Effortful Control Predicts Adolescent Antisocial‐Aggressive Behaviors and Depressive Symptoms: Co‐Occurrence and Moderation by Impulsivity

Effortful control is associated with fewer aggressive‐antisocial behaviors (AAB) and depressive symptoms (DEP), but impulsivity may moderate these relations. However, few researchers have considered the effects of AAB‐DEP co‐occurrence. A multi‐informant, multimethod approach assessed 5‐ to 10‐year‐olds’ effortful control and impulsivity and, 5–6 years later, their AAB and DEP (N = 474). Participants were non‐Hispanic Caucasian (59.2%) or Hispanic (27.9%) from a Southwestern U.S. metropolitan area. Low effortful control predicted pure AAB. Low effortful control and low impulsivity predicted pure DEP and co‐occurring AAB‐DEP. An effortful Control × Impulsivity × Age interaction predicted pure AAB and co‐occurring AAB‐DEP. For older adolescents, lower effortful control predicted more symptoms only at average and high impulsivity. Results highlight multiple pathways to pure DEP versus pure AAB or co‐occurring AAB‐DEP.     

Ageing,loss, and learning: Hong Kong and Australian seniors

In this article, the discussion of loss and its relationship to learning is based on the analysis of interview data from 39 older adults in Hong Kong and 40 in Australia. The focus of the research was on ageing and learning. The phenomenon of life changes, specifically losses, and their relationship to learning was frequently mentioned, and this theme is described here. Three different kinds of loss were identified in the data as motivators for organized or nonorganized learning or for negatively affecting learning. These included loss of aspects of health, of job, or of partner. The results are potentially useful to policy makers and learning providers in encouraging older adults to engage in learning as one way of coping with loss.     

Investigating Teachers' Mathematics Teaching Understanding: A Case for Coordinating Perspectives

This paper provides a microanalysis of one Algebra I teacher's instruction to explore the advantages that are afforded us by coordinating two perspectives to document and account for the teacher's mathematical understandings. We use constructs associated with Stein, Grover and Henningsen's domain of mathematical didactics and Realistic Mathematics Education's instructional design theory to infer what the teacher might understand to effectively implement her instructional goals and, more importantly, support student learning. By coordinating these perspectives, we developed a working framework for analyzing the teacher's classroom practice retrospectively. For example, we illustrate how the mathematical possibilities related to one student's question might inform the teacher's decisions as she initiates shifts in students' self-generated models. Additionally, we illustrate how the teacher's decision to capitalize on particular students' models contributes in part to the kinds of mathematical ideas that can be explored and the connections students can make among those ideas. More generally, we explore the utility of coordinating these two perspectives to understand the landscape of ideas that teachers might traverse to align their practices with reform recommendations in the United States.     

What do medical students learn from dissection?

Dissection has long been the accepted method for teaching anatomy to medical students. More recently, some educators have suggested that easier, cheaper, alternative methods are just as effective. But what do the students think? This paper aimed to identify what undergraduate medical students learn, how they cope, and what effects participating in dissection has on them as individuals. A cohort of 267 second year medical students at Otago Medical School were invited to complete three online surveys; before their first dissection laboratory class, after their first musculoskeletal system dissection and following the last semester of studying anatomy. Open‐ended questions showcasing the attitudes, beliefs, and opinions on what dissection had taught the medical students over years two and three were analyzed. A general inductive approach was used and common emergent themes were identified. In total, 194 students completed the second, and 108 students completed the third questionnaire. Students commonly conveyed dissection as an appropriate and valuable educational tool, useful for teaching and learning anatomical knowledge and relationships, appreciating the body in three‐dimension, teamwork, and how to cope with death/dead bodies. The noted effects of personal growth while participating in dissection were highly varied, but in general, impacted positively on the majority of students. This study shows that at Otago Medical School the students also believe that dissection is not only a useful tool to learn anatomy but also that it fosters teamwork, assists professional development and helps them come to terms with death and dying. Anat Sci Educ 11: 325–335. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Does learning the alphabet in kindergarten give children a head start in the first year of school? A comparison of children’s reading progress in two first grade classes in state and Montessori schools in Switzerland

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine whether the age at which children start to learn to read affects their later progress. The study was conducted in Zürich, Switzerland, and compared a first grade class in a local school with two first grade classes in a Montessori school. It was found that although the Montessori children had an advantage over the local children in alphabet knowledge at entry to Grade 1, this was not translated into a significant advantage at the end of Grade 1 in either phonemic awareness or reading ability. Further analysis revealed that pretest alphabet knowledge for the whole group was significantly related to progress. In addition, scatterplots showed that some children started school with high levels of alphabet knowledge but did not make progress, indicating that alphabet knowledge is necessary for literacy progress but not sufficient.     

Scholarly Productivity Redefined in Counselor Education

In this study, counselor educators responded to a survey about their scholarly productivity over a 3‐year period. Their involvement in 7 scholarly activities is reported by category and by type of institution, tenure status, academic rank, and gender. Using a more comprehensive definition of scholarly productivity, this study documents that counselor educators are involved in a much broader, more diversified spectrum of scholarly activities than prior studies of scholarly productivity have indicated. Implications for tenure and promotion decisions, along with recommendations for training and mentoring of future counselor educators as well as future directions for research, are discussed.     

Novel Approaches to Examine Passage,Student, and Question Effects on Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is influenced by sources of variance associated with the reader and the task. To gain insight into the complex interplay of multiple sources of influence, we employed crossed random‐effects item response models. These models allowed us to simultaneously examine the degree to which variables related to the type of passage and student characteristics influenced students’ (n = 94; mean age = 11.97 years) performance on two indicators of reading comprehension: different types of comprehension questions and passage fluency. We found that variables related to word recognition, language, and executive function were influential across various types of passages and comprehension questions and also predicted a reader's passage fluency. Further, an exploratory analysis of two‐way interaction effects was conducted. Results suggest that understanding the relative influence of passage, question, and student variables has implications for identifying struggling readers and designing interventions to address their individual needs.     

The effects of antecedent physical activity on the academic engagement of children with autism spectrum disorder

A multiple baseline design was used to examine the effects of participation in antecedent physical activity on the academic engagement of four elementary‐school children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The results indicated large effect sizes for academic engaged time for all four students. It was suggested that physical activity in the form of something as simple to implement as jogging may be efficacious in promoting academic achievement for students diagnosed with ASD. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.