing depression

To advance the role of school psychologists in mental health prevention and wellness activities, in this article we describe (a) a social ecological theory for guiding school‐based prevention research, (b) the role of schools in the development and prevention of depression, (c) a continuum of school‐based support for meeting the needs of children who are currently depressed for preventing future internalizing distress for all children, and (d) social and political factors that must be considered if lasting change is to occur. We conclude with specific considerations for school psychologists. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 763–775, 2004.     

A meta‐analysis of national research: Effects of teaching strategies on student achievement in science in the United States

This project consisted of a meta‐analysis of U.S. research published from 1980 to 2004 on the effect of specific science teaching strategies on student achievement. The six phases of the project included study acquisition, study coding, determination of intercoder objectivity, establishing criteria for inclusion of studies, computation of effect sizes for statistical analysis, and conducting the analyses. Studies were required to have been carried out in the United States, been experimental or quasi‐experimental, and must have included effect size or the statistics necessary to calculate effect size. Sixty‐one studies met the criteria for inclusion in the meta‐analysis. The following eight categories of teaching strategies were revealed during analysis of the studies (effect sizes in parentheses): Questioning Strategies (0.74); Manipulation Strategies (0.57); Enhanced Material Strategies (0.29); Assessment Strategies (0.51); Inquiry Strategies (0.65); Enhanced Context Strategies (1.48); Instructional Technology (IT) Strategies (0.48); and Collaborative Learning Strategies (0.95). All these effect sizes were judged to be significant. Regression analysis revealed that internal validity was influenced by Publication Type, Type of Study, and Test Type. External validity was not influenced by Publication Year, Grade Level, Test Content, or Treatment Categories. The major implication of this research is that we have generated empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of alternative teaching strategies in science. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1436–1460, 2007     

Basic art materials

All children enjoy using crayons, chalk and clay, especially during the cold winter months when they may be confined indoors. These basic art materials can be expensive, so why not take the time to make your own. With careful supervision, even young children can help with the measuring, stirring and kneading ... and what fun you'll have together, while they are learning about math, science, colors, textures and so forth, and developing their small muscle coordination too. The following pages provide recipes for making these basic art materials, as well as creative projects to keep kids productively busy and happy for hours! Carolyn Haas is co-author of the new book Purple Cow to the Rescuepublished by Little, Brown and Co., as well as many other creative activity books for parents, teachers, and children. These activities are excerpted from the book Recipes For Fun and Learningby Carolyn Haas, Ann Cole, and Betty Weinberger, CBH Publishing, Box 236-D, Glencoe, IL 60022. For a copy of the book, send $4.95 plus $1.00 for postage and handling to the above address.     

Recipes for fun

Summertime means hours of outdoor play! Children of all ages will enjoy these games and nature activities whether in their own backyards or at a playground, or a nearby park or forest preserve. Ann Cole and Carolyn Haas are parenting consultants and the authors ofI saw a Purple Cow, Pumpkin in a Pear Tree andChildren are Children are Children (all Little, Brown & Co.), as well as theRecipes For Fun books (each $2.50 from PAR, 464 Central, Northfield, II. 60093). Their newest book isThe Big Book of Recipes For Fun (from PAR, $12.98 plus 1.00 postage and handling).     

Shifting the paradigm: The use of creativity in career counseling

Conclusion To summarize, the techniques provided were intended to serve as a springboard for career counselors to employ creative strategies in their work. There also are important individual difference variables in career counselors that would make some of these techniques more desirable than others. It seems critical to explore different ways of being creative in our work in order to ensure that students develop an interest in vocational counseling and clients receive excellent services.As surveys of counselors as well as clients continue to show a dissatisfaction with career counseling it seems imperative that we investigate dynamic new ways of helping our clients think about their life/ career planning. As we model creativity in our own lives and practice, our clients will vicariously experience people who are truly excited about their occupational employment. This alone may assist career clients in achieving their dreams and maximizing their creative potentials.     

Policy-to-practice context to the delays and difficulties in the acquisition of speech,language and communication in the early years

The aim was to investigate the policy-to-practice context of delays and difficulties in the acquisition of speech, language and communication (SLC) in children from birth to five in one local authority within the context of Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model. Methods included a survey of early years practitioners (64 responses), interviews with 11 early years practitioners and observations of 9 children in the context of their early years settings. Policy texts revealed a growing consensus on the importance of early learning and development, the centrality of language and early intervention. Practitioner survey and interview findings indicated confident practice in relation to early identification, assessment and support, despite minimal initial professional training in SLC and virtually none for children with English as an additional language. Greater use of specialist assessment tools and alternative communication systems was made in specialist than mainstream settings. Observation showed considerable variation in the organisation of staff, groups, activities and interactional patterns with more targeted, short and intensive adult-led activity in special settings that led to less child-initiated interactions and private ‘self-talk’, characteristic of large-group free play of mainstream settings. Challenges and opportunities of generalist and specialist provision are discussed.     

Students' Perceptions of Literacy Assessment

Students' perceptions of literacy assessment processes and practices were investigated in two year long case studies undertaken in two English classrooms in two state high schools in Queensland, Australia. A range of qualitative data techniques was used to collect information related to students' previous experiences of assessment in primary school, students' responses to the first and last literacy assessment task of the school year, and their perceptions of assessment at the end of the year. The study showed that students' attitudes, beliefs, practices and understandings about assessment varied both within and across student groups and differences in students' accounts were evident both at the start and end of the school year. The findings highlight the role that students play in actively constructing knowledge about literacy assessment through their prior and current experiences with assessment tasks, and in their interactions with each other.