Mechanisms of the relation between perinatal problems, early childhood illness, and psychopathology in late childhood and adolescence

Data on perinatal and early childhood somatic and psychological risk factors of a random sample of children were gathered in early to middle childhood and employed to examine the long-term risk of emotional and behavioral problems of late childhood and adolescence. 3 issues were addressed: First, can syndromic specificity of such effects be identified on scaled and diagnostic measures of syndromes? Second, are these effects attributable to excess risk of low-income children for both perinatal and later childhood problems? Third, are the intervening mechanisms identifiable as intellectual impairment, vulnerability to poor health, poor maternal caretaking, maternal rejection, or maternal stress associated with marital problems? Findings indicated that elevated risk was present for all syndromes, both at the scale level and at the diagnostic level. None of the examined intervening mechanisms fully accounted for the effects of early risks.     

Using micros for test development

Conclusion Which is the better choice: general item bank software or a word processor program? Your answer is dependent upon your computer skills, the amount of test development work you do, and the nature of investment your school is willing to make for software. Both have their relative strengths and weaknesses. The trade-offs between the two approaches are real, important, and in time will probably favor the item bank software. At the moment, however, we recommend a good word processing program for most teachers. What can you expect the future to bring? At a minimum, test preparation options will continue to expand and improve. We suggested earlier that the technology is changing rapidly. For example even now you can place a printed copy of test items into an optical character recognition (OCR) scanner (similar to a photocopy machine) and read the items into a digital form which either a word processor or a test generator can use. Instead of having to type your collection of test items before selecting, editing, and printing them, the computer will read them from the paper. This new scanning technology, unfortunately, requires expensive software, powerful microcomputers, and the scanner itself costs over $1000. In addition, the accuracy of the character recognition is not perfect—especially with less than the ideal printed copy from which to work. It will be years before most of us have ready access to this technology. Even better options will be available, however, don’t wait for the next major breakthrough. There will always be another breakthrough on the horizon. You can start improving your test development process now     

Reflective peer coaching: Crafting collaborative self-assessment in teaching

Reflective peer coaching is a formative model for improving teaching and learning by examining intentions prior to teaching, then reflecting upon the experience. The goal of reflective peer coaching is to promote self-assessment and collaboration for better teaching and ultimately better learning. There are obvious benefits to colleagues collaborating and sharing ideas, thoughts, and observations. However, many models of assessing teaching effectiveness focus on summative evaluation in which colleagues observe each other once or twice a year and fill out institutional evaluation forms. Rarely do colleagues engage in formative conversations about teaching that are guided by the instructor's personal goals and objectives. Reflective peer coaching necessitates a ten-minute planning conversation prior to the actual lesson and a ten-minute reflective conversation after the lesson. These conversations happen regularly and frequently to build self-awareness and self-assessment of the personal craft of teaching. The following article outlines the dynamics of the reflective peer coaching process as a formative assessment model that leads to better learning through improved teaching.