Phonological awareness and reading speed deficits in reading disabled Greek‐speaking children

There is evidence that phonological awareness skills secure decoding ability and that phonological deficits underlie failure to acquire adequate word recognition. Slow word‐reading rate may be an additional defining characteristic of reading disability. The present study aimed to investigate whether: (1) reading disabled (RD) Greek‐speaking children showed reading accuracy and reading speed deficits relative to chronological age‐matched controls (CAC) and reading age‐matched controls (RAC); (2) they showed phonological deficits relative to the two control groups who do not present reading difficulties; and (3) they showed reading comprehension deficits over and above any word reading deficits.

Results suggested that the reading accuracy of the RD group was predictably weaker than that of the CAC group but equivalent to that of the RAC group. However, the reading speed of the RD group was significantly slower than the RAC group, who showed the same single word reading speed as the CAC group.

Slow and laboured decoding was found to compromise the reading comprehension of the RD group, whose listening comprehension performance was as good as the two other groups. The RD children performed poorly on phonological awareness tasks and naming speed. Naming speed was not an independent core feature of reading difficulties in the Greek language but was associated with a general phonological deficit.

It is recommended that diagnostic assessments for children with reading difficulties in Greek should include phonological awareness, single word reading and pseudoword reading tasks that measure both accuracy and speed.     

Cognitive biases in the interpretation of autonomic arousal: A test of the construal bias hypothesis

According to Bandura’s construal bias hypothesis, derived from social cognitive theory, persons with the same heightened state of autonomic arousal may experience either pleasant or deleterious emotions depending on the strength of perceived self-efficacy. The current study tested this hypothesis by proposing that college students’ preexisting efficacy beliefs may affect how physiological arousal during exams is construed as a valence of positive emotion. Survey data were collected from 172 students in a statistics course at a large research university in the Midwest. Students provided self-reported intensity of autonomic arousal during previous exams, statistics self-efficacy, and positive affect toward a proximal final exam. The construal bias hypothesis was supported by a significant interaction between autonomic arousal and self-efficacy on the dependent variable positive affect. Results revealed that as autonomic arousal increased, so did the moderating effect of self-efficacy. Specifically, as physiological arousal intensified, students with high or low self-efficacy reported divergent levels of positive emotion. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Common Assessment Framework (CAF) – early views and issues

This study explores the profile of Common Assessment Framework (CAF) assessments and the perceptions of assessors during the early phase of its implementation. Whilst there was diversity in who completed CAFs, schools undertook the most. Headteachers and other school staff completing the assessment felt that the questions tended to be intrusive and they feared this might damage their relationship with parents. Assessments proved time consuming and completers tended to go on to become the Lead Professional. Comments suggested some people were avoiding the completion of CAFs because of fears about the increased workload. There were, however, positive views about the rigour of the process and it had tended to serve to prompt positive dialogue between agencies. There were genuine attempts to involve children in the process.     

Engaging young children in collective curriculum design

In this study we investigate how 5-year-old children in Brazil and their teachers collectively design science curriculum. More specifically, we develop an agency|structure dialectic as a framework to describe this collective praxis in which science curriculum may emerge as the result of children–teacher transactions rather than as a result of being predetermined and controlled by the latter. We draw on a cultural-historical approach and on the theory of structure and agency to analyze the events showing the complexity of the activity inside a classroom of very young children by science education standards. Data were collected in the context of a science unit in an early-childhood education program in Belo Horizonte. Our study suggests that (a) throughout the movement of agency|passivity || schema|resources one can observe participative thinking, a form of collective consciousness that arises in and from lived experience; (b) learning is a process in which a group is invested in searching for solutions while they create schemas and rearrange resources to evolve a new structure; and (c) the emergent curriculum is a powerful form of praxis that develops children’s participation from early childhood on.     

Visualizing and monitoring effective interactions in online collaborative groups

Online education based on small self‐managing groups, with slight supervision by a professional tutor, is a strategically interesting methodology for lifelong learning. This solution may combine aspects of cost‐effectiveness (reducing tutors' work) with the demands for active and engaging learning methods based on the exchange and sharing of experiences. In such a context, how can information on collaborative attitudes and behaviour be gathered? A typical tool for online learning activities is the threaded web forum. This study proposes a methodology for assessing effective collaborative interactions within the add‐on module, Forum Plus, for the Moodle learning management system (LMS). The methodology here presented is able to supply an early overview of the level of effectiveness of the collaborative group and therefore it may provide a useful instrument to guide further qualitative observations conducted directly in the web forum.     

Teacher-as-researcher: theory-into-practice

This introductory article establishes the foundation for a special issue of the American Annals of the Deaf on teacher action research. The authors first introduce the definition of the teacher-as-researcher model, formally known as teacher action research. Four elements of teacher action research are discussed in detail: cyclical, systematic, reflective, and collaborative. Next, the history of teacher action research is discussed. Subsequently, the multi-paradigmatic and multimethodological nature of teacher action research is proposed. Finally, as a means of guiding readers, the scope of the special issue is described. The introduction concludes with the suggestion that in-service and preservice teachers integrate theory into practice and engage in systematic inquiry into their own practice to develop the mindset necessary to cope with the pedagogical challenges they face on a daily basis.     

What is your prediction? Teaching the metacognitive skill of prediction to a class of sixth- and seventh-grade students who are deaf

The development of the metacognitive skill of prediction in deaf students in a middle school social studies classroom was explored in an action research study (Riel, 2006). After observation of this group of learners and assessment of current skills, a unit was developed that integrated the teaching of prediction into their study of the American Revolution. It was found that these students were already using some metacognitive skills in their social studies class, but through direct instruction they were able to make more and better predictions related to the content being studied. The study demonstrates how the social studies curriculum provided an opportunity for students to learn and implement metacognitive skills that helped them to understand the cause-and-effect relationships in history and eventually to become more active readers during a reading task.     

Evaluation use and involvement of internal stakeholders: The case of a new non-degree online program in Brazil

To what extent does the intense and direct involvement of internal stakeholders, such as program managers and staff members, play a significant role toward evaluation use? Stakeholder involvement is a key element in evaluation and evaluation use is considered within a broader sense that includes organizational knowledge, individual skills, and immediate program reviews. The background of this new non-degree online program is directly related to the Brazilian socioeconomic, cultural, and educational framework. Conclusions include 12 major claims related to program evaluation and an integrative approach involving Patton's and Stake's evaluation theories. Although delimited by the natural boundaries of a case study design, conclusions may benefit the strategic discussion of program evaluation in similar situations, at both professional and academic levels.