Strengthening the Preparation of Early Childhood Teacher Candidates Through Performance-Based Assessments

Performance-based assessments require teacher candidates to demonstrate proficiency on specific teaching tasks and apply knowledge in authentic settings. This article describes the development and use of performance-based assessments (PBAs) for advancing the learning and evaluation of teacher candidates in an early childhood special education teacher preparation program. Teacher candidates completed PBAs under supervision during culminating practica experiences at three age levels (infant/toddler, preschool, and primary practicum). Methods for determining proficiency on national (Council for Exceptional Children) and state (Colorado teacher licensure) standards are described, along with the challenges and opportunities presented by the use of PBAs. Performance-based assessment data over a 5-year period indicate teacher candidate performance meeting and exceeding national standards and state licensure requirements.     

Internalizing symptoms and affect of children with emotional and behavioral disorders: A comparative study with an urban African American sample

Self‐reported internalizing symptoms of seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) and regular education students in grades 4–6 were compared using the Internalizing Symptoms Scale for Children. All participants were African American and from an urban public school district in the Southeastern United States. Each of the two study groups consisted of 50 participants (35 boys, 15 girls) who were matched by gender and socioeconomic status. The SED group reported significantly higher levels of internalizing distress than the regular education group. In contrast to previous findings, there was no significant gender difference in self‐reported internalizing symptomatology in the present study. A discriminant function analysis found that the ISSC scores were able to correctly classify 91% of the participants into their respective educational group. Results of this study provide additional evidence of the construct validity of the ISSC, a recently developed and unique self‐report measure. Results are discussed in terms of future research needs and educational/clinical practice with students who have emotional and behavioral disorders. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

There’s something about Mary: The moral value of things <Emphasis Type="Italic">qua</Emphasis> information objects

Luciano Floridi argues that every existing entity is deserving of at least minimal moral respect in virtue of having intrinsic value qua information object. In this essay, I attempt a comprehensive assessment of this important view as well as the arguments Floridi offers in support of it. I conclude both that the arguments are insufficient and that the thesis itself is substantively implausible from the standpoint of ordinary intuitions.     

Not virtual,but a real,live, online,interactive reference service

In today's fast-paced environment, traditional medical reference services alone are not adequate to meet users' information needs. Efforts to find new ways to provide comprehensive service to users, where and when needed, have often included the use of new and developing technologies. This paper describes the experience of an academic health science library in developing and providing an online, real-time reference service. Issues discussed include selecting software, training librarians, staffing the service, and considering the future of the service. Use statistics, question type analysis, and feedback from users of the service and librarians who staff the service, are also presented.     

Transportation of AIE-visualized nanoliposomes is dominated by the protein corona

Liposomes, especially cationic liposomes, are the most common and well-investigated nanocarriers for biomedical applications, such as drug and gene delivery. Like other types of nanomaterials, once liposomes are incubated in a biological milieu, their surface can be immediately cloaked by biological components to form a protein corona, which confers a new ‘biological identity’ and modulates downstream interactions with cells. However, it remains unclear how the protein corona affects the transportation mechanism after liposomes interact with cells. Here, we employed home-made aggregation-induced-emission-visualized nanoliposomes TR4@Lipo as a model to investigate transportation with or without the protein corona by optical imaging techniques. The results show that the protein corona can change the cellular transportation mechanism of TR4@Lipo from energy-independent membrane fusion to energy-dependent endocytosis. The protein corona also modulates the intracellular distribution of loaded cargoes. This knowledge furthers our understanding of bio-nano interactions and is important for the efficient use of cationic liposomes.     

David F. Treagust: congenial soul, science educator, and international research leader

For almost a half century David F. Treagust has been an exemplary science educator who has contributed through his dedication and commitments to students, curriculum development and collaboration with teachers, and cutting edge research in science education that has impacted the field globally, nationally and locally. A hallmark of his outstanding career is his collaborative style that inspires others to produce their best work.     

The development of children at familial risk for dyslexia: Birth to early school age

Children at risk for familial dyslexia (n = 107) and their controls (n = 93) have been followed from birth to school entry in the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (JLD) on developmental factors linked to reading and dyslexia. At the point of school entry, the majority of the at-risk children displayed decoding ability that fell at least 1 SD below the mean of the control group. Measures of speech processing were the earliest indices to show both group differences in infancy and also significant predictive associations with reading acquisition. A number of measures of language, including phonological and morphological skill collected repeatedly from age three, revealed group differences and predictive correlations. Both the group differences and the predictive associations to later language and reading ability strengthened as a function of increasing age. The predictions, however, tend to be stronger and the spectrum of significant correlations wider in the at-risk group. These results are crucial to early identification and intervention of dyslexia in at-risk children.     

Design-Based Research Within the Constraints of Practice: AlgebraByExample

Superintendents from districts in the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN) challenged the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) to identify an approach to narrowing the minority student achievement gap in Algebra 1 without isolating minority students for intervention. SERP partnered with 8 MSAN districts and researchers from 3 universities to design and rigorously test AlgebraByExample, a set of 42 Algebra 1 assignments with interleaved worked examples that target common misconceptions and errors. In a year-long random-assignment study, students who received AlgebraByExample assignments had an average 7 percentage point boost on a posttest containing released items from state assessments, and students in the bottom half of the performance distribution where minority students are disproportionately concentrated had an average 10 percentage point boost on a researcher-designed assessment of conceptual understanding. AlgebraByExample is easily incorporated into any existing curriculum, and naturally serves as a launch point for mathematically rich discussion.