Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten

This study examined the role of self-regulation in emerging academic ability in one hundred and forty-one 3- to 5-year-old children from low-income homes. Measures of effortful control, false belief understanding, and the inhibitory control and attention-shifting aspects of executive function in preschool were related to measures of math and literacy ability in kindergarten. Results indicated that the various aspects of child self-regulation accounted for unique variance in the academic outcomes independent of general intelligence and that the inhibitory control aspect of executive function was a prominent correlate of both early math and reading ability. Findings suggest that curricula designed to improve self-regulation skills as well as enhance early academic abilities may be most effective in helping children succeed in school.     

Representational guidance and student engagement: examining designs for collaboration in online synchronous environments

In this paper we report the results of a study which investigated the affordances of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) for collaborative learning from a design perspective. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, we conducted a comparative study of the effect of varying representational and interactional design features on a collaborative design activity in three online synchronous environments. We compared environments featuring multiple modes of interaction (MUVEs), shared representations (text chat and 2D still images) and text-only features. Sixty-one students enrolled in an undergraduate course on Child Development participated in the study. Participants were asked to design a theoretically-based, developmentally appropriate, preschool classroom setting. Students were randomly assigned to one of three online learning environments that provided varying levels of representation and interaction. Significant differences in collaborative problem solving interactions were found. Participants in the shared representations + text condition evidenced stronger learning outcomes as regards substantive discussion and integration of child development concepts; while participants in the MUVE condition reported the most enjoyment with the experience. These findings are explained by the concepts of representational guidance, representational bias, educational affordances and interface design metaphors. Suggestions for the design of MUVEs for collaborative learning are provided.     

Louisa's Birth

In this column, Rachel Mann shares the story of the birth of her third daughter, Louisa. After a previous pregnancy loss, Mann chose to give birth to her third baby in a hospital with attending care from an obstetrician. In spite of the high-risk medical environment, she was able to have an unmedicated, powerful birth. Mann's careful planning, the support of her husband and doula, and her confidence in her ability to give birth helped make Louisa's birth all that Mann hoped it would be.     

High school preparation for college biology in Israel

The study reports the results of a questionnaire on the opinions of biology, medical and agricultural students regarding the nature of the contribution of high school biology to their study of biology in the university. It was found that most students value the contribution of high school biology to their learning, understanding and retention of new material. Students who specialized in high school biology and who studied an inquiry-oriented program in high school had definite advantages over the others. High school experiences were found to influence achievement in college biology to the extent to which the university courses were based upon prior knowledge.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ACCEPTABILITY OF VIDEOCONFERENCING WITHIN A SCHOOL‐BASED BEHAVIORAL CONSULTATION FRAMEWORK

School‐based behavioral consultation with classroom teachers is one of the primary ways school psychologists deliver intervention services to students. The present study aimed to evaluate the acceptability of videoconferencing (VC) with teachers as an alternative medium of consultative communication. Specifically, problem identification interviews (PIIs) were conducted with 60 classroom teachers to simulate a typical consultation interaction. Each teacher completed two PIIs with the researcher consultants, one in a traditional face‐to‐face (FtF) format and one in a videoconference (VC) format Teachers completed two brief pre‐post measures, the Fast Form of the Technology Acceptability Model (FF‐TAM) and the Distance Communication Comfort Scale (DCCS) to evaluate the acceptability of VC. Demographic moderators of the acceptability of VC were evaluated using a multiple regression analysis. The results suggest that although teachers rated VC as an acceptable communication medium prior to participating in the VC interview, teacher acceptability ratings increased to “highly acceptable” after participating in the study. Finally, no variables were identified that significantly moderated the relationship between teachers' acceptability rating of VC and their demographic variables. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Fun folds: Life on the water

Fun Folds is a creative format for teaching language. Through use of this paper-folding art form, language teaching gains a new dimension. Learning becomes active, rather than passive. This multisensory, multidimensional program helps children develop temporalspatial concepts and expand oral expression, auditory and visual memory and sequencing skills, visual-motor proficiency, and receptive and expressive language skills as they participate in an enjoyable, stimulating and interesting paper-folding activity.This article is excerpted fromFun Folds available from Communication Skill Builders, 3130 N. Dodge Blvd., P.O. Box 42050, Tucson, AZ 85733.     

