Using Teleconsultation to Develop Independent Skills of School-Based Behavior Teams in Functional Behavior Assessment

ABSTRACT

The Iowa Department of Education (DE) has a history of partnering with the Biobehavioral Service (BBS) at the Center for Disabilities and Development to consult with educational teams in Iowa schools regarding students exhibiting challenging behavior. In 2009, the DE requested that BBS consultants improve behavior assessment skills of school-based behavior teams across the state. One aim of the DE was to develop school-based behavior teams who could independently conduct the full range of behavior assessments (i.e., indirect assessment, direct assessment, and experimental analyses). The BBS consultants worked with challenging behavior teams from eight Iowa Area Education Agencies, teaching them to independently design, conduct, and interpret a variety of behavior assessments (e.g., preference assessments, functional analyses). A three-stage teleconsultation model was developed during consultation visits to support and evaluate the independent assessment practice of consultees. The stages included in-person consultation, onsite teleconsultation, and remote teleconsultation. Consultees expressed satisfaction with the use of teleconsultation during the third stage of the model. Additionally, the use of videoconferencing addressed some of the barriers to conducting team-based behavior assessments in the school setting by creating observation and assessment rooms for team members. Consultees continue to use this method as they independently assess the behavior of students.     

Cognitive and Emotional Processes as Predictors of a Successful Transition Into School

Research Findings: The aim of this research was to delineate developmental processes that contribute to early school success. To achieve this aim, we examined emotion regulation, executive functioning, emotion knowledge, and metacognition at ages 3 and 4 as distal and proximal predictors of age 5 achievement and school adjustment in a sample of 263 children (42% non-White). We also explored mediational pathways among these 4 processes in the prediction of the age 5 outcomes. Results revealed that all 4 processes affected achievement and school adjustment, but in different ways, with executive functioning emerging as a key predictor. Practice or Policy: Executive functioning was found to be a key factor in predicting achievement and school performance in the kindergarten year. This finding provides support for the development of executive functioning training programs that can be applied in the preschool classroom, particularly for promoting reading development. However, additional emphasis should be placed on both cognitive and emotional processes in the preschool years to promote optimal development.     

Social work students＇ attitude toward poverty in the new economy： A multivariate analysis

This study, conducted at a mid-sized university located in central Canada, had two purposes. The first was to simultaneously assess the influence of undergraduate social work education and other variables such as gender, ethnicity, perceived financial security and political affiliation on students＇ attitude toward poverty. The second was to contribute to the fledgling body of international studies which focus on the area of social work education and perceptions of poverty. The participants in this study were students enrolled in one of three selected undergraduate social work courses or an undergraduate business course. In all of the social work classes, the students were exposed to key ideas and concepts pertaining to poverty and poverty policy, including the cyclical nature of market economies and the challenges and barriers faced by the working poor population. The results indicated that social work education and affiliation with a leftist political ideology predicted a more structural attitude toward poverty.     

Benefits and Challenges of Service-Learning in Baccalaureate Social Work Programs

Service-learning is a pedagogical approach that integrates students’ classroom instruction with community experience. This article discusses qualitative results from a national survey examining service-learning in Council on Social Work Education–accredited baccalaureate programs. Almost 80% of the 202 program respondents required service-learning. They reported that benefits of incorporating service-learning in the BSW curriculum include assisting students in building community connections, applying theory and skills, socializing to the social work profession, and increasing self-awareness and exposure to diverse populations. Cited challenges include securing agency sites, time, and logistics. Findings support existing research suggesting that service-learning may benefit social work undergraduate education.     

Acute adaptations and subsequent preservation of strength and speed measures following a Nordic hamstring curl intervention: a randomised controlled trial

This randomised controlled trial investigated changes in eccentric hamstring strength, 10m sprint speed, and change-of-direction (COD) performance immediately post Nordic hamstring curl (NHC) intervention and following a 3-week detraining period.

Fourteen male team sports athletes were randomised to a do-as-usual control group (CG; n = 7) or to a NHC intervention group (NHC; n = 7). Isokinetic dynamometry at 180°/s evaluated eccentric hamstring strength immediately post-intervention as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes included 10 m sprint time and COD. Each outcome was measured, pre, immediately post-intervention and following a 3-week detraining period.

Immediately post-intervention significant group differences were observed in the NHC group for eccentric hamstring strength (31.81 Nm^?1 vs. 6.44 Nm^?1, P = 0.001), COD (?0.12 s vs. 0.20 s; P = 0.003) and sprint (- 0.06 s vs. 0.05 s; P = 0.024) performance. Performance improvements were maintained following a detraining period for COD (?0.11 s vs. 0.20 s; P = 0.014) and sprint (?0.05 s vs. 0.03 s, P = 0.031) but not eccentric hamstring strength (15.67 Nm^?1 vs. 6.44 Nm^?1, P = 0.145) These findings have important implications for training programmes designed to reduce hamstring injury incidence, whilst enhancing physical qualities critical to sport.     

Analysis of Student–Instructor Interaction Patterns in Real-Time, Scientific Online Discourse

The characteristics of the online environment alter how students and instructors interact. Scientific discourse among students and instructors in an online text-only synchronous environment was analyzed. In converting dialogue to text, many of the nonverbal cues, such as facial expression and tone of voice, which instructors use to gauge student understanding are lost. The participants adapt their communication style to the medium, and we present a new interaction pattern for student–instructor communication found prevalent in the synchronous, text-only, online environment. This study has implications for instructors who use synchronous, text-based communication for their courses, namely the value of posing additional questions from the instructor to verify student understanding.     

New Directions in Agenda-Setting Theory and Research

As agenda-setting theory moves toward its 50th anniversary, its productivity in the past and at present augurs a highly promising future. In this essay, the original theorists trace the development of agenda setting and identify seven distinct facets. They explore three of the seven facets—need for orientation, network agenda setting, and agendamelding—in greater detail because those are particularly active arenas of contemporary research. Grounded in more than 40 years of productive collaboration among the authors, this inaugural Deutschmann Scholars Essay offers numerous new ideas about recent trends in and future directions for agenda-setting theory and research. The three authors are all recipients of AEJMC's Paul J. Deutschmann Award for Excellence in Research recognizing a career of scholarly achievement. The Deutschmann scholars observed that this may well be the most original article they have ever written together.     

Experience of disadvantage: The influence of identity on engagement in working class students’ educational trajectories to an elite university

Pervasive socio‐economic differences in relation to participation in higher education in the United Kingdom are particularly prominent in the most prestigious institutions. This study provides insight into why some individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds are successful in being admitted into one of these institutions. Underpinned by phenomenology, semi‐structured interviews were carried out to examine the lived experiences of high‐achieving students from socio‐economically disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their educational trajectories from primary school to a Russell Group university. Two main themes emerged from the data: identity and educational engagement. Various sources of disadvantage associated with material hardship, socio‐cultural and interpersonal factors were strongly linked to identity and students’ perceptions of their own social status. In turn, these factors and identity‐related constructs associated with peer‐group memberships, low expectations and negative group stereotypes affected how individuals engaged with education, contributing, for instance, to their lack of active involvement at school/college and poor attendance. However, identity‐related factors were also found to influence individuals’ educational engagement positively, including their motivations for overcoming obstacles, achieving high grades and pursuing HE. The barriers and facilitators discussed by these individuals have important implications for widening access to HE and thus require further consideration.