Writing and reading: connections between language by hand and language by eye

Four approaches to the investigation of connections between language by hand and language by eye are described and illustrated with studies from a decade-long research program. In the first approach, multigroup structural equation modeling is applied to reading and writing measures given to typically developing writers to examine unidirectional and bidirectional relationships between specific components of the reading and writing systems. In the second approach, structural equation modeling is applied to a multivariate set of language measures given to children and adults with reading and writing disabilities to examine how the same set of language processes is orchestrated differently to accomplish specific reading or writing goals, and correlations between factors are evaluated to examine the level at which the language-by-hand system and the language-by-eye system communicate most easily. In the third approach, mode of instruction and mode of response are systematically varied in evaluating effectiveness of treating reading disability with and without a writing component. In the fourth approach, functional brain imaging is used to investigate residual spelling problems in students whose problems with word decoding have been remediated. The four approaches support a model in which language by hand and language by eye are separate systems that interact in predictable ways.     

‘We’ve got a lack of family values’: an examination of how teachers formulate and justify their approach to teaching sex and relationships education

Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) in England has been the focus of critical scrutiny on several occasions, but there has been little attention paid to how teachers formulate their provision, especially given their crucial role in determining what is taught in the classroom. While current policy suggests that provision should be inclusive of sexual diversity, it simultaneously gives educators the scope to determine the form this takes. This is an important issue given the substantial impact that teachers’ views and discourses have on what is taught. Using a discourse analytical framework, this study sought to examine how teachers of SRE formulate and account for their provision, with a particular focus on how their assumptions about young people’s sexual health needs underpin their actions. Initially, teachers sought to formulate their activities in terms of an overall ethos, providing legitimacy for the key elements of their programme being aligned with official government health promotion strategy, as opposed to other areas such as pleasure and diversity. This was supported by their constructions of young people, particularly young women and individuals from ‘at risk’ communities, as being particularly vulnerable.     

Tier 3 specialized writing instruction for students with dyslexia

Two instructional experiments used randomized, controlled designs to evaluate the effectiveness of writing instruction for students with carefully diagnosed dyslexia, which is both an oral reading and writing disorder, characterized by impaired word decoding, reading, and spelling. In Study 1 (4th to 6th grade sample and 7th to 9th grade sample), students were randomly assigned to orthographic or morphological spelling treatment but all students were taught strategies for planning, writing, and reviewing/revising narrative and expository texts. Both treatments resulted in improvement on three measures of spelling and one measure of composition. Morphological treatment resulted in better improvement in spelling pseudowords, whereas orthographic treatment resulted in better improvement in rate of reading pseudowords. In Study 2 (4th to 6th grade sample), students were randomly assigned to explicit language treatment (phonological working memory + phonological-orthographic spelling + science report writing training) or nonverbal problem solving treatment (virtual reality-based computer simulation, drawing maps, and building clay models). Both treatments used science content material and resulted in significant improvement in spelling and reading pseudowords (accuracy and rate). The surprising finding was that hands-on, engaging science problem solving led to more improvement in phonological working memory than did specialized phonological instruction. Only when spelling instruction emphasized orthography or morphology (Study 1) did real word spelling improve. Preparation of this chapter was supported by Grant Nos. HD25858 and P50 33812 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In Study 1 teaching assistants included Sylvia Abbott, Marci Anderson-Youngstrom, Belle Chennault, Kate Eschen, Noelia Garcia, Sandra Hiramatsu, Lynn Junell, Julia Kim, Stephanie King, Shin-Ju (Cindy) Lin, Rebecca Metzger, Heather Murphy, Jennifer Norton, Sue Palewicz, Rebecca Pirie, and Suzanna West. Also on the assessment team were Sylvia Abbott, Belle Chenault, Kate Eschen, and Rebecca Pirie. Certified teachers Diana Hoffer and Christina Johnson implemented the composition lessons written by the first author. In Study 2, teaching assistants included Nicole Alston-Abel, Leah Altemeier, Wade Altom, Marci Anderson-Youngstrom, Annie Boyd, Nicole Garcia, Laura Gould, Marta Holsinger, Yen-Ling Lee, Shin-Ju (Cindy) Lin, Laurie McCarthy, Heather Murphy, Hema O’Shea, Michelle Proux, Kristine Tardiff, and Kari Terjeson. Janine Jones supervised the assessment team. Margaret McShane and Doug Stock served as administrative assistants.     

