Writing in Mathematics: An Alternative Form of Communication for Academically Low‐Achieving Students

Abstract. Classroom communication figures prominently in current math reform efforts. In this study, we analyze how one teacher used writing to support communication in a seventh‐grade, low‐track mathematics class. For one school year, we studied four low‐achieving students in the class. Students wrote in journals on a weekly basis. Using classroom observations and interviews with the teacher, we developed profiles of the four students, capturing their participation in class discussions. The profiles highlighted an important similarity among the four students: marginal participation in both small‐group and whole‐class discussions. However, our analysis of the students' journals identified multiple instances where the students were able to explain their mathematical reasoning, revealing their conceptual understanding, ability to explain, and skill at representing a problem. In this respect, journals potentially facilitate another important form of classroom communication. The promise of writing is that it offers an alternative to the visions of classroom communication that are strictly oral in nature.     

Practical Applications of Student Response Analysis

What standard reports are included in TAP and SPP? What information is provided in item analysis output? How may teachers use the information in their instruction?     

The National Standards Scene: NISO and related U.S. standards organizations

Those entering the world of publishing standards for the first time may find it a baffling alphabet soup—with NISO, ANSI, BISG, IEEE, NIST, and ANSC floating on a broth bubbling with activity. Jacob and Rings sort out the acronyms, explaining what each of these groups does and how they interact. Mary Ellen L. Jacob, vice president for library planning at OCLC, is responsible for strategic planning activities regarding libraries and library services. Mrs. Jacob is also the board chair of the National Information Standards Committee. Deborah L. Rings, information analyst for library planning at OCLC, is responsible for identifying trends and factors relative to the library and information science areas, and for assessing their impact and potential impact on OCLC and its strategic planning processes.     

Spatial and temporal matching ability among subgroups of disabled readers

Spatial and temporal matching abilities of 67 male and female fifth and sixth grade average (18) and severely disabled readers (49) were investigated. Subjects were classified according to the Boder Diagnostic Screening Procedure readers: dysphonetic, dyseidetic, and alexic. Results of the matching task indicated that average and dyseidetic readers were better able than dysphonetic and alexic readers to match purely temporal information. When order of difficulty among the spatial and temporal tasks was analyzed, dysphonetic and alexic readers demonstrated greater difficulty with temporal information. Matching abilities were found to be less related to integration ability than to an ability to sequence temporal information. The existence of possible memory and neurological correlates is discussed.     

Contemporaneous and longitudinal associations between social behavior and literacy achievement in a sample of low-income elementary school children

This study investigates associations between social skills (aggression and prosocial behavior) and literacy achievement in a sample of low-income children (between 4 and 6 years old when the study began) during elementary school. Results revealed consistent associations between social skills and literacy achievement in the first, third, and fifth grades, but the patterns of the associations were different for aggression and prosocial behavior. While the strength of the association between aggression and literacy achievement increased over the elementary grades, the association between prosocial behavior and literacy achievement decreased. In addition, path analyses revealed that poor literacy achievement in the first and third grades predicted relatively high aggressive behavior in the third and fifth grades, respectively.     

Is Education Getting Lost in University Mergers?

Mergers are common phenomena in higher education institutions. Improving educational quality is typically one of the stated goals of university mergers. Yet, little information exists about how merging institutions approach this goal. This paper presents results from a study of planning documents created prior to four mergers in the Finnish higher education system. These documents show that there was little concrete attention given to the educational issues related to the mergers. Most attention was placed on administrative issues and issues related to research. When educational issues were mentioned, it was almost always in the form of vague goals with few details provided about how the goals were to be reached. We conclude that this lack of attention to the educational aspect of mergers is a significant weakness of the planning process in these mergers.