Preschool Children's Symbolic Representation of Objects through Gestures

To investigate the symbolic quality of preschoolers' gestural representations in the absence of real objects, 48 children (16 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds) performed 2 tasks. In the first task, they were asked to pretend to use 8 common objects (e.g., "pretend to brush your teeth with a toothbrush"). There was an age-related progression in the symbolic quality of gestural representations. 3- and 4-year-olds used mostly body part gestures (e.g., using an extended finger as the toothbrush), whereas 5-year-olds used imaginary object gestures (e.g., pretending to hold an imaginary toothbrush). To determine if children's symbolic skill is sufficiently flexible to allow them to use gestures other than those spontaneously produced in the first task, in the second task children were asked to imitate, for each object, a gesture modeled by an experimenter. The modeled gesture was different from the one the child performed on the first task (e.g., if the child used a body part gesture to represent a particular object, the experimenter modeled an imaginary object gesture for that object). Ability to imitate modeled gestures was positively related to age but was also influenced by the symbolic mode of gesture. 3-year-olds could not imitate imaginary object gestures as well as body part gestures, suggesting that young preschoolers have difficulty performing symbolic acts that exceed their symbolic level even when the acts are modeled. Results from both tasks provide strong evidence for a developmental progression from concrete body part to more abstract imaginary object gestural representations during the preschool years.     

Do Testing Conditions Explain Cyber Charter Schools’ Failing Grades?

Recent Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) analyses find that cyber charter schools in seventeen states show consistently low reading and mathematics value-added test scores compared to traditional public schools serving comparable students. This generally accords with prior research. We hypothesize that the relatively poor measured academic value-added of cyber charters reflects artificial testing conditions for students in those schools. Accordingly, we have collected testing information from the seventeen CREDO states. State-level analyses find that cyber student persistence, which likely indicates school quality, correlates moderately and significantly with the cyber student academic value-added as measured by CREDO. Further, we find evidence of lower cyber school value-added in states which permit cybers to use narrow testing windows, perhaps reflecting testing fatigue on the part of test-takers. We discuss implications, and suggest next steps for research exploring whether testing conditions affect measured cyber charter performance.     

Trauma and psychological distress among ethnically diverse community college students

An association has been found between traumatic experiences and psychological distress; however, the impact of ethnicity on psychological distress is less clear. The present study examined the relationship between traumatic experiences and measures of psychological distress among a multiethnic sample of community college students. A total of 389 male and 848 female students completed a questionnaire that included the Distressing Events Questionnaire (DEQ), the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), the Bulimia (BUL), and the Drive for Thinness (DT) subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory. As predicted, Blacks and Latinos reported higher levels of interpersonal trauma than White students. There was a positive association between trauma exposure and symptoms of depression, eating disorders, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and no ethnic differences were observed in depression and PTSD scores among students exposed to interpersonal trauma. The high levels of trauma among Blacks and Latinos should be of concern to academic institutions because trauma is linked to poor academic performance.     

Comparison of students’ understanding of functions in classes following English and Israeli national curricula

This paper arises from a study of how concepts related to understanding functions develop for students across the years of secondary/high school, using small samples from two different curricula systems: England and Israel. We used a survey consisting of function tasks developed in collaboration with teachers from both curriculum systems. We report on 120 higher achieving students, 10 from each of English and Israeli, 12–18 years old. Iterative and comparative analysis identified similarities and differences in students’ responses and we conjecture links between curriculum, enactment, task design, and students’ responses. Towards the end of school, students from both curriculum backgrounds performed similarly on most tasks but approached these by different routes, such as intuitive or formal and with different understandings, including correspondence and covariational approaches to functions.     

An analytical framework for career research in the post-modern era

Career psychology has witnessed a shift from approaches informed by tenets of the modern world to include approaches informed by the post-modern world as it strives to remain relevant. This shift is most evident in career theory and practice where developments reflect the influence of constructivism, but it is less evident in career research which has remained dominated by methodologies of the positivist worldview. These predominantly empirical methodologies seem incongruent with post-modern tenets. This article applies the constructivist Systems Theory Framework of career development as an analytical framework within which to consider career research in the post-modern era.     

Predictors of Academic Stress Among College Students

The purpose of this study was to examine factors predictive of college students' academic stress. Three hundred seven undergraduate students (179 men, 128 women) participated in the study. Results indicated that female college students had higher academic stress than did male college students. Bivariate correlations and multiple regression analyses revealed that life satisfaction, locus of control, and gender were significant predictors of academic stress. Directions for future research and implications for counselors are discussed.     

Some difficulties in informal assessment in mathematics

In this theoretical paper the informal assessment practices of two experienced teachers are used as cases for generating questions about future developments in formative assessment practice. Both teachers maintain a consistent formative assessment focus on the development of their students as enquirers, and one of them supplements this with explicit self‐assessment activities. However, there are subject‐specific gaps in the ways in which they assess and describe their students and these are not addressed in widely promulgated advice about formative assessment. Questions are raised about how teachers might be supported to develop their assessment of subject‐specific behaviour.     

From microscope to mirror: doctoral students’ evolving positionalities through engagement with culturally sensitive research

This study examines the experiences of doctoral students in a qualitative research course that centers culture throughout the research process. Data sources include one-on-one interviews, written documentation of course assignments, research team meetings, and doctoral students’ conference proposals and publications examining civic learning and action and notions of citizenship of second- and 1.5-generation African immigrants in New York City. Using Tillman’s framework for culturally sensitive research (CSR), we draw attention to the ways doctoral students as emerging scholars come to understand and enact their positionalities in research, especially in relation to data analysis, interpretation, and representation. This study expands notions of CSR to include a focus on research with African immigrants and strengthens possibilities for doctoral preparation in education that focuses on culture, race, and immigrant populations.     

Perceived learning in three MOOCs targeting attitudinal change

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have gained significant attention in recent years for their potential to impact education at a global scale. This paper presents the findings from a study that examined the cases of three MOOCs, including Human Trafficking, US Food System, and Animal Behavior and Welfare, that were specifically designed to effect attitudinal change in its participants, specifically focusing on the three aspects of attitudinal change, cognitive, affective and behavioral as well as general learning. The study examined learners’ perceptions of attitudinal change, including according to the MOOC they took, the instructional method utilized, and the influence of attitudinal components on each other. The findings from this research provide a number of implications that could be helpful for understanding instruction and instructional design of MOOCs, particularly those MOOCs addressing attitude change.