Assessment of severe emotional impairment: Practices and problems

The basic purpose of this study was to determine: (a) how school psychologists operationally define severe emotional disturbance as outlined in PL 94–142 (SED), and (b) the extent to which assessment procedures are in compliance with PL 94–142. A total of 83 school psychologists from two north central states participated in the study. Results indicated that a typical battery for assessing SED consisted of the WISC-R, WRAT, Bender-Gestalt, an incomplete sentences test, a behavior-rating scale, classroom observation, and informal interviews. A high correlation was found between the frequency with which psychologists use a type of data and the importance ascribed to that data source. Psychologists generally relied on only one or two criteria when considering severity of emotional disturbance. Special education placement often was contingent upon program availability. Implications for training and practice were presented.     

Tower of Hanoi disk-transfer task: Influences of strategy knowledge and learning on performance

Tower of Hanoi has become a popular tool in cognitive and neuropsychology to assess a set of behaviors collectively referred to as executive functions. Substantial variability in performance on the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) disk-transfer task among normally functioning young adults, and potential contributions to these individual differences, were examined. In this expanded 60-problem version of the four-disk TOH, the degree to which problem administration (blocked vs. random) and strategy knowledge influenced overall performance and changes in accuracy across problems was examined. Eighty-seven college students were randomly assigned to a Blocked Group (problems given in ascending order of move-length) and a Random Group (problems given in a random order). After administration of the TOH task, participants described their problem solving and these verbal protocols were analyzed with regard to four elements of a strategic approach to problem solving. Problem administration order demonstrated no effect on task performance or on expressed strategy knowledge; however, strategy knowledge did predict performance on the TOH. An expected decrease in performance across trials was observed in the Blocked Group, and an increase in accuracy in the Random group indicated a learning effect. Strategy knowledge did not interact with these changes in performance across the items. These results suggest that external cues do not influence performance on the TOH to the same extent as individual differences in strategy induction relatively early in the problem solving process.     

Scientific Playworlds: a Model of Teaching Science in Play-Based Settings

Research in Science Education - Eminent scientists, like Einstein, worked with theoretical contradiction, thought experiments, mental models and visualisation—all characteristics of...     

Increasing Girls’ STEM Engagement in Early Childhood: Conditions Created by the Conceptual PlayWorld Model

Research in Science Education - As societal needs change and STEM solutions are offered, an increasing concern for the participation of girls in STEM has emerged. Research has consistently shown...     

The great debate: Then and now

In discussing Jeanne Chall’s chapter, “Are Reading Methods Changing Again?” (this volume), I compare today’s situation with that of 30 years ago as recounted by Chall in Learning to Read: The Great Debate (1967).