MEASUREMENT OF CHANGE IN THE MEANING OF WRITING IN FRESHMAN ENGLISH

This study had a two‐fold purpose: first, to determine whether a measurable change in the meaning of the word writing could occur during a writing course; and second, to measure meaning rather than merely student attitudes toward writing. To satisfy these purposes, a semantic differential was administered to students in both regular and developmental classes in a two‐year campus at the beginning and the end of the 10‐week term. The scale measured the meaning of the term writing according to three dimensions: evaluation, activity, and potency. Scores were compared for each student and for each class of students. A significant increase occurred in the activity dimension for students in the regular classes by the end of the term; however, their evaluative rating decreased. Developmental students showed no change. Correlations with other measures of student performance were performed: final grades in the writing course, high school G.P.A., and verbal SAT scores. Regular students’ final grades correlated positively with the evaluation dimension of writing, and their verbal SAT scores correlated positively with the activity and potency dimensions. An inverse correlation was obtained between the developmental students’ verbal SAT scores and their evaluative rating. All correlations were stronger by the end of the term. Implications for writing teachers are discussed. Use of this instrument for measuring change in students’ perceptions of writing is recommended.     

Equity and Inclusion in Practice: Administrative Responsibility for Fostering Undocumented Students' Learning

Cassie Barnhardt, Marisol Ramos, and Kimberly Reyes share a case study of an undocumented student's academic success to demonstrate the importance of administrative commitment, clarity, and consistency in supporting such students in the unique challenges they face.     

In Their Own Voices: An Ethnographic Perspective on Student Use of Library Information Sources

A medium-sized academic library system conducted a multi-year (2012–2016), large-scale ethnographic study using a survey, observations, and in-depth interviews. The goal of the project was to better understand how students conduct research and study in the library. The analysis of the large pool of data resulted in various reports of theoretical and practical nature. This article addresses one aspect of the findings: undergraduate and graduate student use of library resources. The findings offer an array of considerations for designing effective library services and provide a more nuanced understanding of how student use the library website, libguides, and library databases as well as print and electronic collections.     

Science Journals in the Preschool Classroom

We believe that science journals can be used in the preschool classroom as tools for supporting and assessing children’s learning of science- and literacy-relevant content and procedures. To support this argument, we review changes in attitudes about the cognitive competencies of preschoolers and in teaching and learning expectations for early childhood education. We describe practical aspects of using science notebooks with this age group and discuss specific ways that journals support children’s learning. Finally, the role of journals in assessment is discussed.     

Teaching Community Skills to Two Young Children with Autism Using a Digital Self-Managed Activity Schedule

The current study investigated the efficacy of a self-managed activity schedule to teach 2 participants how to effectively order food items from a local community bakery. 2 participants who were on the autism spectrum were taught to follow a task analysis that was displayed on an iPhone. We used a multiple baseline design across participants to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching procedure. Results showed that the participants were able to order items, and this skill generalized to a novel bakery. The task analysis and iPhone were immediately withdrawn at a 2 to 5 week follow-up, and both participants were still able to effectively perform the steps of the task analysis without the use of prompts.     

Data‐Driven Improvement in Prekindergarten Classrooms: Report From a Partnership in an Urban District

In 2014–2015 and 2015–2016, a metropolitan school system in the southern United States embarked on a unique mission to improve the quality of its public prekindergarten programs through a partnership with a group of developmental researchers in an iterative, data‐based venture. Data on 407 children in Year 1 and 433 in Year 2 (who were enrolled in 26 classrooms and extensively observed) are presented from the first 2 years of the ongoing partnership. All children were 4 years of age. Variability in classroom practices, measured empirically, and variability in child outcomes provided the means to examine the relations between children's gains in academic and social‐emotional areas and major areas of classroom practices. Lessons learned, the eight identified significant practices, implications, and next steps in the partnership are addressed.     

Exploring the Use of Cases and Case Methods in Influencing Elementary Preservice Science Teachers' Self-Efficacy Beliefs

In this study, we hypothesize that cases demonstrating exemplary practice in the science classroom can be used as a source for learning content and pedagogical skills that will improve teachers' self-efficacy beliefs. Twelve preservice elementary science teachers are followed as they participate in a case and case method activity illustrating the Grade 7 topic of robotics and fluids. While there was little evidence to show improvements in content knowledge, results indicate that the case acted as a boundary object for brokering between individual experiences and those found in the science teaching community by scaffolding for multiple points of entry, bridging the theory practice gap and offering beginning teachers more immediate access to the community of already practicing teachers.

---

     

CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE EIAJ

The writer reports a meeting at Manchester this summer which brought together users of the EIAJ1/2″ videocartridge format, and led to the formation of a campaign to prolong its useful life in the UK.     

Simians in the Shape School: A comparative study of executive attention

Executive functions (EF) have been studied extensively in children and adults. However, EF tasks for young children can be difficult to administer and interpret. Espy (1997, Developmental Neuropsychology, 13, 495–499) designed the Shape School task to measure inhibition and switching in preschool-aged children. Shape School presents cartoon-like characters that children must flexibly name by their color, their shape, or both, depending on cues that indicate the appropriate rule. Shape School has been found to be age sensitive as well as predictive of performance on other EF tasks. We presented a computerized analogue of Shape School to seven rhesus macaques. Monkeys were trained to categorize characters by color or shape, or to inhibit this response, depending on whether the characters had eyes open, eyes closed, or wore hats. Monkeys performed above chance on the inhibition and switching components of the task. Long runs of a single classification rule and long runs of noninhibition trials had no significant impact on performance when the rule changed or inhibition was required. This nonverbal adaptation of Shape School can measure EF in nonhuman animals and could be used in conjunction with other EF tasks to provide a clearer picture of both human and nonhuman executive functions.