Instruction in basic concepts and first-grade achievement

First-grade students were administered the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC), then given 15 weeks of instruction relevant to the concepts for which corresponding BTBC items were most frequently missed. Improvements in mid-year and end-of-year BTBC performance did not occur as a function of instruction, but a significant treatment effect did occur on a transfer measure, the Stanford Achievement Test. Results are discussed in terms of the sensitivity of the BTBC, possible nonlinguistic effects of the instructional program, and the practical significance of the treatment effect.     

Career Development: The Linkage Between Training And Organizational Development

Improved organizational efficiency can only be accomplished if the employees within an organization have developed the skills, competencies, knowledge, and attitudes to perform at the highest possible levels. To a limited degree this can be accomplished via training, but employees develop the fundamental skills, competencies, knowledge, and attitudes related only to their current job. As a result, the organization is only indirectly impacted. This refers to the micro perspective of improved organizational efficiency. Organizational efficiency can also be accomplished through organizational development, but the individual employee is often overlooked during this process. Without employee commitment to improve efficiency, it will be short-lived. This approach refers to the macro perspective of improved organizational efficiency. Both the micro and macro perspectives of improved organizational efficiency have their weaknesses. Thus, a combination of the two processes is necessary. Career development is that combination. Career development is a process which enables employees to develop beyond the fundamental skills, competencies, knowledge, and attitudes required for their present job assignments. It is a process which is focused on improving organizational efficiency while relying on the development of the individual employee. Performance improvement practitioners can provide learning activities which improve employees' skills, competencies, knowledge, and attitudes by viewing improved organizational efficiency from an individual (micro) perspective while remaining dedicated to the overall enhancement of the organization (macro). However, many performance improvement practitioners fail to see the connection between training and overall organizational development. These terms are often used interchangeably which leads to the increased confusion and misapplication of each process. It is necessary, therefore, to arrive at an acceptable definition in order to communicate effectively the intent as well as the similarities and differences of the processes. This will enable performance improvement practitioners to better understand the commonalities of each process. It is this understanding that serves as the basis of this article and the forthcoming recommendations.     

What Paves the Way to Conventional Language? The Predictive Value of Babble,Pointing, and Socioeconomic Status

A child's first words mark the emergence of a uniquely human ability. Theories of the developmental steps that pave the way for word production have proposed that either vocal or gestural precursors are key. These accounts were tested by assessing the developmental synchrony in the onset of babbling, pointing, and word production for 46 infants observed monthly between the ages of 9 and 18 months. Babbling and pointing did not develop in tight synchrony and babble onset alone predicted first words. Pointing and maternal education emerged as predictors of lexical knowledge only in relation to a measure taken at 18 months. This suggests a far more important role for early phonological development in the creation of the lexicon than previously thought.     

Jail Pedagogy: Liberatory Education Inside A California Juvenile Detention Facility

Approximately 2 million juveniles are arrested each year. Half are sentenced to serve terms of incarceration. Although many scholars have written about teaching in detention facilities, few directly address how prisoners are being taught. This research explores the experiences, teaching philosophy, and practices of correctional educators. To learn what is taking place within these classrooms, I interviewed and observed instructors in 3 male juvenile detention facilities in California over the course of 15 months. Semistructured qualitative interviews looked in depth at their teaching techniques, finding that these teachers adopted a humanistic and liberatory approach to teaching behind the walls of juvenile detention facilities.