Treating children with early-onset conduct problems and callous–unemotional traits: an empirical evaluation of KooLKIDS

Children with early-onset conduct problems (EOCP) and callous–unemotional (CU) traits are highly resistant to treatment and cost society significantly more than their healthy counterparts. Employing a multiple baseline design, 13 males (9.0–10.2 years of age) with a history of school suspensions were sequentially introduced to KooLKIDS, a school-based interactive multimedia intervention for young children with EOCP and CU. Teacher and child self-report data revealed significant reductions for the group in proactive and reactive aggression, and antisocial traits. Significant changes in the desired direction were also found on measures of emotion regulation. When the data were analyzed for each individual child, however, the magnitude of any effects for behaviour change varied greatly. KooLKIDS offers potential for treating children with EOCP and CU and hence preventing progression towards more serious antisocial behaviour.     

Children’s attitudes toward small computers: a preliminary study

While it has been established that children have positive attitudes toward the use of computers when used in computer-assisted instruction, little is known about children’s attitudes toward small“home” or“personal” computers. Results of this study indicate that children have multidimensional attitudes toward small computers, their interaction with these computers, and ease of use.     

Collaborating with colleagues for the sake of academic and professional development in higher education

Abstract

This research examines how faculty members in higher education collaborate with colleagues, their collaborative professional work, the nature of these collaborations, and the benefits they get from it. Research findings show that collaborations are perceived as one of the important components of academic and professional development. The findings indicate issues about the characteristics and nature of collaborations as well as about colleagues with whom faculty members prefer to collaborate, the ways in which they collaborate, the advantages of collaborations, and the important role that academic leaders and institutions play in encouraging collaborations.     

Is peer review an appropriate form of assessment in a MOOC? Student participation and performance in formative peer review

Many aspects of higher education must be reconceptualised for massive open online courses (MOOCs). Formative and summative assessment of qualitative work in particular requires novel approaches to cope with the numbers involved. Peer review has been proposed as one solution, and has been widely adopted by major MOOC providers, but there is currently little evidence about whether it is appropriate or under what conditions. Here, we examine student participation, performance and opinions of a peer review task in a biomedical science MOOC. We evaluate data from approximately 200 student topic summaries and 300 qualitative peer reviews of those summaries, and compare these to student demographic data (gender, age, employment status, education, national language) and to performance in multiple choice tests. We show that higher performance in the written topic summary correlated with both higher participation in the peer review task and with writing higher quality peer reviews. Qualitative analysis of student comments revealed that student opinion on the usefulness of the peer review task was mixed: some strongly believed it benefitted their learning, while others did not find it useful or did not participate. We suggest instructional design strategies to improve student participation and increase learning gain from peer review in the MOOC context.     

Inside Systemic Elementary School Reform: Teacher Effects and Teacher Mobility

In the 1995–96 and 1996–97 school years, 37 elementary schools in Memphis, TN began implementation of 1 of 8 comprehensive school reform designs. The effectiveness and mobility of teachers at these schools were examined longitudinally relative to teachers at 63 nonrestructuring schools. Analyses of teacher effectiveness scores, derived from student “value-added” achievement scores, indicate that the 1995 reform cohort only showed significantly greater gains in effectiveness relative to the nonrestructuring group. This pattern was most strongly pronounced for highly experienced teachers. Teacher mobility was found to increase minimally as a function of restructuring, largely due to district policy changes.     

Dissertation as performance [Art Script] (Take Three)

This paper considers the absence of things queer within the texts of arts-based education theories and narratives of K-12 educators working within / against these reforms. Dancing through the dramatic shifts and movements of his performance-art dissertation,the author questions the limits of standard dissertation protocols. He argues that arts-based education schemes have not confronted or considered arts' complicity in social constructions of heteronormativity, and that the arts should be taught toward the ends of social justice and democracy.     

A case study comparison of objective and subjective evaluation methods of physical qualities in youth soccer players

ABSTRACT

Subjective and objective assessments may be used congruently when making decisions regarding player recruitment in soccer, yet there have been few attempts to examine the level of agreement between these methods. Therefore, we compare levels of agreement between subjective and objective assessments of physical qualities associated with youth soccer performance. In total, 80 male youth soccer players (13.2 ± 1.9 years), and 12 professional coaches volunteered to participate. Players were objectively assessed using five fitness measures: Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1; Countermovement vertical jump; Functional Movement Screen?; 5/20 m sprint; alongside anthropometric measures. Additionally, coaches subjectively rated each player on the same five physical qualities using 5-point Likert scales. Inter-rater agreement between ratings from lead and assistant coaches was established for each age group. Moreover, Bayesian regression models were fitted to determine how well coach ratings were able to predict fitness test performance. Although inter-rater agreement between lead and assistant coaches was moderate-to-substantial (ω = 0.48–0.68), relationships between coaches subjective rating’s and corresponding fitness test performance were only highly related for the highest and lowest performing players. We suggest that while ratings derived from objective and subjective assessment methods may be related when attempting to differentiate between distinct populations, concerns exist when evaluating homogeneous samples using these methods. Our data highlight the benefits of using both types of measures in the talent identification process.     

Teaching Practices that Promote Motor Skills in Early Childhood Settings

Early childhood educators, especially those in preschool centers, are often expected to design and implement movement programs. However, these individuals may not have been taught these skills during their education. The purpose of this study was to determine if early childhood majors could successfully be taught to implement a mastery climate instructional approach to promote motor skill development to preschool-age children. Twenty undergraduate Early Childhood Education majors, who completed a Motor Development Across the School Years course, designed and implemented a movement program to develop preschoolers’ locomotor and object control skills. Fourteen preschoolers participated in an 11-week movement program. Preschoolers’ motor performance was assessed with the Test of Gross Motor Development—2nd Edition prior to and following the intervention. Results indicate significant improvements in total performance (p < .05) and locomotor skills (p = .037). Findings indicate that with guidance and training, early childhood majors can effectively design and implement a mastery-based movement program that enhances motor skill competence. The findings also demonstrate the need and value for early childhood majors to receive training in the design and implementation of movement programs. This paper provides a conceptual framework and practical recommendations to assist teachers and educators with implementing a mastery climate movement programs.