Developmental changes in endogenous control of attention: the role of target familiarity on infants' distraction latency

This study evaluated the interactive effects of endogenous and exogenous influences on infants' attention allocation by assessing the role of target familiarity on distraction latency during object exploration. In Experiment 1 (N = 54), infants' distraction latencies as they investigated both familiar toys (ones they previously had seen in a familiarization procedure) and novel toys (ones they had not seen in the familiarization procedure) were assessed longitudinally at 6.5 and 9 months of age. In Experiment 2 (N = 32), infants' distraction latencies were assessed at either 6.5 or 10 months as they investigated either familiar or novel targets. In both experiments, older infants, but not younger infants, exhibited longer latencies as they investigated novel toys as compared with their latencies as they investigated familiar toys. These results are discussed in terms of developmental changes in the interactive effects of endogenous and exogenous factors controlling attention allocation.     

Using behavioral and academic indicators in the classroom to screen for at‐risk status

The present study validated a brief at‐risk screening instrument designed for easy use by teachers in the elementary school. School performance measures were collected for students in first to sixth grade one year following initial teacher ratings using the Screening For At‐Risk Status screening instrument. Findings indicated that the instrument is best seen as measuring a single at‐risk construct with items drawn from three domains: academic skills, social confidence, and social cooperation. Correlations between at‐risk scores and school performance measures taken one year later demonstrated predictive validity. The screening instrument correctly identified at‐risk students with 88% accuracy and not‐at‐risk students with 74% accuracy. There were 12% false negatives. Use of the instrument provides teachers with a quick, easy screening of students who may develop difficulties in the future. For schools, the screening can be used as the first step in a supportive response system to assist at‐risk students from developing serious school difficulties and possibly failure in the longer term. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 151–158, 2005.     

From paper to plastic: electronic benefits transfer as technology of neoliberalization

This analysis refocuses attention to the relationship between neoliberal government practice and co-conditioning rhetorical consequence through examination of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT). Operating by a plastic card similar to consumer debit cards, EBT opens new possibilities of consumption for those receiving Food Stamps. Rather than simply signaling a disciplining governmentality, electronic food assistance functions as a technology of neoliberalization, proffering the potentiality of social equity while (re)instantiating class boundaries. I appropriate the finance term securitization to specify the disposal of liberalist logics that transform the poor from economic risk to state asset while also leaving the conditions of poverty and food insecurity unchallenged.     

A Case Study of a Turnaround High School: An Examination of the Maryland State Department of Education Breakthrough Center Intervention

This study examined the Maryland State Department of Education Breakthrough Center (BTC) engagement in a Baltimore City turnaround high school. Utilizing a case-study design and mixed-methods research, data were collected through interviews, informal observations, and review of administrative and achievement documents. Beginning in the 2011–2012 academic year, the BTC has been working in collaboration with school personnel to improve the educational experiences and academic achievement of students. School personnel recognized that the BTC has been responsive to teachers' requests and has exhibited a flexible approach building collaborative and nonevaluative relations. Administrative and achievement data also indicated improvement in school outcome measures during the past 3 years. Nevertheless, school faculty also identified important challenges of the BTC intervention, such as the relevance of this intervention for veteran teachers, the extent to which the needs of all student populations were met, and the sustainability of the intervention.     

Comparing the epistemological underpinnings of students' and scientists' reasoning about conclusions

This study examined the criteria that middle school students, nonscientist adults, technicians, and scientists used to rate the validity of conclusions drawn by hypothetical students from a set of evidence. The groups' criteria for evaluating conclusions were considered to be dimensions of their epistemological frameworks regarding how knowledge claims are justified, and as such are integral to their scientific reasoning. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that the responses of students and nonscientists differed from the responses of technicians and scientists, with the major difference being the groups' relative emphasis on criteria of empirical consistency or plausibility of the conclusions. We argue that the sources of the groups' differing epistemic criteria rest in their different spheres of cultural practice, and explore implications of this perspective for science teaching and learning. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 663–687, 2001     

Cross-linguistic analysis of vocabulary in young children: spanish, dutch, French, hebrew, italian, korean, and american english

The composition of young children's vocabularies in 7 contrasting linguistic communities was investigated. Mothers of 269 twenty-month-olds in Argentina, Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, the Republic of Korea, and the United States completed comparable vocabulary checklists for their children. In each language and vocabulary size grouping (except for children just learning to talk), children's vocabularies contained relatively greater proportions of nouns than other word classes. Each word class was consistently positively correlated with every other class in each language and for children with smaller and larger vocabularies. Noun prevalence in the vocabularies of young children and the merits of several theories that may account for this pattern are discussed.     

Educational Testing Abroad and Lessons for the United States

What are key features of schooling and testing in some major industrialized countries? What lessons can we learn u from other countries? How important is the issue of confidence in the teachers who will be called on to judge student performance?     

The Synergy of Teacher-Child Dependency and Temperament for Children’s Early Language Skills

Shy children are less likely to interact with peers and teachers, ask questions, and participate in classroom activities. Children low in attention and inhibitory control also perform worse academically. Although research indicates children’s relationships with teachers may be protective for children at risk for academic difficulties, less is known about the role of dependent teacher-child relationships and the consequences for learning. This study examines the interplay of inhibitory control, attention, shyness, and dependency as predictors of preschoolers’ expressive- and receptive-language skills. The sample is 104 children in 22 classrooms. Research Findings: Multilevel models revealed four findings. First, both parent and teacher ratings of children’s attention were positively associated with language skills. Second, the association between teacher ratings of shyness and children’s language skills was contingent on the level of teacher-child dependency. Third, teacher-child dependency was positively linked to more expressive-language skills in the teacher-report model. Fourth, dependency and inhibitory control worked synergistically in the parent-report model to predict expressive language. Results suggest that dependency may have protective aspects for some children in early childhood but could also be negative for other children. Practice and Policy: Teachers can organize their relationship style depending on child’stemperament to provide nurturing environment for children’s language skills.     

Generating connections and learning with SemNet,a tool for constructing knowledge networks

In this paper we examine the impact of using a Macintosh-based knowledge organization toll SemNet, with prospective elementary and middle school teachers enrolled in an upper division biology course. The course models for students the ways in which they will be able to teach hands-on, minds-on science in K-8 classrooms and provides them with an in-depth understanding of a relatively small number of biology topics. This study examines changes in learning habits, metacognitive processes, retention, retrieval, and learring among students enrolled in this course. Students using SemNet tend to exhibit a significant increase in deep processing as measured by self-report. Also on the basis of self-report, SemNet students appear to acquire some cognitive skills that transfer to other courses, such as identifying main ideas and tying ideas together. SemNet students retained and retrieved nearly twice as much information about a topic, the digestive system, as a reference group. Although neither the SemNet nor the reference group exhibited transfer skills as we meansured them, there is evidence that SemNet student changed their thinking strategies.     

Assessment to improve learning in higher education: The BEAR Assessment System

This paper discusses how assessment practices in higher education can improve or hinder learning. An example is given to illustrate some common educational practices that may be contributing to underpreparation and underperformance of students. Elements of effective learning environments that may better address underlying metacognitive issues are discussed. The principles of the Berkeley Evaluation & Assessment Research Assessment (BEAR) System are introduced, and their use to improve learning is described in the context of the UC Berkeley ChemQuery project.