Reading comprehension,working memory and higher-level language skills in children with SLI and/or dyslexia

This study examined (1) whether working memory and higher-level languages skills—inferencing and comprehension monitoring—accounted for individual differences among Chinese children in Chinese reading comprehension, after controlling for age, Chinese word reading and oral language skills, and (2) whether children with specific language impairment (SLI) or dyslexia showed deficits in these skills. Eighty-two Cantonese Chinese-speaking children between the age of 7; 8–9; 5 were assessed. Regression analyses on the full sample offered support for the first question. The children were also classified into four groups: Typically-developing (TD; N = 34), specific language impairment-only (SLI-only; N = 18), SLI-dyslexia comorbid (SLI-D; N = 22) and dyslexia-only (D-only; N = 8). Pair-wise comparisons focusing on the second question revealed that both the SLI-only and the D-only group performed worse than the TD group in reading comprehension after controlling for age and nonverbal intelligence. The SLI-only and the D-only group showed a different profile of deficits: only the SLI-only group performed worse than the TD group in working memory, comprehension monitoring, and inferencing. The SLI-D comorbid group did worse than the SLI-only, but not the D-only group, in reading comprehension. The SLI-D comorbid group did not do worse than either single diagnosis group in the higher-level language skills associated with reading comprehension. These findings suggested adopting different intervention approaches for reading comprehension difficulties in children with SLI versus children with dyslexia.     

Reducing transience during animation: a cognitive load perspective

Animation has an inherent advantage over static graphics when presenting dynamic content because it provides a more accurate and realistic depiction. Simultaneously, animation has an inherent disadvantage because most animated information is perceptually transient. In this quasi-experimental study, cognitive load theory was used to investigate the extent to which animation’s transience could be ameliorated with the incorporation of a pause/play feature or a tracing feature that lets previous information remain visually available on screen instead of disappearing after a brief display. Continuous animation, animation with pause/play and their equivalent static graphics, each designed with either a trace or no trace, were used to instruct 228 post-secondary technical education students on how an electrical circuit works. All formats were accompanied with the same on-screen text. The pattern of results, especially the interactions, indicated that animation with a pause/play format obtained the highest efficiency in the no tracing condition, while the continuous animation format obtained the highest efficiency in the tracing condition. These results suggest that by restructuring the dynamic information, the negative instructional consequences of the transient nature of animation can be counteracted to make it more efficient for learning than static graphics.     

Development and Field Test of an Employment Selection Instrument for Teachers in Urban School Districts

Employment interviews are widely used in the selection of quality teachers, and indeed research confirms administrators’ belief in the validity of the procedure. However, many key recommendations for improving the general reliability of interviews including selecting questions that are job-related and research grounded, including well designed scoring rubrics, and incorporating adaptive variable-length interview designs are generally not well implemented in currently available instruments. Furthermore, emerging research suggests the need for specially tailored interviews that assess attitudes and pre-dispositions deemed essential to teachers’ effectiveness in certain high attrition environments like urban schools. This study describes the development and initial field-test results of a computer based, adaptive interview with an additional domain included for teachers in urban areas. The instrument is based on careful analysis of the suggestions from the extant literature base about effective employment interview techniques, effective general teaching practices, and sound teaching strategies in urban schools. By comparing the interview scores of 30 teachers with varying effectiveness ratings provided by administrators in one urban district, significant correlations were found. Regression analysis indicated a significant amount of variance in teachers’ effectiveness ratings could be predicted from their scores on the interview instrument.

What Competencies Do Sub-Baccalaureate Degrees Teach? Retrospective Reports from College Graduates

Sub-baccalaureate degrees represent a growing and distinctive sector of American higher education. However, policymakers and community colleges lack a clear understanding of the specific competencies learned in these programs that are useful in graduates’ careers. In particular, they overlook non-academic skills. This study uses qualitative interviews with sub-baccalaureate degree alumni (n = 98) to elucidate graduates’ perspectives on the range of competencies learned in sub-baccalaureate degree programs. Graduates reported learning several competencies that remained salient in the long term: cognitive processes and strategies, content knowledge, work ethic, self-efficacy, teamwork, and professional skills. In addition, this study analyzes whether disadvantaged students were more likely to report learning certain competencies. By describing a fuller range of valuable non-academic competencies, as well as how different student populations may vary in learning these competencies, this study contributes to a better understanding of sub-baccalaureate degrees’ value. These findings also provide insight for community college faculty, administrators, and/or policymakers seeking to build sub-baccalaureate programs that better prepare students for career success.     

Distributed Leadership for ICT Reform in Singapore

This study examines distributed leadership in Information Communication Technology reform in a government school in Singapore. The study adopts a naturalistic inquiry approach, drawing upon a case study of the aforementioned school for much of its data. The study found that leadership for Information Communication Technology reform is distributed according to functions of transformational leadership, instructional leadership, emotional leadership, and the strategic management of resources. The key enabling factors are an official leadership position, access to expertise, support by senior management, and interpersonal synergies among the leaders. Senior management consistently performs transformational leadership, whereas middle management generally performs instructional leadership. Both senior and middle management provide emotional leadership.     

An examination of lifelong learning policy rhetoric and practice in Singapore

Lifelong learning is now a recurring topic in national human resource, employment, entrepreneurship and educational reform discourse. In Singapore, the government urges citizens to be lifelong learners to enhance their employability and reminds them that lifelong learning is a survival strategy for the country. This paper presents and analyses Singapore’s rhetoric and initiatives on lifelong learning using an adaptation of Power and Maclean’s framework of lifelong learning, consisting of the following aspects: a basic human right for individual development and empowerment; a means to better employment prospects and higher income; a strategy for poverty alleviation or closing income gaps; an enabler for social benefits such as higher productivity and social capital; and a ‘master key’ for the achievement of national vision. The paper argues that while there are a considerable number of lifelong learning activities in the country, there is also a degree of eclecticism in its rhetoric and practice.     

‘Unconscious’ inclusion of students with learning disabilities in a Malaysian mainstream primary school: teachers' perspectives

The inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream regular schools has been seen as the best practice in special education provision, most markedly since the 90s. International research has provided amassing evidence towards the advantages of inclusive model over a segregation model of special education provision. However, nearly two decades after the signing of the international pledge, namely the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO) towards accepting inclusive education, Malaysia has not yet fully gained the momentum to implement inclusive education for children with special needs, especially for children identified within the category of learning disabilities. Because of the delay in policy implementation, inclusive education remains sparingly practiced in some schools without formal support. This study aims to investigate a scenario of this practice in a mainstream primary school via interviewing the regular teachers. The ultimate aim of this investigation is to identify ways to move forward from the current practice of ‘unconscious inclusion’.