Assessing giftedness in children: Comparing the accuracy of three shortened measures of Intelligence to the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales,Fifth Edition

This study examined the accuracy of three shortened measures of intelligence: the Woodcock–Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability, Third Edition Brief Intellectual Ability (WJ III COG BIA) score; the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition Abbreviated IQ (SB5 ABIQ); and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test IQ Composite (K‐BIT) in predicting giftedness as assessed by the SB5 Full Scale IQ score (SB5 FSIQ). Participants were 202 third grade students who were individually administered the SB5, WJ III, and K‐BIT. Four scores (SB5 ABIQ, K‐BIT, WJ III COG BIA, and SB5 FSIQ) were extracted. Correlational analyses revealed positive, significant relationships among the four scores. Discriminant function analyses, conducted to examine the accuracy of the three shortened measures of intelligence in predicting giftedness, revealed that overall, the WJ III score was the most accurate, and the K‐BIT score was the least accurate in identifying giftedness. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Backstepping design for controlling electrohydraulic servos

The backstepping technique is one of the tools which provides control Lyapunov functions (CLFs) and, therefore, control laws for automatic systems. In this paper, the backstepping design for position and force nonlinear electrohydraulic servos is investigated. Three control laws ensuring the asymptotic stability of references tracking are obtained by constructing CLFs on the errors concerning the state variables and theirs desired values. The possibility of converting a position servo into a force servo, with only minimal hard modification, is proved. An approach based on partitioning the state system into two subsystems—a first one stable, and a second one taken as framework of control synthesis by backstepping technique—was developed and used. Using as reference point a flight controls hydromechanical servo, numerical simulations were reported from viewpoint of servo time constant performance. Certain conjectures, concerning the behaviour of systems mathematical models, in connection with mathematical methodologies of control synthesis operating on them, are finally stressed.     

Measuring attitudes toward inclusive education

An easily administered 16-item scale was developed to measure attitudes toward inclusive education. Principal components analysis yielded four discrete dimensions of inclusive education with satisfactory internal consistency, including physical, academic, behavioral, and social dimensions. Cross-validation procedures provided further evidence of the factor structure and internal consistency of the scale.     

An analysis of motivation strategies used within the small-group Accelerating Mathematics Performance through Practice Strategies (AMPPS-SG) program

More than half of students in the USA perform below a proficient level in math. Although evidence suggests that intervention in elementary school is critical to supporting struggling learners, and there are several research-supported instructional practices to support students with math difficulties, the existing research is limited with regard to the impact of motivational strategies designed to improve students’ math skills. This study examined the effectiveness of specific motivational strategies used in the small-group Accelerating Mathematics Performance through Practice Strategies (AMPPS-SG) intervention program. A multiple baseline design was used with three instructional groups of second grade students to compare the relative effectiveness of three different conditions on students’ math computation skills. Condition 1 included all of the AMPPS-SG instructional components. Condition 2 included all instructional procedures as well as goal-setting, performance feedback, and reinforcement for performance. Condition 3 included all components used in Condition 2, as well as a group-based reward contingency. Results showed that students’ performance during Condition 3 was significantly better than performance during Conditions 1 and 2.     

A confirmatory factor analysis of the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales,Fifth Edition,with a high‐achieving sample

The Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition (SB5), is a recently published, multidimensional measure of intelligence based on Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) theory. The author of the test provides results from confirmatory factor analyses in the technical manual supporting the five‐factor structure of the instrument. Other authors have examined this factor structure through EFA using the standardization sample, and have not found evidence of a five‐factor model. The purpose of the current study was to examine the internal construct validity of the SB5 using an independent sample of high‐functioning students. Participants included 201 high‐functioning, third‐grade students ranging in age from 8 years, 4 months to 10 years, 11 months. Five models of the SB5 were analyzed using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS). Our findings indicated that a hierarchical, four‐factor, post‐hoc model provided the best fit to the data. Generally, implications for school psychologists include a better understanding of the factor structure of the SB5, especially as it relates to high‐achieving children. Directions for future research are also discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Use of Cultural Styles or Repertoires of Experience to Guide Instruction: What Difference Does it Make?

Educators are seeking to meet student needs in increasingly diverse university classrooms. Two contrasting ways of responding to cultural difference are planning instruction on the basis of cultural styles or repertoires of culturally-based experiences (Gutiérrez & Rogoff, 2003). Use of learning styles to address individual differences in learning is relatively commonplace (Young, 2008). More controversial is the use of cultural styles that assume commonalities in approaches to learning based on cultural background. There are benefits and problems with using individual or cultural learning styles. Gutiérrez and Rogoff (2003) proposed that we abandon the use of the styles construct in favour of working with students’ repertoires of culturally-based experiences. This cultural historical approach has different views of the learner and his or her relationship to cultural communities, the learning process, and the appropriate instructional practices to address diversity. After contrasting the styles and cultural historical approaches, a compromise position is presented along with recommendations for further research and the optimal use of both the styles and cultural-historical approaches.     

Exploring identities to deepen understanding of urban high school students' sexual health decision‐making

Sexual health is a controversial science topic that has received little attention in the field of science education, despite its direct relevance to students' lives and communities. Moreover, research from other fields indicates that a great deal remains to be learned about how to make school learning about sexual health influence the real‐life choices of students. In order to provide a more nuanced understanding of young people's decision‐making, this study examines students' talk about sexual health decision‐making through the lens of identities. Qualitative, ethnographic research methods with twenty 12th grade students attending a New York City public school are used to illustrate how students take on multiple identities in relation to sexual health decision‐making. Further, the study illustrates how these identities are formed by various aspects of students' lives, such as school, family, relationships, and religion, and by societal discourses on topics such as gender, individual responsibility, and morality. The study argues that looking at sexual health decision‐making—and at decision‐making about other controversial science topics—as tied to students' identities provides a useful way for teachers and researchers to grasp the complexity of these decisions, as a step toward creating curriculum that influences them. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47:742–762, 2010