Hands‐on versus teacher‐centred experiments in soil ecology

This study focused on differences between teacher‐centred and learner‐centred experiments in soil ecology. After a pilot study, we selected three experiments simple enough to be carried out by pupils even with little experience in self‐determined learning and hands‐on practice. The sample comprised 123 fifth and sixth graders from a middle school (four classes). We found a significant influence of treatment on achievement and pupils enrolled in a learner‐centred environment scored higher. Girls scored higher than boys in both treatments. We found no differences in well‐being, boredom or difficulty of the tasks, but pupils of the learner‐centred group expressed a higher interest.     

Reading and Integrated Literacy Strategies (RAILS): An Integrated Approach to Early Reading

The goal of this project was to develop and test the efficacy of a research-based early reading program that provided integrated reading instruction in kindergarten through 2nd grade. The Reading and Integrated Literacy Strategies (RAILS) program provided integrated instruction in word reading, vocabulary development, and comprehension to students in regular and self-contained special education classes in 2 schools serving low-income populations. Teachers provided explicit instruction in the alphabetic principle, phonemic analysis, word reading, vocabulary development, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension. Classes were organized so students received 2 periods of reading instruction daily, a longer morning period of instruction and a shorter afternoon review of instruction. The students in the RAILS program had significantly higher performance on standardized reading and language achievement tests, as well as on individually administered tests of phonemic awareness and reading fluency. The implications for research-based instructional practice that integrates instruction in word reading, vocabulary, and comprehension are discussed.     

Difficult Conversations

It takes more than diversity of campus populations for individuals to interact in meaningful ways with others of different backgrounds. Debra Miretzky and Sharon Stevens share their experience launching a series of campus conversations focused on raising personal awareness and building relationships across difference.     

Affordances of Item Formats and Their Effects on Test‐Taker Cognition under Uncertainty

The current study investigated how item formats and their inherent affordances influence test‐takers’ cognition under uncertainty. Adult participants solved content‐equivalent math items in multiple‐selection multiple‐choice and four alternative grid formats. The results indicated that participants’ affirmative response tendency (i.e., judge the given information as True) was affected by the presence of a grid, type of grid options, and their visual layouts. The item formats further affected the test scores obtained from the alternatives keyed True and the alternatives keyed False, and their psychometric properties. The current results suggest that the affordances rendered by item design can lead to markedly different test‐taker behaviors and can potentially influence test outcomes. They emphasize that a better understanding of the cognitive implications of item formats could potentially facilitate item design decisions for large‐scale educational assessments.     

Mapping the daily media round: novel methods for understanding families’ mobile technology use

The pervasiveness of mobile devices in families’ homes has dramatically changed the physical and temporal arrangement of co-viewing media content; the representative image of American families seated around a TV set is an anachronism. But understanding and describing contemporary co-participation arrangements around digital media is challenging because of the mobile nature of these activities. As researchers, our greatest challenge is to observe people's digital media use that is increasingly ‘on-the-move’ in an effort to understand the significance and possibilities these devices have in family life, learning, and engagement in and across different settings. This article describes an innovative study design for understanding how mobile technologies influence the ways in which families learn together. We analyze the movement of digital media practices, where they are located, and how digital co-participation within families is distributed across time and space.