The question of the comparability of the WISC and WISC-R: Review of the research and implications for school psychologists

The paper reviews WISC/WISC-R comparison studies which have been conducted with a wide variety of samples. Significant WISC/WISC-R IQ score differences have been reported with the WISC-R yielding consistently lower scores of approximately 5-8 IQ points for the three major scales. Several studies do report variable WISC/WISC-R differences for various ages, races, and ability levels. These results have implications for practicing school psychologists. Caution is advised in the interpretation of a WISC/WISC-R difference, as a discrepancy of one SD may not be meaningful. Many students who scored in the borderline classification range on the WISC and who are currently being readministered the WISC-R are scoring in the mentally impaired classification range. This does not necessarily reflect negatively on the validity of the WISC-R, but does document the need to keep intelligence tests up to date. There is a continuing need to exercise caution in the use of individual intelligence tests and to utilize data in addition to WISC-R scores in order to make special education placement decisions.     

Reflections on “teaching discrete skills to students with moderate mental retardation in small‐group instructional arrangements”

Several response‐prompting strategies exist for teaching students with disabilities (Wolery, Ault, & Doyle, 1992). With these strategies, prompts are provided to ensure that students perform the target behaviors in the presence of the target stimuli. However, to transfer stimulus control from the prompts to the target stimuli (i.e., to establish independent and appropriate responding), the prompts must be faded. Often, the various strategies differ on the manner in which prompts are faded.     

Shared Governance in the Modern University

A governance model is developed in which university governance is shared between the academic and governing bodies and is coordinated by the university executive. Viewing the university as a professional service organisation, and noting the importance of developing a flexible culture within a shifting, marketised external environment, it is argued that a degree of shared governance is necessary for the success of the modern university. Although the discussion is couched largely within the context and evolution of UK university governance over the past sixty years, it also draws on the US evidence and experience and the conclusions drawn are general.     

Toward an understanding of academic self‐concept in distance education

Abstract

Academic self‐concept has been demonstrated to influence student success in distance education. The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of academic self‐concept in distance education and to determine its enhancers and detractors. It was determined that this construct is dynamic and multi‐faceted: the process of both learning as an adult and learning at a distance, as well as the content studied, influences academic self‐concept. Implications for both practice and further research are discussed.     

Poser,an Online Review Tool in Java

This paper presents an online reviewing tool, Poser, written in the Java programming language. Online quizzing tools have proliferated lately, but most are not so well-suited for reviewing. Poser's basic functionality is to provide students with a convenient, interactive way to review course materials in a question/answer format. Incorrect responses are corrected, along with an optional explanation. The program keeps usage statistics and information on responses to questions. Poser can be an important part of any course, because it gives students an easy way to test their understanding of the course materials from any Internet computer. We used Poser in two introductory Computer Science courses and gathered some formative data which was used to modify and evaluate the program. Over 100 students used the program and they answered over 38,000 questions while reviewing for their final exams. Student comments indicate that the program was very helpful. Overall, we feel that Po ser was a huge success and are planning a controlled study in the coming semesters to measure how much the use of the program facilitates student learning and understanding.