The contribution of phonological awareness and receptive and expressive english to the reading ability of deaf students with varying degrees of exposure to accurate english

This study was planned with the knowledge that the tasks of reading require the same acquisition of skills, whether a child is hearing or deaf, monolingual, or bilingual. Reading and language research literature was reviewed. Subjects were 31 deaf students (7.9-17.9 years of age) who attended one of three U.S. programs. Performance on 15 language and literacy measures was analyzed. Results were that students who scored highest on a passage-comprehension measure also were more able (a) to provide synonyms, antonyms, and analogies of read words and phrases, (b) to read more listed words, and (c) to substitute one phoneme more correctly for another to create new words than were readers with lower scores. Two groups of students also were compared: a Longer Exposure to English Group (n = 22) who used Signing Exact English (SEE) for 5 years or more and a Shorter Exposure Group (n = 8) exposed to SEE for less than 2 years. A correlational analysis revealed that there were no significant relationships among 14 background variables with the exception of "age of identification of hearing loss," a variable then covaried in subsequent analysis of covariance. Students in the Longer Exposure Group scored higher on all measures. Significant differences were found between groups for short-term memory, receptive and expressive English, and five phonological subtests. Mini-case studies and the performance of eight students in the Longer Exposure Group who scored lowest on the comprehension measure also are discussed.     

Rerun content preferences: An examination of favorite program types

Loyalty to program types is recognized as a significant characteristic of television viewing behavior. Few studies have investigated preferences for rerun program types. This study examines the content preferences of favorite programs for differences of rerun programs and first‐run programs among 489 respondents.     

Instructional Sensitivity of a Complex Language Arts Performance Assessment

Validation of assessments intended to improve instruction and learning should include evidence of instructional sensitivity. This study investigated the instructional sensitivity of a standards-based ninth-grade performance assessment that required students to write an essay about conflict in a literary work. Before administering the assessment, teachers of 886 ninth-grade students were randomly assigned to one of three instructional groups: literary analysis, organization of writing, and teacher-selected instruction. Despite the short duration of instruction (8 class periods), results support the instructional sensitivity of the assessment in two ways: Instruction on literary analysis significantly improved students' ability to analyze and describe conflicts in literature, and instruction on the organization of writing led to significantly higher scores on measures of coherence and organization.     

Assessment of learning gains associated with independent exam analysis in introductory biology

This study evaluates the impact of an independent postmidterm question analysis exercise on the ability of students to answer subsequent exam questions on the same topics. It was conducted in three sections (～400 students/section) of introductory biology. Graded midterms were returned electronically, and each student was assigned a subset of questions answered incorrectly by more than 40% of the class to analyze as homework. The majority of questions were at Bloom's application/analysis level; this exercise therefore emphasized learning at these higher levels of cognition. Students in each section answered final exam questions matched by topic to all homework questions, providing a within-class control group for each question. The percentage of students who correctly answered the matched final exam question was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the Topic Analysis versus Control Analysis group for seven of 19 questions. We identified two factors that influenced activity effectiveness: 1) similarity in topic emphasis of the midterm-final exam question pair and 2) quality of the completed analysis homework. Our data suggest that this easy-to-implement exercise will be useful in large-enrollment classes to help students develop self-regulated learning skills. Additional strategies to help introductory students gain a broader understanding of topic areas are discussed.     

Charging for free education: an exploration of a debate in school governing bodies

Working-class relationships to education have always been deeply problematic and emotionally charged, inscribing academic failure rather than success. In this paper I briefly explore both the history of those relationships and representations of the working classes within dominant discourses, before moving on to outline some of the consequences of contemporary educational policy for working-class subjectivities. I do this by drawing on data from three research projects: one on higher education choice; one on transitions to secondary schooling; and a third on assessment in primary schools. However, working-class relationships to education cannot be understood in isolation from middle-class subjectivities so I also try to begin to map out some of the unconscious aspects of class that implicate both middle- and working-class subjectivities.     

An exploratory study of argument in the jury decision‐making process

Different from most other group decision‐making contexts, courtroom jurors face two distinct layers of argument— arguments made during the trial and arguments made during deliberation. The juror often makes an individual decision prior to deliberation based on arguments heard in court and then, using that decision, creates arguments with the other jurors about “what really happened.” The researchers used Canary, Tanita‐Ratledge and Seibold's (1982) coding scheme to analyze arguments in 80 mock juries. The results revealed that jurors’ arguments were not complex; they used assertions and acknowledgments most frequently, followed by propositions, elaborations, and non‐related arguments. The conclusions suggest practical applications for attorneys as well as a model of argument in jury decision‐making.     

Neglected Elements of a High-Quality Early Childhood Workforce: Whole Teacher Well-Being and Working Conditions

Early Childhood Education Journal - The majority of teachers in the early care and education (ECE) workforce face disparities in physical and psychological well-being as well as working conditions....