Longitudinal Effects of Student Mobility on Three Dimensions of Elementary School Engagement

Working within the developmental science research framework, this study sought to capture a dynamic and complex view of student mobility. Second‐ through fifth‐grade data (N = 1,003, predominantly Caucasian) were drawn from a longitudinal study, and growth curve analyses allowed for the examination of mobility effects within the context of other factors that put children at risk, including behavior problems and family stress. School changes predicted declines in academic performance and classroom participation but not positive attitude toward school. Time‐varying factors such as peer acceptance and teacher support had a positive influence on the growth trajectories of child outcomes. Additionally, teacher support had a particularly strong influence on positive attitudes toward school among children who had more school changes.     

Boston libraries...what have we here

From the vast array of libraries in the Boston area, a sampling is described. While the emphasis is on medical and nursing libraries, other libraries of various types and sizes are included in order to whet the appetites of librarians visiting Boston in 1966. Since the Medical Library Assistance Act has generated interest in planning and construction, a brief survey of new library buildings is presented.     

Doing different things or doing things different: exploring the role of action learning in innovation

The notion of action learning driven innovation is explored with reference to three action-learning projects carried out in the last year and a proposed multi stakeholder project starting in 2016. The authors also provide an account of ‘innovation’, including its rationale and characteristics, and argues for its particular suitability in the practice of action learning.     

Does shock modifiability contribute to preference for signaled shock?

The central question asked was whether differential shock modification occurs (posturally induced differences in shock contact time) under signaled and unsignaled conditions using scrambled shock. Shock modifiability was tested with two different shock sources, intensities, and scrambling units by measuring the duration of time subjects were in contact with shock. Subjects were then given a choice between the signaled and unsignaled conditions. Results showed that differential modification of shock contact time did not occur between signaled and unsignaled conditions with any shock source, intensity, or scrambler unit. In addition, subjects preferred the signaled condition. It was concluded that experiments using scrambled shock are not confounded by posturally induced differences in shock contact time.     

Identifying and predicting classes of response to explicit phonological spelling instruction during independent composing

After explicit spelling instruction, low achieving second grade spellers increased the number of correctly spelled words during composing but differed in response trajectories. Class 1 (low initial and slow growth) had the lowest initial performance and improved at a relatively slow rate. Class 2 (high initial and fast growth) started higher than Class 1 but below Class 3 and improved at the fastest rate. Class 3 (highest initial but slow growth) had the highest initial performance but improved at a rate similar to Class 1. Class 3 differed from Classes 1 and 2 on orthographic coding. Classes 1, 2, and 3 differed on rapid automatic naming (RAN letters). Spelling instruction plus supplementary activities to improve orthographic coding in working memory and rapid, automatic coordination of phonological and orthographic codes may facilitate transfer of spelling learned during instruction to applying that spelling knowledge during independent composing.     

A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of a 'State of the Art' Talent Identification Model

Sport Interactive is a talent identification (TI) program that matches young people to sports based on proficiency on 11 simple physical and performance tasks. An evaluation of the program with Scottish girls ( n = 1217, mean age = 12.68 years) and boys ( n = 1239, mean age = 12.54 years) identified a number of problems. Firstly, although talent is conceptualized as static, children are evaluated on unstable variables. Additionally, the proposed correlation between proficiency on the Sport Interactive tasks and specific sport aptitude lacks theoretical justification. Finally, problems accrued from the use of Australian norms to interpret the performances of Scottish children. It is concluded that models that are based on a static and uni-dimensional concept of talent are likely to lead to the premature de-selection of many talented children. An alternative TID process that is based on a dynamic and multi-dimensional concept of talent is discussed.