African international doctoral students in New Zealand: Englishes,doctoral writing and intercultural supervision

While the experiences of international doctoral students, especially those from Asian countries, have been well researched, fewer studies have explored the experiences of African students in Southern countries like Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand. This article reports on doctoral writing and student and supervisor perspectives on English languages in a small study of supervisors and African students in New Zealand. It challenges deficit constructions of African students and illustrates how the growing internationalisation of higher education is adding to the complexities of doctoral writing, raising questions as to how students and supervisors recognise and navigate differences in Englishes and doctoral writing. It makes a number of recommendations about how supervisors might work effectively with African and other doctoral students.     

Hearing, deaf, and hard-of-hearing Israeli adolescents' evaluations of deaf men and deaf women's occupational competence

This study examined 74 deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) and 91 hearing high school students regarding their own occupational aspirations and their evaluations of occupational competence (EOCs) for deaf adults. In the EOC, participants rated the suitability of 25 occupations (varying according to prestige and required level of communication) for deaf men and women. The results showed that occupations requiring intensive communication levels, regardless of their prestige, were evaluated as much less suitable for deaf individuals than were those requiring less communication. D/HH adolescents did not find highly prestigious occupations as suitable for deaf adults even when communication barriers were irrelevant. Both D/HH and hearing participants expressed biased evaluations of deaf women's competence, but no further evidence emerged for stereotypic attitudes. Higher educational aspirations among hearing adolescents, especially hearing males, correlated with a higher EOC of deaf adults. No such associations emerged for D/HH participants. No gender effects emerged. Implications of these outcomes for career development, especially for females, were discussed.     

Unpacking the data: an analysis of the use of Danielson’s (2007) <Emphasis Type="Italic">Framework for Professional Practice</Emphasis> in a teaching residency program

This mixed methods study examines one teacher preparation program’s use of Danielson’s 2007 Framework for Professional Practice, with an emphasis on how different stakeholders in the traditional student teaching triad rated student teachers, called residents, and justified their ratings. Data sources include biannual self-assessments of each resident as well as assessments by the residents’ cooperating teachers and university supervisors based on the Framework, including both a numerical score for each of the 22 indicators and a written justification for the highest and lowest scores in each of the four domains. Findings show significant differences in terms of how stakeholders are rating residents’ teaching practice. The variation in scores and rationales raises questions about the reliability and validity of the results of the Framework for use as a tool to evaluate student teachers. Implications for practice include the need to consider multiple and potentially conflicting roles, such as that of providing feedback while also evaluating student teachers. In addition, we consider the costs and benefits of more extensive training around the Framework within teacher preparation, if a lack of expertise with the rubric was the cause for the variation. Finally, we consider implications for student teachers around the different messages they may be receiving about what it means to learn to teach.     

The NSEAD Survey Report 2015–16: Political Reflections from Two Art and Design Educators

In 2015 the (UK) National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) conducted their biggest and most comprehensive survey to date with art and design educators. Some 1,191 teachers and lecturers employed in early years to further education settings across England and Wales responded to the survey, which aimed to capture how government policy since 2010 has affected art and design education. Four key areas were examined: curriculum provision; value given to the subject within the school community; professional development opportunities; and well‐being and workload. The results are troubling, indicating a systemic marginalisation of art and design across all sectors, evident in a reduction in choice, provision and curriculum time, and evidence of falling standards in student attainment at primary to secondary transfer. We supported the NSEAD with constructing the survey and writing the report and in this article we utilise the Survey Report to fuel a broader discussion about our concerns regarding the demise of art and design education. Value is identified as an essential theme and we posit that our subject, largely due to neoliberalist policy, is currently perceived as a ‘bimbo’: attractive, but unintelligent and frivolous. In this article we pay particular attention to the value of art and design education from a political perspective, challenging narrow government agendas.