An Examination of the Relationship between Computation,Problem Solving,and Reading

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship of mathematics calculation rate (curriculum-based measurement of mathematics; CBM-M), reading rate (curriculum-based measurement of reading; CBM-R), and mathematics application and problem solving skills (mathematics screener) among students at four levels of proficiency on a statewide test. It was hypothesized that CBM-M provides insufficient information to make good screening decisions and that other measures with content more similar to that of large-scale tests of mathematics would function to improve screening. One hundred and seventy students in third grade from a rural elementary school in the Midwestern United States participated. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate direct, mediator, and latent growth models. In general, CBM-R mediated the relationship between the mathematics ability screener and passing the state assessment, while CBM-M did not have any significant paths within these models. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of CBM-M and CBM-R procedures in screening for success on state test performance in mathematics.     

The technological gender gap: Evidence and recommendations for educators and computer-based instruction designers

The term technological gender gap refers to the idea that males and females have different technology-related attitudes, behaviors, and skills. This article reviews the mounting evidence documenting the existence of a gender gap, which, if ignored, could render large numbers of female students unprepared to meet the technological challenges of the future. Recommendations for ameliorating the technological gender gap are presented for educators and computer-based instruction (CBI) designers who are interested in providing equitable educational opportunities for male and female students.     

Peer perceptions of students receiving pull-out services in elementary school: A multi-age study

This study examined the peer nominations of 213 children in Kindergarten (90), 3rd grade (58), and 5th grade (65) to examine their perceptions of peers who received pull-out services for unique needs. Using Coie, Dodge, and Coppotelli’s[1982. “Dimensions and Types of Social Status: A Cross-age Perspective.” Developmental Psychology 18 (4): 557–570] protocol for assessing sociometric status in children, the results revealed that peer perceptions of most liked (ML) and least liked (LL) in the classroom were associated with pull-out status, with those students who did not receive pull-out services receiving more nominations as ML than their peers who did leave the classroom for pull-out services. Social impact scores for children who received pull-out services were not significantly different from those of children who did not receive pull-out services, but significant differences were revealed for social preference scores. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.     

Conceptions of teaching held by academic teachers

This study examines conceptions of teaching held by academic teachers in the fields of science and social science, in two universities: a distance university in the UK and a traditional one in Australia. A five level classification of conceptions of teaching is proposed. A process of arriving at this scheme is discussed and a formalised coding system is presented which helps to delimit, with greater confidence, the boundaries of each conception, and helps to order conceptions, to compare conceptions proposed by other researchers, and to place individuals within conceptions. The same coding system is then used to define the concepts of student-centered and teacher-centered approaches to teaching. There is a strong suggestion that teaching conceptions are context-dependent.     

Opening Doors: Teaching LGBTQ-themed Young Adult Literature for an Inclusive Curriculum

LGBTQ themes are often neglected in many schools' curriculum. Currently, an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum framework is not required in most school districts across the county. Therefore, it is important to understand how teachers regard LGBTQ issues; how they address the needs of students in the middle school and high school English classroom who identify on this spectrum or who come from LGBTQ families; and how they incorporate literature that may be considered “controversial” in their future school districts. In this study, English/Language Arts preservice teachers (PSTs) (certification 7–12) were invited to participate in a book club and self-select young adult (YA) literature centering on characters who identify on the LGBTQ spectrum. During two book club meetings, three themes emerged that embody how literature can become a mirror as well as a window for students and assist youth in identity formation and confirmation. Moreover, literature has the potential to empower readers to take action on controversial issues, especially when readers are in positions to make change (no matter how subtle). Although the data collected were from PSTs, our aim with this article is to expand these three themes as overarching messages for practicing educators today, urging the importance of a more inclusive curricula involving LGBTQ literature.     

Strategic ambiguity in the role development process

Today's turbulent business and social environment often compels organizations to adopt internal programs that will help them cope with complexity. One organizational sector in which this is particularly true is the health care industry, as managed care programs and competitive forces have changed the way hospitals and clinics operate. This study looks at a specific organizational program designed to cope with these industry changes and considers the impact of the program on the nurses involved. Drawing on theory and research on role development and strategic ambiguity, this case analysis looks at a hospital system in which the nursing role of “care coordinator”; was defined in a strategically ambiguous way. After analyzing interviews with 19 care coordinators, conclusions are drawn regarding affective reactions to strategic role ambiguity, behavioral adaptation to strategic role ambiguity, and the importance of conceptualizing role ambiguity as a systemic process.     

How Science Teachers DiALoG Classrooms: Towards a Practical and Responsive Formative Assessment of Oral Argumentation

Journal of Science Education and Technology - We present lessons learned from an ongoing attempt to conceptualize, develop, and refine a way for teachers to gather formative assessment evidence...     

I Forget What That's Called! Children's Online Processing of Disfluencies Depends on Speaker Knowledge

Speech disfluencies can convey information to listeners: Adults and children predict that filled pauses (e.g., uhh) will be followed by referents that are difficult to describe or are new to the discourse. In adults, this is driven partly by an understanding that disfluencies reflect processing difficulties. This experiment examined whether 3½‐year‐olds' use of disfluencies similarly involves inferences about processing difficulty. Forty children were introduced to either a knowledgeable or a forgetful speaker, who then produced fluent and disfluent utterances. Children exposed to the knowledgeable speaker looked preferentially at novel, discourse‐new objects during disfluent utterances. However, children who heard the forgetful speaker did not. These results suggest that, like adults, children modify their expectations about the informativeness of disfluencies on a speaker‐specific basis.     

Open learning: Politics or pedagogy?

This paper is intended to contribute to the discussion of the meaning of open learning. The trend in higher education in Australia towards open learning is seen to be politically driven. We argue that the lack of educational debate over its meaning and implications allows us to presume that open learning is of social value, while in reality it may have the power to create anew binary divide in higher education or to re‐fashion entirely what constitutes knowledge within society. In order to ‘de‐reify’ the term we argue that a critical examination of its meaning, from a political as well as pedagogical perspective, is necessary.     

Developmental Differences in Relations Between Episodic Memory and Hippocampal Subregion Volume During Early Childhood

Episodic memory shows striking improvement during early childhood. However, neural contributions to these behavioral changes are not well understood. This study examined associations between episodic memory and volume of subregions (head, body, and tail) of the hippocampus—a structure known to support episodic memory in school‐aged children and adults—during early childhood (n = 45). Results revealed significant positive relations between episodic memory and volume of the hippocampal head in both the left and right hemispheres for 6‐ but not 4‐year‐old children, suggesting brain–behavior relations vary across development. These findings add new information regarding neural mechanisms of change in memory development during early childhood and suggest that developmental differences in hippocampal subregions may contribute to age‐related differences in episodic memory ability.