Deaf and hard of hearing students' problem-solving strategies with signed arithmetic story problems

The use of problem-solving strategies by 59 deaf and hard of hearing children, grades K-3, was investigated. The children were asked to solve 9 arithmetic story problems presented to them in American Sign Language. The researchers found that while the children used the same general types of strategies that are used by hearing children (i.e., modeling, counting, and fact-based strategies), they showed an overwhelming use of counting strategies for all types of problems and at all ages. This difference may have its roots in language or instruction (or in both), and calls attention to the need for conceptual rather than procedural mathematics instruction for deaf and hard of hearing students.     

Bilingual effects on cognitive and linguistic development: role of language, cultural background, and education

A total of 104 six-year-old children belonging to 4 groups (English monolinguals, Chinese-English bilinguals, French-English bilinguals, Spanish-English bilinguals) were compared on 3 verbal tasks and 1 nonverbal executive control task to examine the generality of the bilingual effects on development. Bilingual groups differed in degree of similarity between languages, cultural background, and language of schooling. On the executive control task, all bilingual groups performed similarly and exceeded monolinguals; on the language tasks the best performance was achieved by bilingual children whose language of instruction was the same as the language of testing and whose languages had more overlap. Thus, executive control outcomes for bilingual children are general but performance on verbal tasks is specific to factors in the bilingual experience.     

Using multidimensional scaling to improve functionality of the Revised Learning Process Questionnaire

The Revised Learning Process Questionnaire has been part of the development of a conceptual understanding of how students learn and what motivates them to engage in particular tasks. We obtained responses from 329 student volunteers at a mid‐sized public university in the southeast USA. We first investigated whether the psychometric properties and latent factor structure of this questionnaire are replicable in a different educational context and with students from a different country than that originally used to create and validate the questionnaire. We found this to be true. Second, we used Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS) to improve the diagnostic functionality of the instrument as well as further explore the latent structure of the questionnaire. The factor structure was evident in this solution, but we found that interpreting the latent structure in terms of the dimensions of Strategy and Motive as opposed to the factors of Deep and Surface approaches to be more appropriate for diagnostic use. We also found that PAMS has the inherent ability to assess an individual’s fit within the model, thereby acting as a measure of self‐report credibility. The Strategy dimension was found to have ecological validity through analysing its relationship to academic performance.     

Reported contact with child protection services among those reporting child physical and sexual abuse: results from a community survey

OBJECTIVE: This study uses results from a large community survey to examine the relationship between a history of child maltreatment and self-reports of contact with Child Protection Services (CPS). METHODS: The Ontario Health Supplement was a province-wide, probability-based survey of household dwellings in the province of Ontario, Canada. A random sample of residents aged 15 and older participated in the Ontario Health Supplement (N=9953). A face-to-face interview included a question about contact with Child Protection Services (CPS), and the Child Maltreatment History Self-Report, a self-administered questionnaire, was used to assess history of child physical and sexual abuse. RESULTS: Only a very small percentage of respondents with a history of child abuse reported contact with CPS; 5.1% of those with a history of physical abuse, and 8.7% of those with a history of sexual abuse. Contact with CPS was associated with younger age of respondent for both types of abuse and female gender for physical abuse. In the case of sexual abuse, younger respondents whose parental employment classification was in the lower socioeconomic group were more likely to have contact with CPS. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions that target only those who come in contact with CPS will not reach most persons exposed to child abuse.     

Quality Measures in Distance Learning

The Director of Distance Learning in a university in Colorado reflects on the steps that must be taken to assure that that university-level e-learning courses be of the same quality as traditional courses. He suggests that the quality levels will be the same, if proper efforts are made to select suitable faculty members for on-line courses and that they be given proper training and support. Moreover, learning environments must be designed with care, and students must be provided with technical and academic support. Indeed, on-line students need to be offered the same level of services as traditional students. Finally, the technology policies in place must support monitoring and upgrading.     

The Role of Mentoring Support and Self-Management Strategies on Reported Career Outcomes

This study examined the contribution of self-management strategies to job outcomes for employees involved in mentoring relationships. Participants (n = 158) reported their use of three types of self-management strategies, the level of support functions provided by their mentors, and their job satisfaction and perceived career success. Results showed that individuals who used self-set career goals reported greater job satisfaction and perceived career success; those who engaged in positive cognitions also had higher job satisfaction; and those who used behavioral self-management strategies reported greater perceived career success. Mentoring and self-management strategies each contributed uniquely to satisfaction and perceived career satisfaction. After controlling for amount of instrumental support provided by the mentors, positive cognitions remained predictive of perceived career success, and participation in self-set career goals were related to higher levels of job satisfaction. Moderator analysis showed that the self-management strategies appeared to be useful in the absence of certain types of mentor support.     

Academic Life and Motherhood: Variations by Institutional Type

This paper explores the interface between work and family at different types of institutions from the perspective of women faculty who are on the tenure track and who are mothers of young children. Such a perspective provides insight into institutional variation on academic life in general, and for new faculty as mothers in particular. A macro view of the findings points to two major concerns: time (and lack thereof) and its impact on the “ideal worker” norms that shape what it means to be a good mother and good professor at different institutional types; and, the idea of “choice” as an illusion.     

Breaking Health Barriers: How Can Public Libraries Contribute?

This article focuses on the health information needs of the State of Oklahoma, which ranks 45th among all 50 states in the health status of its citizens. A deficit in collections technology, a lack of knowledge about medical information in service staff, and poor marketing and outreach efforts in lightly populated counties and towns have worked against the provision of solid health information to the populace. The author points out how grants have provided funding for collaboration, partnerships, and training to certification (Medical Library Association’s Consumer Health Information Specialist Certification [CHIS]) for many staff as health information specialists. Although the issue of health information is still significant in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma library community has made inroads in handling a severe community problem in which the author believes that U.S. public libraries should be heavily involved.     

Helping Teachers Support Pupils with Mental Health Problems Through Inter-professional Collaboration: A Qualitative Study of Teachers and School Principals

ABSTRACT

A qualitative study conducted in four lower secondary schools in Norway explored teachers’ and school principals’ experiences of collaboration with a variety of extended services (ES). Particular attention was directed to the ways (if any) they perceived collaboration to be relevant to helping teachers support pupils with mental health problems through their everyday social and pedagogic practices. Findings of the study indicated that teachers valued initiatives that could help develop mutual understandings of teachers’ and ES professionals’ roles and responsibilities. Initiatives to build inter-professional relationships were perceived as laying the foundation for more productive collaboration. However, to be able to provide coherent, sustained support in the classroom, teachers needed guidance from ES professionals. This required a shift in collaborative processes away from a focus on individualized pupil support towards helping teachers support pupils through their classroom-based social and pedagogical practices. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.