Systematic Review of Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: Implications for Improving Preschool Discipline Disproportionality

ABSTRACT

Early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) is a framework that continues to expand as students’ social-emotional needs emerge at younger ages. The present systematic review examines the extant literature surrounding the use of ECMHC and behavioral consultation in addressing mental health concerns and challenging behaviors in preschool students. Findings associated with this systematic review suggest that ECMHC could be a promising practice for targeting internalizing and externalizing behavioral concerns in prekindergarten students across a variety of settings. However, more research is needed in the areas of mental health/behavioral consultation and disciplinary disproportionality, as well as on the impact of such practices on preschool children of color. Implications for school psychologists are discussed, as are disciplinary practices when providing ECMHC and behavioral consultation services with students of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.     

Alternative Assessment Portfolios for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Case Study

Abstract

Twenty‐eight classroom teachers identified students in their rooms who were low achievers, at‐risk learners; low achievers, not at risk; average achievers; and special education students. We videotaped these students during reading lessons conducted by their teachers. Using a stimulated recall procedure, we interviewed teachers and asked them to report their thought processes during instruction, especially those that pertained to the target children. We found that teachers reported significantly more negative thoughts about at‐risk learners' than about average achievers' attending behavior and ability‐performance. Furthermore, at‐risk learners received a greater number of comments focused on the need to monitor their performance. Special education students received significantly more positive and negative comments about attending than did average achievers. In addition, they received more miscellaneous positive comments than did low, not at‐risk, and average achievers. Finally, teachers reported making more classroom modifications for this group than for average students. Implications for prereferral classroom interventions are discussed.     

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.     

The Role of Non-cognitive Variables in Identifying Community College Students in Need of Targeted Supports

Non-academic characteristics and traits, such as academic self-efficacy and conscientiousness, have maintained the interest of higher education researchers for decades. A considerable amount of research has found that these non-cognitive variables (NCVs) are generally predictive of undergraduate success. However, most prior studies have focused on the use of NCVs in 4-year colleges, and understanding if and how these measures predict the academic trajectories of community college students has received less attention. As past work has indicated that NCVs are differentially predictive for students from different backgrounds, such an examination is needed. Drawing on data from two diverse community colleges, our study addresses this need by exploring if seven popular NCVs predict both short and longer-term student outcomes, how these measures are related to help-seeking behaviors, and their utility in identifying students at risk of serious academic failures. We find statistically significant relationships between NCVs and GPA outcomes but conclude that their practical utility appears trivial.

     

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.     

Persistence of the Intuitive Conception of Living Things in Adolescence

This study investigated whether intuitive, naive conceptions of “living things” based on objects’ mobility (movement = alive) persist into adolescence and affect 10th graders’ accuracy of responses and reaction times during object classification. Most of the 58 students classified the test objects correctly as living/nonliving, yet they demonstrated significantly longer reaction times for classifying plants compared to animals and for classifying dynamic objects compared to static inanimate objects. Findings indicated that, despite prior learning in biology, the intuitive conception of living things persists up to age 15–16 years, affecting related reasoning processes. Consideration of these findings may help educators in their decisions about the nature of examples they use in their classrooms.     

Developing students' ability to ask more and better questions resulting from inquiry‐type chemistry laboratories

This study focuses on the ability of high‐school chemistry students, who learn chemistry through the inquiry approach, to ask meaningful and scientifically sound questions. We investigated (a) the ability of students to ask questions related to their observations and findings in an inquiry‐type experiment (a practical test) and (b) the ability of students to ask questions after critically reading a scientific article. The student population consisted of two groups: an inquiry‐laboratory group (experimental group) and a traditional laboratory‐type group (control group). The three common features investigated were (a) the number of questions that were asked by each of the students, (b) the cognitive level of the questions, and (c) the nature of the questions that were chosen by the students, for the purpose of further investigation. Importantly, it was found that students in the inquiry group who had experience in asking questions in the chemistry laboratory outperformed the control grouping in their ability to ask more and better questions. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 791–806, 2005     

Collaborative writing practices and writing support technologies

This article explores some relationships between collaborative writing practices and writing support technologies. It attempts to illustrate the range of ways in which technologies are used. It examines the relationships of particular technologies and practices with how the writers view the process in which they are engaged. The implications of the findings for thinking about the role of computers in supporting writing, and facilitating collaborative writing in particular, are discussed.