Classroom instructional quality,exposure to mathematics instruction and mathematics achievement in fifth grade

This study examined the quality of teacher–child interactions and exposure to mathematics instruction as predictors of 5th grade student’s mathematics achievement. The sample was a subset of the children involved in the NICHD–SECC longitudinal study (N = 657). Results indicate that, even after controlling for student demographic characteristics, more exposure to mathematics instruction was related to increased fifth grade mathematics achievement for both calculations and applied problems assessments, but there was no main effect for improved instructional quality. Findings also indicate that, in classrooms where lower instructional quality was observed, greater exposure to mathematics instruction predicted improved mathematics achievement. Findings are discussed in terms of differing aspects of mathematics instruction and the possible compensatory role of exposure to instruction in classrooms of lower quality.     

Learning to read

Summary Reading begins with the child’s acquisition of spoken language. Later he learns to differentiate the graphic symbols from one another and to decode these to familiar speech sounds. As he learns the code, he must progressively utilize the structural constraints which are built into it in order to attain the skilled performance which is characterized by processing of higher-order units—the spelling and morphological patterns of the language. Because of my firm conviction that good pedagogy is based on a deep understanding of the discipline to be taught and the nature of the learning process involved, I have tried to show that the psychology of reading can benefit from a program of theoretical analysis and experiment. An analysis of the reading task—its discriminatory and decoding aspects as well as the semantic and syntactical aspects—tells uswhat must be learned. An analysis of the learning process tells ushow. The consideration of formal instruction comes only after these steps, and its precepts should follow from them. This article is adapted from a paper used at a conference on Perceptual and Linguistic Aspects of Reading, sponsored by the Committee on Learning and the Educational Process of the Social Science Research Council and held at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Palo Alto, California, 31, October 1963. Reprinted by permission of the Author and Publisher from Science, V. 148, No. 3673, 21 May 1965.     

Exploring Dialectical Tensions of Leading Volunteers in Two Community Choirs

Leaders of volunteers face different challenges than leaders of paid employees due to different motivations and reward expectations. After synthesizing previous research applying dialectical theory to group members or leaders, this study examines the dialectical tensions that leaders of volunteers experienced and the communication they used to manage those tensions as reported by both the leaders and the volunteers. A constant-comparison method was used to analyze observations and interviews of members and leaders of two community choirs. The findings suggest that leaders of volunteers face eight dialectical tensions representing three broad categories: (a) task and relationship; (b) process and outcome; and (c) internal and external. Leaders negotiated these dialectical tensions through communication strategies including use of humor and appeals to artistic spirituality. These strategies represent hybridization and dualistic discourse rather than a monologic emphasis of one course of action over another.