Self-regulated strategy development in writing: Going beyond NLEs to a more balanced approach

In this article, we present an argument for consideration by those researching and promoting new learning environments (NLEs). We believe advocates of NLEs should consider the literature and research base indicating effective instruction is not based on a forced dichotomy between theoretical perspectives, but rather a thoughtful, pragmatic blending of practices based on evidence gained from various perspectives and lines of research. While unguided or minimally guided instructional approaches are popular and intuitively appealing, these approaches ignore substantial evidence indicating these approaches are less effective and less efficient than instructional approaches that incorporate guidance of the learning process that is faded as internal guidance is developed (Kirschner et al., Educ Psychol 41:75–86, 2006). We illustrate how integrating evidence from multiple theoretical perspectives leads to the development of more powerful approaches to learning and instruction through a review of the premises, evolution, and research behind Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) in the area of writing.     

Reflections on religious nationalism,conflict and schooling in developing democracies: India and Israel in comparative perspective

This article explores the relationship between the propagation of religious nationalist citizenship discourses in classrooms and inter‐religious conflict in the context of two developing democracies, India and Israel. The author concludes that students schooled in religious nationalist ideology in developing nations are at greater risk of accepting exclusionary citizenship discourses without adequate critical analyses of their implications due to poor nations' tendencies toward teacher‐centred and textbook‐based instruction that neglects the development of critical thinking faculties. The acceptance of these ideologies appears to be correlated with an increase in inter‐religious conflict, social destabilization and the subversion of democracy. The corruption of democratic ideals by religiously motivated citizenship discourses has however been partially offset by the power of the vote and other structures inherent in democracy.     

Touch your toes! Developing a direct measure of behavioral regulation in early childhood

Behavioral aspects of self-regulation, including controlling and directing actions, paying attention, and remembering instructions, are critical for successful functioning in preschool and elementary school. In recent years, several direct assessments of these skills have appeared, but few studies provide complete psychometric data and many are not easy to administer. We developed a direct measure of children's behavioral regulation, the Head-to-Toes Task, and report performance of participants aged 36–78 months, including a group of Spanish-speaking children, from two different sites (N = 353; N = 92). We examined construct validity, examiner reliability, sources of variation, and associations between task scores and background characteristics. Results showed that the task was valid, reliable, and demonstrated variability in children's scores. A cross-classified hierarchical growth curve analysis indicated that girls, participants assessed in English, and higher-socioeconomic status (SES) children achieved slightly higher average scores than did boys, Spanish-speaking and lower-SES children, but effect sizes were small. Older participants achieved higher scores than did younger children, and there were no effects for site. Results suggest that the Head-to-Toes Task is an informative and easy-to-administer direct assessment of children's behavioral regulation. We discuss implications for its use in early childhood settings.     

Do allegations of emotional maltreatment predict developmental outcomes beyond that of other forms of maltreatment?

OBJECTIVES: To understand the features of child abuse/neglect (CA/N) allegations in cases with emotional maltreatment (EMT) allegations, as well as the features of the EMT allegations themselves, and to describe any associations of EMT with distinct impairments of children's behavior, emotion and functioning. METHOD: The sample consisted of 806 high-risk children, 545 with one or more maltreatment reports to CPS. The Maltreatment Classification System was used to record the number and severity levels of maltreatment allegations, which compared cases with and without EMT. Multiple regression analyses were conducted using 10 outcome scales from the Child Behavior Checklist, Vineland Screener, and Trauma Symptom Checklist. Successive blocks of predictor variables included demographics, maltreatment classification variables, maternal and family characteristics, and study site. RESULTS: When there were allegations of EMT as well as CA/N in a CPS case-record (by age 8), the CA/N allegations tended to be either more frequent or less severe than those kinds of allegations in cases without EMT. When neglect was alleged to occur with EMT, neglect allegations outnumbered allegations of EMT. However, when sexual abuse allegations were accompanied by EMT allegations, there were more EMT allegations than sexual abuse allegations in the cases. Higher severity ratings for EMT allegations than for physical abuse occurred when cases included any abuse. Distinctive effects of EMT subtypes were found between problems of safety/restriction and self-reported anger symptoms, and between problems of self-esteem/autonomy and posttraumatic stress. CONCLUSION: Differences exist between the CA/N allegations in cases with and without EMT. Having few cases containing only EMT allegations made it difficult to assess distinctive harm associated with EMT. Certain types of EMT allegations were associated with increases in children's anger and posttraumatic stress.     

创造非存在物初探

本文假定有些对象(例如福尔摩斯)是不存在的.关于这些对象,人们是应该采取实在论的立场,还是反实在论的立场呢?根据实在论,一个包含非存在对象的可能世界的域与该可能世界上的存在对象具有什么性质、做出什么行为无关;根据非实在论,一个包含非存在对象的可能世界的域依赖于该可能世界上的存在对象具有什么性质、做出什么行为.这里的分歧在于,非存在对象出现在(一个世界的)量化/指称域中是否依赖于(在该世界中)存在对象具有哪些性质,特别地,比如是否依赖于能够讲述故事的情感生物的行为?在<走向非存在>(牛津大学出版社,2005)一书中,我给出了一种内涵语言的语义学,以实在论的方式来处理非存在对象.本文旨在提供一种非实在论的语义学,以非实在论的方式来处理非存在对象.实在论解释是定域的,与此不同,非实在论解释是变域的.在非实在论语义下,关于非存在对象的非实在论直觉可被尊重,这主要体现在对非存在对象和存在对象之间的"依存"关系的分析.关于非存在对象,本文和<走向非存在>分别以非实在论和实在论的方式来处理,这使进一步的比较和选择工作成为可能.     

Quantum pharmacology

Quantum chemistry is based on the solution of the Schrödinger equation for a molecule. From starting data on the positions and nature of constituent atoms information is provided about the energy of the molecule and its electronic properties. The former can indicate what shapes drugs can adopt in binding to pharmacological receptors whilst electronic details, when compared using computer graphics, may highlight the factors responsible for biological activity. These techniques are beginning to show real successes in the design of drug molecules.     

Patterns of Nonverbal Adaptation in Supportive Interactions

This study seeks initial evidence for the patterns of nonverbal adaptation predictive of emotional improvement after a troubles talk conversation. A total of 128 dyads composed of two unacquainted individuals engaged in a 5-minute conversation about a stressful event, and the nonverbal behaviors of both the supportive listener and discloser were coded for immediacy. We detected a general pattern of matching between interlocutors, which was positively associated with disclosers’ reported emotional improvement above and beyond listener immediacy. Importantly, we found primary support for a discloser-matching model whereby emotional improvement is a function of disclosers matching highly immediate listeners but no support for a listener-matching model whereby emotional improvement is a function of listeners matching disclosers to signal empathy.     

Improving Dean's writing: or,what shall we tell the children?

In this paper Graham Frater finds early signs of a revival of explicit instruction in English grammar to pupils of compulsory school age in England; this is accompanied by an expectation that such teaching might play an important part in closing the ‘writing gap’. He suggests that, strengthened by the National Literacy Strategy, this early re‐awakening invokes again some of the debates that accompanied the construction of the National Curriculum. Rooted in a case study of a text by a low‐achieving Y7 writer, and in two surveys of effective practice with writing (covering Key Stages 2–4), this paper argues that purposeful text‐level teaching, reading in particular, and the creation of real readerships offer more secure ways of promoting progress in writing.