Following the Standards: Is it Time for Another Revision?

The question of what it means to follow the Standards is discussed. It is argued that the Standards consists of statements of general principles, and that interpretation for specific applications requires professional judgment. As a result, disagreements among professionals on the applicability of particular standards to specific situations are inevitable. Consequently, effective monitoring or enforcement is problematic. The need for a revision of the Standards is considered. It is concluded that while some modifications may be desirable, they might be accomplished by the creation of an addendum rather than a complete revision. It is suggested that the effort and required resources for a complete revision might be better spent on the development and adoption of a companion set of standards dealing with the use of aggregate test results in accountability systems and/or a casebook that would illustrate the application of the Standards to specific situations.     

Can Middle School Students with Serious Reading Difficulties Help Each Other and Learn Anything?

This investigation was intended to examine the effects of teaching middle school students with learning disabilities and mild mental retardation to tutor one another in reading comprehension strategies. All students were reading significantly below grade level and many students exhibited behavior problems in addition to their primary disability area. Students were randomly assigned to a tutoring or traditional reading instruction condition. Within the tutoring condition, students were matched into tutoring dyads, trained in the tutoring procedures, and taught specific reading comprehension strategies. Reciprocal tutoring was employed, such that students assumed roles of both tutor and tutee during daily reading periods. Performance on reading comprehension tests following tutoring yielded significant performance advantages for students involved in tutoring. Observational, survey, and interview data revealed that students enjoyed tutoring more than their traditional instruction, appeared to see the value and benefits of the tutoring, and wanted to include tutoring as part of their other classes, such as science and social studies. Findings are discussed with respect to the strengths and challenges associated with the use of tutoring to provide strategic instruction to students with special learning needs.     

Grades or Scores: Predicting Future College Mathematics Peflormance

Do men and women with similar admissions test scores earn similar grades in mathematics? What factors may explain underprediction for women? Do men and women differ in persistence in mathematics study?     

Supporting Knowledge Integration in Chemistry with a Visualization-Enhanced Inquiry Unit

This paper describes the design and impact of an inquiry-oriented online curriculum that takes advantage of dynamic molecular visualizations to improve students’ understanding of chemical reactions. The visualization-enhanced unit uses research-based guidelines following the knowledge integration framework to help students develop coherent understanding by connecting and refining existing and new ideas. The inquiry unit supports students to develop connections among molecular, observable, and symbolic representations of chemical reactions. Design-based research included a pilot study, a study comparing the visualization-enhanced inquiry unit to typical instruction, and a course-long comparison study featuring a delayed posttest. Students participating in the visualization-enhanced unit outperformed students receiving typical instruction and further consolidated their understanding on the delayed posttest. Students who used the visualization-enhanced unit formed more connections among concepts than students with typical textbook and lecture-based instruction. Item analysis revealed the types of connections students made when studying the curriculum and suggested how these connections enabled students to consolidate their understanding as they continued in the chemistry course. Results demonstrate that visualization-enhanced inquiry designed for knowledge integration can improve connections between observable and atomic-level phenomena and serve students well as they study subsequent topics in chemistry.     

Wikipedia versus Encyclopedia Britannica: A Longitudinal Analysis to Identify the Impact of Social Media on the Standards of Knowledge

The collaboratively edited online encyclopedia Wikipedia is among the most popular websites in the world. Subsequently, it poses a great challenge to traditional encyclopedias, which for centuries have set the standards of society's knowledge with their printed editions. It is, therefore, important to study the impact of social media on the standards of our knowledge. This longitudinal panel study analyzed the framing of content in encyclopedia entries of top Fortune companies in Wikipedia and the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica in 2006, 2008, and 2010. Content analyses of the length, tonality, and topics of 3,985 sentences showed that Wikipedia entries were significantly longer, were more positively and negatively framed, and focused more on corporate social responsibilities and legal and ethical issues than the online entries of the traditional encyclopedia, which were predominantly neutral. The findings stress that the knowledge-generation processes in society appear to be fundamentally shifting because of the use of social media collaboration. These changes significantly impact which information becomes available to society and how it is framed.     

No child left behind: Neglecting excellence

This article is neither a study nor a review; rather, it is a thought piece from a contributing editor concerning issues associated with the state of gifted child education, as it exists today in the shadow of the effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The primary purpose of this article is to stimulate thought, discussion, and action concerning the effects of NCLB on gifted child education. Seven effects are highlighted, namely, a remedial, deficit‐based emphasis; teaching what it tested; delivering a standard, one‐size fits all education to diverse students; increased numbers of dropouts; educators afraid to teach; cheating; and unsubstantiated alternatives. A change in focus, questioning, and appropriate educational actions are suggested.     

DIRECT OBSERVATIONS OF CHILDREN AT RISK FOR ACADEMIC FAILURE: BENEFITS OF AN INTERGENERATIONAL VISITING PROGRAM

Ten elementary school students in need of a positive self-image and/or a sense of appropriate social conduct took part in a monthly intergenerational visiting program at an assisted living facility. In comparison to systematic observations obtained in their classrooms, the children were observed to be significantly less anxious, more interested, and participating more during the intergenerational program. Outcomes of a focus group with five seniors revealed that they had enjoyed the program and wanted it to continue. School administrators may want to consider intergenerational visiting programs for students whose behaviors place them at risk for academic failure.